For three months, Mark and I will be living in the roomy, comfortable house of an ex-rock star from the sixties and seventies (think Woodstock) and a renowned and accomplished artist (think ceramics, paintings), while they are seeking warmer climes, exchanging art for accommodation.
Every house sitting assignment is different and the tasks, requests and expectations depend on the house, the property, the owners and the pets. Some home owners require you to do yard maintenance, water the house plants or collect the mail; all of them, naturally, expect you to keep the house tidy and “return” it as clean as you found it or better. Usually there is at least one pet to take care of, which means setting food out once or twice a day, making sure the water bowl is always filled with clean water, taking the dog out for a daily walk, and sometimes administering medicines or brushing the animal. Although not every dog owner expects it, Mark and I have the tendency to shower dogs with love, attention and company. It goes without saying that a responsible house sitter is prepared to take the pets to the vet or emergency room when necessary and reports general issues back to the owners, while trying to fix or solve problematic situations.
Time to chill in the TV room
Just like in many other places of the world, Christmas had been highly anticipated in The Villages, Florida, with decorated squares, benches, golf carts and houses.
Mark and I went to a “sound and light” spectacle in one of the neighborhoods in The Villages. The Christmas light display was a riot: humorous, beautiful and very popular. Colorful lights in the yards of many different houses “danced” to the music of the local radio station. One could walk by the several displays or take a golf cart tour. Continue reading
I had seen a few house sits listed in an area called The Villages over the past months. Until recently, I thought it was just another town in central Florida, nothing special about it. I was wrong. This place is special, and in more than one way!
Mark and I took this two-week house and pet sitting assignment, because the ad sounded attractive and we wanted a break from the New England scene and its cold-ish weather. When we started telling people that we would be going to The Villages, the reactions were interesting and made our venture more exciting. Statements like “I didn’t know you guys played golf.” “Make sure you don’t get in trouble!” “I hear that people show their marital status and sexual desires with certain flags displayed on their golf cart.” “There is a black market for Viagra, and STDs are widespread.” “Did you know children are not allowed?” and “Watch out for those old men, they might try to steal you away from Mark!” peaked our curiosity… Continue reading
It all came about rather quickly. I saw an appealing house sitting job in Florida. It was only for two weeks. Mark and I had seen more of these before and “ignored” them, because moving all our belongings and electronics for a time period of only two weeks is not ideal for us. Especially if the house sit is 1500+ miles away… But, we had not found any other attractive sitting opportunities for December yet, we could use some sunshine before our next (three month) house sit in cold Connecticut, and we needed a change of scenery. Still, it was a long drive to enjoy our favorite weather…
I am catching up on a few places that we have visited while house sitting. I guess you can call these posts “photo blogs”, since I am mainly wanting to share some sites we enjoyed on our days off. Rockport is a cute town, very close to Gloucester. It was the first time for Mark and I (so was Gloucester) to explore this little gem on the water; the day coincided with their “Harvest Fest”. Many buildings are historical, the store, cafe and restaurant fronts are attractive and the harbor area is a pleasant place to be. Continue reading
A big advantage of house sitting is that you can move around the state, the country and even the world to check out new areas while performing house and pet sitting duties. The thought of immersing ourselves in these new places by staying for prolonged periods of time is one of the main reasons for Mark and me to commit to this exciting lifestyle. Continue reading
Mark and I have lived in a very pleasant climate for the last eight years. Longer, if you count our yearlong overland adventure in Mexico and Central America prior to that. We love blue skies. We love to hang out in little more than a bathing suit. We love small piles of laundry. We love to jump in the ocean to cool off or sit in the shade with a good book. We cherished that part of our previous life, forgetting the times that we melted away from heat and humidity during the summer time… But the winters in the tropics were so very comfortable! We listened to the “horrifying” stories from land-based friends and family in the US and Europe and we smiled.
Now, we have our temporary base in New England, USA. We are in the Boston area, a region with record snow and cold temperatures last year. And, winter is coming… Continue reading
Mark and I are spreading the word about our inclination and availability to house sit for people needing to leave their home and pet(s) for a little while, either for pleasure or for work. When we brought this up to our brother-in-law a little while ago, he agreed it would be a good idea for us to move into his cottage while he went on a two week vacation. He is the caretaker of a beautiful property in Greenwich, Connecticut and lives on-site. The Manhattan-based owners of the domain were equally pleased with our suggestion to watch the cottage (the main house is set back on the property), the dog and the two cockatiels. We were not in charge of the property by any means, but kept an eye on things, taking action whenever something would go amiss. It would be our second house sitting position, not too long after the Gloucester one. Continue reading
The idea of a house and pet sitting lifestyle sounds great in theory and is pretty amazing in reality as well, but… what to do in between assignments? That is, if you don’t have a place of your own like us. Staying in hotels is cost-prohibitive, a hassle and contrary to our frugal manners. The chance that one house sit position smoothly transitions into the next is pretty rare as well. And, visiting with friends is not a long-term solution. So, what is the answer? Continue reading
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