House sitting has fast become
one of my favourite ways to travel. I’ve lived in some amazing locations, left
pieces of my heart in several different places (leaving pets can be soooo
difficult), made new friends, and saved a ton on accommodation.
Here’s my guide on how to set yourself up for house-sitting success – even if you don’t have any references or prior experience. I’ve based this guide on the sections in Trusted Housesitters, though you can adapt the basic principles to whichever platform you choose.
‘Run your business from anywhere, save money on accommodation, and hang
out with cute animals.’
With benefits like these, you
can see why house sitting is increasingly popular amongst long-term travellers
and digital nomads. It’s certainly what appealed to me.
Being in my 40s, I’m older than
many nomads and certainly past the stage of wanting to rough it in hostels. But
in my first couple of years as a solo female traveller, accommodation costs
were my biggest struggle. I prefer my own space so that I can work and workout
without interruption. I like a comfortable place to relax and chill out. And
finding somewhere that fits the bill within my price range was becoming
increasingly difficult on Airbnb. Especially after the nosedive in the value of
the GBP after the Brexit referendum.
So I turned to house sitting. And
what started out as a way for me to cut costs as I travel has turned into one
of my favourite ways of travelling…
Last February, I set a heap of goals for 2018. Much as I’m embarrassed to review them (at least publicly) a third of the way through the following year, I write these posts to hold myself accountable, so I won’t cop out. Besides, I hate leaving loose ends…
As I mentioned in my 2018 travel review I was occupied with a few large projects last year, which is why this travel blog took a bit of a back seat. Unsurprisingly, some of my goals did too. Here’s how I got on.
Well, it’s February so, err, time to commit my 2018 goals to writing! It’s kind of fitting to write them now as late Jan/early Feb is usually when my nomad adventures begin again. I spent January back in the UK, like most years, enjoying time with my family, catching up with friends, and finishing a couple of jobs. Now I’m back in the lovely little house I’m renting in Rhodes, Greece, and I’m fully back into work mode (and on a health kick after all that delicious and not-at-all calorific festive food and drink!).
Like my 2017 goals (see how I got on in my review of 2017), my 2018 goals are very business-focused, because I’m kicking it up a gear with my business in order to achieve more freedom in other areas of my life. Hence I’m hunkering down in Greece for a few months to kick-start the process.
As I mentioned at the start of my review of 2016, I was kinda glad to see the back of last year. It was my second year as a digital nomad and I had another great year of travel. But I struggled with some aspects of my business and I was distracted by the fallout from the Brexit referendum.
So I felt ready for a fresh start.
I love planning for the New Year, and always surround myself with a variety of planners and workbooks, looking back on my achievements and noting where I can improve things.
One of my first posts on this blog last year was my goals for 2016. I felt a little uneasy putting them out there, then realised my blog was new and no bugger was probably reading it anyway. Because promotion… But I realised I liked having them up there to keep me accountable, though my perfectionist tendencies were screaming, ‘but can you admit if you fail so publically?’ Well, yes I can. Because goals are meant to be challenging. What’s the point of setting something that isn’t going to stretch you personally and professionally?
One mistake I did make while setting my goals was not making some of them measurable. So I aim to put that right this year.
Things are still unsettled in Brexitland and I’m still struggling with the uncertainty of it all. Not only do I believe the EU to be largely positive, if in need of reform, we seem to be hurtling out of control towards a ‘hard’ Brexit at the hands of an unelected Prime Minister, which has the power to completely change how I live my life and, depending how things pan out this year, I may need to make some changes. But for now I will only focus on the things I can control.
So without further ado, here are my goals for 2017…
