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s://readmedium.com/touchdown-in-costa-rica-part-two-9ab179ab47c4">Our 2-month sit</a> rolled over into another 2.5 months at a second house on the same beach. In the second sit we ran a 2 bedroom cabina rental as well, and actually made some money at the job! <b>We could see then that housesitting was a great way to travel and explore the world, all while keeping our expenses down.</b></p><p id="e2dd">Our next housesit would take us to Nicaragua where we took care of a house for 2 Canadians that were traveling back to Canada. Unfortunately, civil war broke out, and we had to leave the country unexpectedly.</p><div id="d522" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/we-fled-war-in-nicaragua-and-discovered-our-passion-10ddfcaa55fa"> <div> <div> <h2>We Fled War In Nicaragua and Discovered Our Passion</h2> <div><h3>When one door closes, another one opens.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*CKLGzj4uZ2P_N4Av1Cl2ng.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="19ce">In Central America, we also housesat in Livingston, Guatemala. It was a unique experience living in an area of the country that had a completely different culture than that of the rest of the country.</p><figure id="82f9"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*pjbb2pnB7jGLj2Rc9Q7vZA.jpeg"><figcaption>The view from our bedroom at our housesit in Livingston, Guatemala. Photo Credit: Author</figcaption></figure><div id="75fe" class="link-block"> <a href="https://artisticvoyages.medium.com/five-weeks-housesitting-in-livingston-guatemala-e1e6f62e542"> <div> <div> <h2>Experiencing Livingston, Guatemala</h2> <div><h3>A Garifuna culture with a Mayan Hispanic twist!</h3></div> <div><p>artisticvoyages.medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*pjbb2pnB7jGLj2Rc9Q7vZA.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="9f0e">We also made our way out to the Caribbean and housesat and volunteered at a Botanical Garden on the island of Nevis for almost 6 months. We took care of a house, 2 dogs, and a pregnant cat that ended up having her <a href="https://readmedium.com/a-cat-had-her-babies-on-my-pillow-7148eaa98b01">kittens right on my pillow as I was sleeping</a>!</p><p id="de29">We did 3 house sits when we returned to Canada for a visit in 2019 and our final housesit would take us all the way to Botswana in 2021.</p><h2 id="3e64">Future Housesits</h2><p id="8dbf">These days we find it increasingly difficult to over-plan our future. It seems like that was a past part of ourselves, and these days we like to take it one day at a time and see what unfolds. But that isn’t to say that we don’t have any plans.</p><p id="ec22">Since our last housesit which incidentally finished almost exactly a year ago in Botswana, we have only had one other housesit on the horizon. We were supposed to take care of a friend's house in Mallorca for July and August of this year. However, in late December she wrote me to tell me that her plans had changed and they were going to have to postpone their travels.</p><p id="d592">It turned out to be a bit of a relief for us since traveling all the way to Mallorca seemed like a big journey for us, plus we were a bit concerned about the cost of living there, and the crazy temperatures that come in the summer months.</p><p id="6bcd">However, shortly after posting about our <a href="https://readmedium.com/surprise-we-are-going-to-greece-41a92c47340c">plans changing</a>, I remembered that we also had a friend in Northern Italy that had wanted us to housesit in July for her.</p><p id="58f7">I messaged her to let her know that our schedule had opened up, and she was thrilled to hear this. She hasn’t solidified her travel plans just yet, but it looks like we will probably be heading there this summer to housesit, instead of to Spain.</p><figure id="81d6"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*1l8wDtlLbWMgRncCJPC9lw.jpeg"><figcaption>This is Manolo, o

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ne of the dogs we took care of in Costa Rica at the second housesit. He liked to swim out to us when we were in the water. Photo Credit: Author</figcaption></figure><h2 id="7e2c">Staying open to opportunities</h2><p id="9f94">We have a few sets of friends that make housesitting a full-time job. They basically plan their housesits and traveling a year in advance, and all of their travels have to do with getting to their gigs.</p><p id="5dda">We feel that a structured plan like this means that there is no room for more opportunities and surprises that can come up with traveling. Leaving room for randomness, is the key to really enjoying this lifestyle.</p><p id="a3b0">While it is sometimes nice to have a skeleton plan in place, and a destination to get to eventually, we like to make sure that we also take each day as it comes, and enjoy the minutes in between.</p><p id="518f">Housesitting is a great way to see the world. You really get an in-depth look at the places that you are visiting, and you often get to meet the neighbours and become part of a community. Plus, you get to take care of some pretty awesome pets!</p><p id="87c8" type="7">That is usually the top highlight of it all!</p><p id="3927"><b><i>If you are interested in checking out the housesitting platform that we use, please click the link below. Please know that if you do sign up for the platform through this link, I will receive a referral bonus.</i></b></p><div id="c5ee" class="link-block"> <a href="https://www.housecarers.com/hs.cfm?rref=2138TGA"> <div> <div> <h2>House sitters register online for house sitting in United States or worldwide housesits.</h2> <div><h3>Please do not register if you are a pet or House Sitting business seeking remuneration or employment. The House Sitters…</h3></div> <div><p>www.housecarers.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/0*NXQJ1ke6kp1KDkIs)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><figure id="c291"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*IDlDKuxoG0gmCX-cVp-Utw.png"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><div id="dc56" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/its-easy-to-get-house-sitting-jobs-here-s-how-5e271a07401f"> <div> <div> <h2>It’s Easy To Get House Sitting Jobs — Here’s How</h2> <div><h3>Your profile can be the clincher.</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*Bme-GQept4xlXRxfwU6veQ.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><div id="f2b9" class="link-block"> <a href="https://artisticvoyages.medium.com/how-to-get-free-accommodation-while-traveling-10d35d2f6164"> <div> <div> <h2>How To Get Free Accommodation While Traveling</h2> <div><h3>Yes! It is possible, here’s how…….</h3></div> <div><p>artisticvoyages.medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*CKLGzj4uZ2P_N4Av1Cl2ng.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="fb97"><b><i>If you like my writing and want to read more, subscribe to Medium through my <a href="https://artisticvoyages.medium.com/membership">referral link</a> (I will earn a small commission) to get full access! Plus sign up <a href="https://artisticvoyages.medium.com/subscribe">here</a> to get my articles by email!</i></b></p><p id="93fe"><i>We have been nomadic since 2017! Join our journey by hitting the links below!</i></p><p id="4096"><a href="http://www.artisticvoyages.com/">Website</a> | <a href="http://www.instagram.com/artisticvoyages">Instagram</a> | <a href="http://www.facebook.com/artisticvoyages">Facebook</a> | <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillianamatt/">LinkedIn</a>| <a href="http://www.patreon.com/artisticvoyages">Patreon</a>|<a href="http://www.youtube.com/c/artisticvoyages"> YouTube</a> | <a href="https://artisticvoyages.medium.com/">Mediu</a>m</p></article></body>

TRAVEL | HOUSESITTING | ACCOMMODATION

Housesitting Is a Great Way To Travel the World

It was a housesitting job that originally sent us on our way to a life of full-time travel.

Walking the dogs on the beach at our first housesit in Costa Rica. 2017. Photo Credit: Author

In January 2017, when we decided to sell all of our things to travel full-time, we didn’t know where we were going, or when it would happen. Originally we felt that it may take us 2 years to get rid of all of our possessions. Beyond getting rid of everything, our house had renovations that needed to be finished before we could sell it, so we also had to build those into our plans somehow.

After making our decision to live this lifestyle, I started researching ways that people were making full-time travel work for them. Of course, housesitting was one way that people could travel to unique destinations, and live for free while doing it.

But how could one get such a cool job?

I figured that surely the competition was fierce and it would be a matter of pure luck to get selected to do something like this.

But then one day I listened to a podcast that spoke about housesitting. They said that you simply had to create a profile on a website, wait for the housesitting opportunities to get posted, then apply for the ones that you were interested in.

It sounded easy enough, so I went ahead and started a profile for us. Of course, we had no idea when we would get rid of everything and be free to travel, but I figured that it would be good to at least get on the platform and see what opportunities there were.

Immediately I was captivated by the opportunities that were coming up. Housesits in Ecuador, Mexico, and far-flung destinations like Malaysia caught my eye. However, they were all too soon, and I knew that we couldn’t start applying for these until we had a better idea of when we would be ready for traveling.

One evening we had a couple of friends come over for dinner and I told them about what we had done and how there were a lot of cool housesitting opportunities coming up.

“Oh, those jobs are impossible to get. I wouldn’t even bother trying to do that.” One of them said.

‘Geez, thanks for the encouragement,’ I couldn’t help but think.

Little did I know that this would be just the start of people being threatened by what we were about to do, and we would have to tackle many more nay-sayers along our journey.

How we got our first housesitting job

One month after setting up our profile, we got a message from a lady with a house in Costa Rica. She told me that our profile looked great and that she wanted us to house-sit for 4 months later that year. At this point it was April and she needed us for September. We had just started selling and getting rid of our possessions, and we hadn’t even started to tackle the renovations yet.

I sadly wrote her back, explained our situation, and told her that September would be impossible for us. I figured that would be the end of it, but she was not to be deterred. She suggested that she could split the house sit by getting a couple for September and October if we could commit to November and December. It was a bit of a stretch for us, but we were excited about this opportunity! How could we possibly say no?

After wondering how on earth we would ever get housesitting gigs, here was one being placed right on our laps!

And to top it off it was in Costa Rica, and right on the beach! We couldn’t think of a better place to start our nomadic journey.

We talked it over for a few minutes then decided that we had to take this opportunity. It would give us the push we needed to get everything done, and it made what we had decided very real. Our life of full-time travel was suddenly in our sights!

Past Housesits

Costa Rica turned out to be just the start that we needed in our full-time traveling journey. Our 2-month sit rolled over into another 2.5 months at a second house on the same beach. In the second sit we ran a 2 bedroom cabina rental as well, and actually made some money at the job! We could see then that housesitting was a great way to travel and explore the world, all while keeping our expenses down.

Our next housesit would take us to Nicaragua where we took care of a house for 2 Canadians that were traveling back to Canada. Unfortunately, civil war broke out, and we had to leave the country unexpectedly.

We Fled War In Nicaragua and Discovered Our Passion

When one door closes, another one opens.

medium.com

In Central America, we also housesat in Livingston, Guatemala. It was a unique experience living in an area of the country that had a completely different culture than that of the rest of the country.

The view from our bedroom at our housesit in Livingston, Guatemala. Photo Credit: Author

Experiencing Livingston, Guatemala

A Garifuna culture with a Mayan Hispanic twist!

artisticvoyages.medium.com

We also made our way out to the Caribbean and housesat and volunteered at a Botanical Garden on the island of Nevis for almost 6 months. We took care of a house, 2 dogs, and a pregnant cat that ended up having her kittens right on my pillow as I was sleeping!

We did 3 house sits when we returned to Canada for a visit in 2019 and our final housesit would take us all the way to Botswana in 2021.

Future Housesits

These days we find it increasingly difficult to over-plan our future. It seems like that was a past part of ourselves, and these days we like to take it one day at a time and see what unfolds. But that isn’t to say that we don’t have any plans.

Since our last housesit which incidentally finished almost exactly a year ago in Botswana, we have only had one other housesit on the horizon. We were supposed to take care of a friend's house in Mallorca for July and August of this year. However, in late December she wrote me to tell me that her plans had changed and they were going to have to postpone their travels.

It turned out to be a bit of a relief for us since traveling all the way to Mallorca seemed like a big journey for us, plus we were a bit concerned about the cost of living there, and the crazy temperatures that come in the summer months.

However, shortly after posting about our plans changing, I remembered that we also had a friend in Northern Italy that had wanted us to housesit in July for her.

I messaged her to let her know that our schedule had opened up, and she was thrilled to hear this. She hasn’t solidified her travel plans just yet, but it looks like we will probably be heading there this summer to housesit, instead of to Spain.

This is Manolo, one of the dogs we took care of in Costa Rica at the second housesit. He liked to swim out to us when we were in the water. Photo Credit: Author

Staying open to opportunities

We have a few sets of friends that make housesitting a full-time job. They basically plan their housesits and traveling a year in advance, and all of their travels have to do with getting to their gigs.

We feel that a structured plan like this means that there is no room for more opportunities and surprises that can come up with traveling. Leaving room for randomness, is the key to really enjoying this lifestyle.

While it is sometimes nice to have a skeleton plan in place, and a destination to get to eventually, we like to make sure that we also take each day as it comes, and enjoy the minutes in between.

Housesitting is a great way to see the world. You really get an in-depth look at the places that you are visiting, and you often get to meet the neighbours and become part of a community. Plus, you get to take care of some pretty awesome pets!

That is usually the top highlight of it all!

If you are interested in checking out the housesitting platform that we use, please click the link below. Please know that if you do sign up for the platform through this link, I will receive a referral bonus.

House sitters register online for house sitting in United States or worldwide housesits.

Please do not register if you are a pet or House Sitting business seeking remuneration or employment. The House Sitters…

www.housecarers.com

It’s Easy To Get House Sitting Jobs — Here’s How

Your profile can be the clincher.

medium.com

How To Get Free Accommodation While Traveling

Yes! It is possible, here’s how…….

artisticvoyages.medium.com

If you like my writing and want to read more, subscribe to Medium through my referral link (I will earn a small commission) to get full access! Plus sign up here to get my articles by email!

We have been nomadic since 2017! Join our journey by hitting the links below!