Ever been on vacation and wondered what would happen if you just…never left? Well, some people do just that. A growing number of people live full-time on cruises, at resorts, or in comfy RVs that allow them to explore the world as their leisure.

One such family recently joined the movement, and they picked a perfect, if a little peculiar, place to call their Home Base.

Family of four lives at Disney World year-round

In 2021 and 2022, the Ewing family suffered some devastating losses of people that were close to them.

Lauren Ewing tells Upworthy that the shockwave of those losses caused the family to really take stock of the way they were living. “That made us want to live and not just exist,” she says.

So, they decided to sell everything, including their home near Athens, Georgia and buy an RV. Adam Ewing, a real estate developer, could work remotely while Lauren was already well-practiced at homeschooling the kids thanks to COVID.

They began traveling and seeing the country and, more importantly, enjoying each other as much as possible. But they needed a home base. And for the Ewings, the choice was obvious.

“Disney has always been our ‘happy place,’” Lauren says. So even though they take the RV out exploring a few times a year, they always “have a desire to come back home.”

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It’s not cheap, but it’s meaningful

Some people live on cruise ships because the math works out and the all-inclusive lifestyle winds up being cheaper than a mortgage.

The Ewings don’t make any bones about it: Living in the Disney Bubble isn’t cheap, but for them, it’s well worth it.

The family parks their RV at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort RV Park. Lauren says it costs about $155-300 per night, depending on the time of year. That’s a hefty price tag before food and the costs of maintaining the RV. They also pony up for season passes to the parks so they can visit any time they want, and membership to the nearby Four Season Golf Club.

There is one catch with living at Disney World in an RV: You technically can’t live there all the time.

“We are able to stay 26 days and have to leave for 24 hours before we can come back. We go to a nearby campground for the night and come right back!” Lauren says. That means the Ewings, including other trips, end up parked at Disney over 200 days out of the year.

It speaks volumes that, despite the cost and their unlimited freedom, they choose to keep coming back to the same spot.

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What living at Disney World is really like

People ask the Ewings all the time: Why not stay somewhere nearby, but not technically on Disney property? It would be far cheaper.

But Lauren says the family adores being inside the “Disney bubble.”

The resort’s transportation makes it easy to get anywhere. The resort is sparklingly clean, the food is world-class, and best of all, people love to visit the Ewings. Who wouldn’t?

Still, the family has to live a somewhat normal life. The kids have school, and dad has his real estate business to run. They try to cook their own food whenever possible, exercise, have family time, explore hobbies. You know, regular everyday things. They don’t spend all day every day at the parks unless friends or family are visiting.

But the easy access allows them to make incredible magic memories. They’ll pop into Epcot and enjoy the fireworks over the lake, grab a funnel cake at Magic Kingdom, or do just a small handful of rides before the park closes.

Crucially, Lauren and Adam use the proximity they pay so much for to make sure they’re enjoying their kids’ youth as much as possible:

“It is really special to also just do a date with one of the kids. Come over for a ride or two, get a sweet treat, reconnect with some one on one time with them!” Lauren tells Upworthy.

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Living at Disney World is every kid’s dream

The Ewings reject the idea of deferring joy, travel, and whimsy in their lives in favor of saving everything for retirement. They’re a young, happy, and healthy family right now, and they’re going to enjoy every second of it no matter the costs because there’s no guarantee what tomorrow might hold.

The Ewings aren’t alone. A growing number of people, especially younger generations, would rather spend their money on the here and now. The scale might be different from the Ewings’: It’s taking that vacation instead of saving the money. It’s going to your favorite restaurant instead of cooking at home. Or maybe it’s quitting your job to travel and figure out the rest later. Everyone’s version of living in the here and now is different, but it’s becoming an increasingly universal sentiment.

Almost anyone would love to experience what it’s like to live at their ‘happy place’ with the people they love the most. Lauren and Adam just so happen to have the means to make it a reality. The rough times in their recent lives convinced them without a doubt that it would be a choice they wouldn’t regret.

A single door can open up a world of endless possibilities. For homeowners, the front door of their house is a  gateway to financial stability, job security, and better health. Yet for many, that door remains closed. Due to the rising costs of housing, 1 in 3 people around the world wake up without the security of safe, affordable housing. 

Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has made it their mission to unlock and open the door to opportunity for families everywhere, and their efforts have paid off in a big way. Through their work over the past 50 years, more than 65 million people have gained access to new or improved housing, and the movement continues to gain momentum. Since 2011 alone, Habitat for Humanity has expanded access to affordable housing by a hundredfold. 

A world where everyone has access to a decent home is becoming a reality, but there’s still much to do. As they celebrate 50 years of building, Habitat for Humanity is inviting people of all backgrounds and talents to be part of what comes next through Let’s Open the Door, a global campaign that builds on this momentum and encourages people everywhere to help expand access to safe, affordable housing for those who need it most. Here’s how the foundation to a better world starts with housing, and how everyone can pitch in to make it happen. 

Globally, almost 3 billion people, including 1 in 6 U.S. families, struggle with high costs and other challenges related to housing. A crisis in itself, this also creates larger problems that affect families and communities in unexpected ways. People who lack affordable, stable housing are also more likely to experience financial hardship in other areas of their lives, since a larger share of their income often goes toward rent, utilities, and frequent moves. They are also more likely to experience health problems due to chronic stress or environmental factors, such as mold. Housing insecurity also goes hand-in-hand with unstable employment, since people may need to move further from their jobs or switch jobs altogether to offset the cost of housing. 

Affordable homeownership creates a stable foundation for families to thrive, reducing stress and increasing the likelihood for good health and stable employment. Habitat for Humanity builds and repairs homes with individual families, but it also strengthens entire communities as well. The MicroBuild® Initiative, for example, strengthens communities by increasing access to  loans for low-income families seeking to build or repair their homes. Habitat ReStore locations provide affordable appliances and building materials to local communities, in addition to creating job and volunteer opportunities that support neighborhood growth. 

Everyone can play a part in the fight for housing equity and the pursuit of a better world. Over the past 50 years, Habitat for Humanity has become a leader in global housing thanks to an engaged network of volunteers—but you don’t need to be skilled with a hammer to make a meaningful impact. Building an equitable future means calling on a wide range of people and talents.Here’s how you can get involved in the global housing movement:

Speaking up on social media about the growing housing crisis 

Volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity build in your local community

Travel and build with Habitat in the U.S. or  in one of 60   countries where we work around the globe

Join the Let’s Open the Door movement and, when you donate, you can create your own personalized door 

Shop or donate at your local Habitat ReStore

Every action, big and small, drives a global movement toward a better future. A safe home unlocks opportunity for families and communities alike, but it’s volunteers and other supporters, working together with a shared vision, who can open the door for everyone. 

Visit habitat.org/open-door to learn more and get involved today. 

What is a grandparent’s role in taking care of their grandchildren? This is a question with a billion different answers, depending on who you ask, and one that can lead to a lot of conflict within a family.

Some grandparents want to take on an active role in their grandkid’s lives, which can lead to unsolicited visits and other forms of boundary crossing. Others feel that their child rearing days are over, and that they’ve earned the right to take on less responsibility, which can also lead to stress and hurt feelings.

A story that went viral on Reddit’s AITA forum further complicated this conundrum, since the woman at the center of the controversy was a stepparent.

The backstory behind the viral post

At the time of writing her post, the woman, 38, met her husband Sam, 47, ten years ago, when his daughter, Leah, 25, was 15 (Leah’s mom passed away when she was 10). The couple married five years ago after Leah had moved out to go to college.

When Leah became pregnant she wanted to keep the baby, but her boyfriend didn’t. After the disagreement, the boyfriend broke up with her. This forced Leah to move back home because she couldn’t afford to be a single parent and live alone on a teacher’s salary.

Leah’s story is familiar to many young mothers facing similar difficulties. The father isn’t involved in the baby’s life as a caretaker or financially. Sadly, according to the U.S. Census Bureau 40% of all children in the U.S. are born without their biological fathers living in the home.

The new mother is a teacher and can’t afford to live on her own with a child. According to a 2024 Redfin study, Portland, OR leads the nation with teachers able to afford 91.3% of apartments near their schools, followed closely by Pittsburgh at 83.9%. Still, nationally the average teacher can afford less than half of nearby rentals, and homeownership remains out of reach for most educators.

The situation gets complicated

The author of the Reddit post, now a new stepgrandmother, had reservations. She says, “I had concerns about how she was going to raise a child on a teacher’s salary by herself. I suggested getting him to pay child support. She did not want that. Sam thought I should stay out of it.” 

Unfortunately, any trepidations she had were confirmed. She writes, “Once she had the baby around 4 months back, Leah seemed to realize having a baby is not the sunshine and rainbows she thought it was. She barely got any sleep during the last four months. All the while Sam was helping her with the baby while I did almost all chores myself.”

She continues to say, “Now her leave is ending. She did not want to leave the baby at daycare or with a nanny. Sam and I both work as well.”

Leah asked her stepmother if she would stay home with........

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