World-schooling Community – Bansko, Bulgaria Wintertime Pop-Up

We attended the first-ever pop-up-style worldschooling community in Bansko, Bulgaria, back in 2020-21 and we loved it! We know it has evolved since then but in this post, I’ll share a bit about how this awesome pop-up community gave us a winter to remember!

A worldschooling community will welcome families from all over the world. They often attract families who are seeking alternative education and learning experiences. Some examples of established world schooling learning communities include Anahata worldschooling community in Mexico and Tribodar in the Portuguese country. Project world school is another one. They host worldschooling summits each spring and fall, along with teen retreats.

Most of these communities have websites or Facebook pages. Check out our worldschooling resources section on our page for digital nomad tools for more information.

(This post includes affiliate links for which we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you should you make a purchase).

---

CONSIDERING YOUR NEXT TRIP?

Check Availability & Latest Prices on Your Preferred Booking Engine

---

The importance of community for our worldschooling family

As unschooling worldschoolers we are always seeking community. One of the main reasons we love world travel is so that we can immerse ourselves in local communities. Our slow style of family travel style makes it easier to develop deep, long-lasting relationships with others.

One of the most common questions that homeschoolers or unschoolers might get is “what about socialization”? There are many ways that children can interact with others outside the school system. Life itself provides countless opportunities for socialization.

Our older daughter joins local sports groups when we move to a new location. Mostly, we just meet people when we’re out and about, at places like cafes and playgrounds. Arguably, many unschooled kids have incredible socialization opportunities. They often have regular, close interactions with people of all ages rather than primarily those with kids their own age.

It can certainly be more challenging to find the sense of community we crave in a travel-based lifestyle. We keep in touch with others in the worldschooling community and see whether we can plan to be in the same place at the same time. We also regularly gravitate to locations where we know we’re more likely to meet other world schoolers and/or unschooling families.

Worldschooling hub versus pop-up-style worldschooling community

Some parts of the world have what is known as world schooling hubs. These are places that have been established as world schooling communities where you can go and know that you’ll find other like-minded families. Some worldschooling families live in these communities permanently or semi-permanently, while others visit for a short while.

A pop-up-style worldschooling community on the other hand is usually organized by a world schooling family in a specific location for a set period of time. It might be for a few weeks, or for a few months. It is designed to bring traveling families together. A pop-up-style worldschooling community could be anywhere from very structured to very informal. Of course, any activities that might be included are optional.

Suitable for both first time travelers and seasoned worldschoolers, a pop-up-style world schooling community or a worldschooling hub provides an amazing opportunity to meet like-minded friends. We love the sense of support and community, as well as all the easy options for play dates and get-togethers. 

A three-month worldschooling community (pop-up-style) was the number one drawcard for us to come and stay in Bansko, Bulgaria. Here’s a bit about what we did together as a worldschooling community.

Worldschooling Community Bansko | Weekly Education and Fun Day

Emmy is a world schooling mom who organized our Bansko pop-up-style worldschooling community. Every week she put out a different schedule with activities spanning about four days a week.

One of those days was always an ‘education and fun day’. On this day (afternoon, actually!) we did a range of different activities. Each activity was run by a parent or a world schooling kid, and the activity lineup was different each week.

Some of the activities we did on education and fun days include:

• Arts and crafts activities
• Physical activities such as karate, acro yoga, outdoor games, dance, and free playtime
• Music
• Building a spaghetti tower out of spaghetti and marshmallows
• Web design for the older kids
• Chess
• Sessions to learn about Bulgarian culture

Ayla even had her debut sessions in leadership when she organized and led an art class, and then a ballet class!

Worldschooling Community Bansko | Other activities we did 

Aside from our weekly education and fun day, we enjoyed a range of different activities with our worldschooling community in Bansko. Some activities were a part of the schedule, while others were arranged informally.

Some of the things the kids (and parents!) enjoyed included:

• Playdates at friends’ houses and at the playgrounds. Sometimes we even had sleepovers!
• Ice skating
• Sledding (with or without a sled!)
• Outdoor wall climbing and (real!)  outdoor rock climbing
• Moms night out and dad’s night out
• Girls night and boys night (all ages)
• Restaurant meals
• Overnight train trip to Velingrad
• Games nights for the older kids /tween nights
• Old Town cultural walking tour
• Volunteering with the Bansko Street Dogs
• Hiking
• Ski lessons and skiing or sledding down the ski road together
• Weekly visits to different thermal hot Springs in the area, or swimming at local hotel pools

You can find out more about the specifics of these activities in our post about things to do in Bansko in the wintertime.

5 Reasons Why Bansko is a Great Place for a pop-up-style Worldschooling Community

Bansko is an incredible European winter destination. We also think it would be the perfect place for a summertime worldschooling community. There are just so many outdoor adventures to be had there.

1. You can drink delicious, fresh-tasting water straight from the taps 

Believe me, this is a big deal for a full-time traveling family! In the majority of places we have traveled to, we haven’t been able to drink straight from the tap with confidence. We’ve either had a water filter or we have boiled the water first. Or, we’ve used the big water containers that you swap out and replace. There are numerous taps and natural springs in Bansko where you can refill your water bottle.

---

CONSIDERING YOUR NEXT TRIP?

Check Availability & Latest Prices on Your Preferred Booking Engine

---

2. Altspace CoWorking

As full-time digital nomads with young children, we find it challenging, and much less productive to work from home. Therefore, a great Co-Working Space is a “must-have” for our family at this point in time. Sometimes we feel like we’re limited to cities a bit more because we have this requirement. However, we were excited to find that there are several Co-Working spaces in little Bansko. We tried them all and chose Altspace!

3. The mountains, of course 

Bansko is a mountain town. If you live at the gondola end of town you can be at the top of the mountain in 15 minutes ready to ski or simply take in the fresh mountain air. From where we were staying at that end of town, it was about a 20-minute walk to the forest to begin any one of numerous hikes into the mountains.

4. Quiet roads

You can walk down the middle of the road in Pirin Street where all the shops are. Or you can walk down the parallel road which has a lovely little stream running down it. You’ll only see the very occasional car.

5. Yoga studios

In this small town, there are a couple of yoga studios that we know of, both at the gondola end of town, and they’re both fab. Both offer aerial yoga classes. The one we tried also welcomes kids, which is great because if you’re not here for a worldschooling community and you’re not skiing there’s not a lot in the way of kids activities on offer. Colin and I also enjoyed trying salsa at one of the studios. (Check out the schedules at Club Hanuman and Lotus Vibe).

Bansko Worldschooling Community | In Summary

We loved our three months with the Bansko worldschooling community. We’d highly recommend it to any traveling families who are looking for a great wintertime destination and a strong sense of community. 

Will we personally return this coming winter? Unlikely as we’re no longer in Europe! However, although I’m a bit of a warm-weather girl, the ski fields are Colin’s happy place and as we both love the mountains, we will see. Never say never!

Disclaimer: This article/page contains affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase after clicking on one of these recommended service provider links, like an insurance broker, or a travel agent, we may earn a commission – at no extra cost to you. [For our full disclosure, please see our DISCLAIMER page].