We would like to introduce our Guest Writer Vanessa Anderson. Vanessa with her partner Ian Usher, are full-time international house sitters and publishers of House Sitting – The Ultimate Lifestyle Magazine. Vanessa and Ian have been travelling the world continuously since 2013. Having sold most of their possessions, they prefer the freedom to explore the world, living as locals for extended periods in different countries.
International House Sitting
Why is it that we spend so much of our time, working hard to create a secure existence, and then crave those one or two-week vacations where we can escape? It seems that security is limiting, and “the escape” is when we feel free, relaxed and energized!
What a contradiction!
I know I spent much of my working life aspiring to “escape the rat race” so that I could travel the world, and experience different cultures and experiences.
But I never dreamed that I would be able to do this full-time before retirement, and work remotely to fund this adventure – without a win on the lottery!
So when I first discovered international house sitting, I couldn’t quite believe that this would be my ticket to a freedom lifestyle.
I’d already started the process of breaking ties by selling my house at the end of a long-term relationship. Then I gave up my job to go and live with my new partner Ian, on a small island in Panama. I hadn’t thought much beyond living on the proceeds of my property sale and had pushed into the background the reality that this money wouldn’t sustain me indefinitely.
It seemed I had escaped one trap but put myself in a new one. The only difference being that it was a much nicer environment- a small island in the Panamanian archipelago of Bocas del Toro. I guess I’d become an expat, but I still needed to find a way to create an income or to learn how to travel inexpensively.
This became more of a necessity after Ian and I decided we really wanted to travel the world while we were still young and fit enough to actually enjoy the experience.
House sitting enabled this to happen.
We’d used house sitters to look after the island home when we left on visa renewal runs, so the concept wasn’t new to us. It just took a while for us to realize the amazing opportunity it could offer us too if we used it as a way to travel less expensively.
Cutting out accommodation costs can really have a very positive effect on your travel budget! And it’s not just the lodgings, it’s the gas, electric, and wifi. I was surprised to discover that sometimes even a car is provided!
At this point, it’s important to say that the primary purpose of house sitting isn’t to get free accommodation!
We’d used house sitters to look after our home and our jungle dog, Campesino – who while being Head of Island Security, in reality, wouldn’t have been very effective at all! So we knew the benefits of using house sitters to oversee the property and pet care.
So we knew that house sitting came with responsibilities and we were prepared for that part of the exchange. We considered it a very fair swap and understood the win-win-win nature of this trust-based agreement. Great for the homeowners, ideal for us, and the best ever result for the pets!
We also thought it would be a wonderful way to help other homeowners trapped by their homes and pets. It would allow them to go off on their own travel adventures, while we got to live in their homes, with their pets (we needed our cuddles), experiencing the locality like a resident – essentially living like a local.
So that’s how we started out. We became full-time international house sitters and worked out ways to minimize our travel costs by staying in one continent, or an area for a substantial length of time. In Central America for instance, we were able to visit 5 different countries, and house-sit in 3 of them, travelling inexpensively between locations by bus.
Our money now goes much further, and we’ve had the time and space to work on other ways of supplementing our income.
In four years we’ve travelled to the USA, China, India, Australia, Abu Dhabi, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, Botswana and Barbados. We experienced our first extreme weather event, a devastating Cyclone in Fiji; we hiked back and forth across the Grand Canyon; and spent a month travelling around Cuba. We’ve dived with sharks, climbed numerous mountains, been to the Victoria Falls and experienced a once-in-a-lifetime mobile safari in the Okavango Delta.
Our lives are full of travel opportunities and experiences, and we don’t expect that to stop anytime soon. That’s because international house sitting is becoming more and more popular, with more homeowners in new and interesting locations, recognizing the benefits of using house and pet sitters to look after their homes.
House sitting truly does open a world of possibility and opportunity. I would never have expected that for three months this year, we’d be house-sitting on the edge of a river in Botswana, watching hippos just a few meters away for our evening entertainment.
We would never have been able to afford to travel to Botswana, the luxury safari capital of the world. But house-sitting made it possible!
More about Vanessa and Ian
As well as the magazine, Vanessa and Ian have created an online video course – Become a House Sitting Pro – which will take you through all the stages of becoming a successful house sitter, and provide valuable templates and checklists needed when applying for and managing sits.
They also work remotely as TEFL English teachers, helping others get started on a similar path.
Check out more here:
Download House Sitting Magazine:
https://HouseSittingMagazine.com/read
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We thank Vanessa and Ian for a great article on House Sitting and the opportunities it can present for you to live an exciting life full of adventures. Have you tried House Sitting?
Travel Insurance
We highly recommend that you take out travel insurance on all of your house-sitting adventures.
Thanks for sharing our story guys! It’s a great reminder of why we have to “pinch” ourselves sometimes! We get satisfaction too knowing we are helping others have their own amazing travel experiences too, knowing their pets are being safely and lovingly cared for back home. Some even transition to become house sitters themselves!
We enjoyed finding out about how you started house sitting. Very inspirational!
After the extensive research I have done regarding house sitting, I’d say you’re so right! It is definitely the way to travel with little to no accommodation costs.
I think this is a sure way to see all you can and live like a local at very little cost!
Question; how did you get set up with House sitting? What site do you use and how did you go about preparing to house sit in another country while travelling?
Hi Emily
Thanks for your comments. There are many house sitting sites depending on what country you want to visit. Trusted Housesitters is the largest global one. You will need to set up a profile (check others out to get an idea), if you have house sat for familes and friends get them to write a reference for you. Here is the link for Trusted House Sitters. https://bit.ly/2Dzugwc.
You will need to apply for house sitting assignments, there is more competition today as it has become very popular. You can plan you travels around house sitting. Hope that helps.
Cheers Jane and Duncan
A very interesting aspect of travelling for long lengths of time. I would live to do this myself but as have young kids a bit tied down at this point. Never knew this could be done for long periods like you have done. It’s great to know that you covered so many countries and did house sitting. I think this is a great start to a new eco friendly more sustainable tourism boom.
Hi Amar
Thanks for your comments. It certainly is a great way to see the world.
Cheers Jane and Duncan
Wow this seemed a far fetched dream for me to possibly be on the road 24*7 but now with an extremely new and quirky concept like house sitting , it doesn’t seems that difficult anymore . I loved the article
Hi Debjani
Thanks for your comments. It is a great way to see the world.
Cheers Jane and Duncan
I feel the same conflict, that pull between a settled home and the urge to travel and escape! Fascinating to read how Vanessa and Ian came to house sitting, and how well it’s worked for their semi-nomadic lifestyle. Also love how many different places they have visited using their home-away-from-homes as a base for further travel.
It’s definitely an interesting way of traveling long term, which I personally wouldn’t enjoy. While I agree that our “earthly possessions” keep us pinned in one place, this nomad lifestyle is not for everybody. Being on the road all the time and having to live in hotels or somebody else’s house for longer or shorter periods of time would make me feel very displaced. As much as I like to hop on a plane and pack my bags, after 3-4 weeks on the road I feel the need to return home. I think I would have enjoyed lifestyle when I was in my 20s and had no attachments, but not now.
Hi Anda
Thanks for your comments. We can totally understand that house sitting and this way of life is not for everyone.
Cheers Jane and Duncan
I love that house sitting not just helps you while doing it also helps the owners to travel and gain freedom from their responsibilities for a while. Kudos guys! Keep up the good work.
Hi Puja
Thanks for your comments. It is a win win for both parties!
Cheers Jane and Duncan
The house sitting is still a new concept for me as I haven’t personally tried it. but it surely sounds quite interesting and economical. Its also a great way to cut the cost of accommodations on travels. Thank you for sharing it.
Hi Parnashree
Thanks for your comments. It is a great way to see the world.
Cheers Jane and DUncan
This is a great option for people looking for a long-term travel adventure. I have written about it in a couple of my blog posts and my impression is that a lot of people aren’t even aware this option exists. I’m glad to see you devoted such a comprehensive post on this topic.
Hi Daniel
Thanks for your comments. It is starting to become recognised now, but slowly.
Cheers Jane and Duncan