The Over-40 Digital Nomad by Kevin Casey

Author:Kevin Casey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: digital nomad, location independence, be your own boss, work for yourself, work from anywhere, travel for over-40s, mature-age travel, mature traveller, work from home
Publisher: Kimberley Publications
Published: 2017-06-01T00:00:00+00:00

International house sitting and caretaking

Accommodation always takes a huge chunk out of your travel budget, so anything that reduces these costs will let you travel longer. House sitting is an ideal solution for those who aren’t confined to a fixed schedule. If you’re prepared to move around to wherever the house-sitting opportunities are, you can spend much of the year living for free in other people’s homes.

House sitting can be short-term (a few days, a week, a month) or long-term (several months or up to a year). In exchange for providing security for the home, care for the resident pets and perhaps some basic gardening and upkeep, you get to live rent-free for the duration of the sit.

Becoming a house sitter isn’t difficult. There are several international house-sitting websites where you can create a profile, peruse the global offerings and apply for the locations/situations that interest you. Sometimes homeowners are looking for a couple; for others, a single person will do. House sitting websites normally charge a small yearly fee for membership. Popular sites include Trusted House Sitters, Mind My House, House Carers, Luxury House Sitters and Nomador. There are also country-specific websites such as Kiwi House Sitters.

Seasoned house sitters say that creating a good profile is crucial for success. It should have quality character references and tell people about your interests, personality, background and skills. Your profile helps homeowners get to know you and trust you, so they’ll feel comfortable letting you into their home. Your chances will improve if you include a video in your profile – it helps folks get a better feel for who you are as a person.

As a house sitter, you live like a local instead of a tourist. You feed the cats, walk the dogs, water the lawn and look after the property as if it were your own. You get to know the neighbours and become familiar with the nearest town. It’s a slower, more relaxed way to travel – and you get to meet some amazing homeowners, too.

House sitting is common all over the world. It’s a popular option for homeowners with pets who spend a lot of the year travelling. They know their animals will be cared for and their property occupied during their absence. Because free accommodation also usually comes with free Wi-Fi, house sitting is perfect for nomads with a part-time online business.

A house sitter’s main duty is being physically present at the home. International caretaking is similar but will often entail more duties and a salary. Fortunately, not all caretaking positions turn out like Jack Nicholson’s in The Shining.

Several websites list global caretaking opportunities. These include Working Couples, Caretaker Jobs, Caretaker Gazette, CoolWorks, Modern-day Nomads and a few others. Many caretaking jobs are seasonal and involve physically demanding outdoor work. Caretaking gigs might be in ski chalets, national parks, working ranches, fishing lodges and all manner of resorts, farms and camps.

If you’re a digital nomad and your business isn’t too time-consuming, caretaking a property can be an

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