Part 1 of an ongoing series
I know this is a website for a writer, but I’m also a housesitter/traveler. As I’ve traveled, I post about the main way my girlfriend, Darcy, and I stay for free and how we chose our next place. The biggest thing I get asked (and it’s not that often, I won’t lie. But once every nine days, or so.) is how do we do it, how do we still have money, and where are we staying.
First things first, this entire article series will be written with a very ‘budget-minded’ slant. Darcy and I are both on a tight budget, so we have far more experience with that. However, that doesn’t mean free! Just because the accommodation is free, doesn’t mean getting there, or staying there is. This is a fairly important distinction, because traveling will always require some money.
Second, house sitting in nearly all cases requires you to be looking after a pet. If you do not like animals, are allergic to animals, or don’t view animals as people for all intents and purposes, perhaps housesitting isn’t for you. I’m not saying any of this to be rude, but if you’re taking care of someone’s pet, nothing else should take priority. However, there are house sits that don’t have pets. This can still work for those of you who are allergic to animals!
Lastly, house-sitting is a somewhat strange thing to certain countries. Countries with strong family ties, like Italy (where I spend a lot of time), doesn’t have a lot of house sitting opportunities, because why would you have some stranger take care of your pet, when you could have a niece or nephew do it?
This article is just the intro, at some later point I will compile it into one large article, but if you’re curious or you have any questions, feel free to contact me or follow the website!
Nathaniel Mellor 