🖋️Feature: Why "Housesitting" as a term does not encapsulate the experience fully | Part II | #105
🖋️Feature: Why "Housesitting" as a term does not encapsulate the experience fully | Part II | #105
One month is SW France and we are keen for more housesitting opportunities!
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🇫🇷 Edition #105 is coming from around Tarbes, in South West France.
We are 1 week into our FIRST Housesit Experience!
Regular readers will know that during my recent sabbatical, after having the chance to stop, reflect and recover, I got curious about housesitting, which some nomads had recommended to me as a good way to find nomad ready, affordable long-term accommodation.
Given that my income is lower than usual this year (due to taking a full quarter off from work), plus our families’ love of animals, I decided to investigate pet and house sitting as a potential way to combine WFA, travel and family life!
With less live and sync work this year - which I intentionally designed into my workload for 2024 - I have more time to research and experiment, satisfying my curious nature.
Saving costs, given the cost of living crisis is key aim financially of mine, so no-better way to do this than with house-sitting and reutilizing an empty property somewhere to meet your lodging needs!
✍🏻 Notes: If you want regular updates, see y’all on Substack Notes.
The thing is, over these early days of the sit, it has dawned on me that the term house-sitting DOES NOT adequately sum up our experience* so far and below I try and encapsulate why.
*Note: this is our first sit and our hosts are super experienced, so a caveat that not all house-sits gigs could be of the same level of attention, care and hospitality. Still, reading the reviews (see below), some are! So sharing a best-case example to start.
ps. For pet and house sitting visit TrustedHousesitters to get 25% off annual memberships use: ROREMOTE25.
The Warmest Welcome
I guess why would it occur to me before embarking on this journey that houseowners (HO) don’t only want you to come and care for their home and pets, they also want to welcome you 110% during the initial induction period.
I had an induction period, but from reading listings and reviews, I am not sure that is always the case - so worth keeping an open mind. The rule seems to be each different house-sit offered, is as different as the place and house!
In this case, I arrived 2 days beforehand (it could have been 1) to meet the cat and chickens, learn about the house, garden and general chores.
BUT, what surprised me was the warmth of the welcome, the hospitality, the home cooked food, the local tours and walks of the area and the effort made to make me feel comfortable.
Which was all a lovely surprise!
✍🏻 Notes: If you want regular updates, see y’all on Substack Notes.
FarmStay feels with my family
I spent the first few days on my own at the property, getting into a rountine, then my family arrived too, making it a Family Farmstay experience, here’s why:
The listing for our home sit was that there was a garden, grounds, animals etc. but I guess - just like most stuff on the internet! - it is hard to really judge how a property really looks and feels like until you are there in the flesh!
For us, we are surprised and began to call it a FarmStay pretty quickly.
We knew the chickens would lay eggs, but we did not know we. could eat fresh Chard, Cabbage, Broccoli every day and also.
The herb garden has provided two types of fresh mint, one regular and one sweet, which my daughter has been preparing everyday as her “Moroccan mint tea” for breakfast, we have also been experimenting with the edible flowers in our baking (see image in lower section, below).
Farms (as small as this one maybe!) provide a chance to educate a child, so we have been enjoying and discussing:
Chicken behaviour in particular as one of our hen’s as become “broody”
Cat independence and night hunting adventures
Wild bird feeding habits and songs
All around feeding and being responsible for these animals in our daily family routine, which is vital and a huge learning experience for our 10 year old, which she is loving!
See our fresh eggs below:
Community integration, if you like
Due to my induction period and also the fact the the HO’s were initially concerned I would be on my own *too much* and be lonely, they introduced me to various local contacts (both French and ex-pats with English and Spanish) before they departed.
For all of those contacts I get addresses (some are neighbours) and contact numbers, making me feel welcome and supported by the locals. Again, this is optional and for now, I am not sure how much contact I will make with these people but it is reassuring to know I can reach out if I need or choose to.
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A home not a house sit
As house-sit newbies we were also surprised at how homely it all feels, likening the experience so far to how you might feel if an old friend asked you to visit.
Or, if you were doing a house-swap with some extended family.
When you generally use rental accommodation, prepared for rental periods, it is SUCH a different atmosphere and vibe.
It is a home, it has lots of bedrooms, space, garden, outhouses, a library summer room, a fully-stocked kitchen, an attic art room and two offices.
It is a very spacious and well equipped home and farm, with so much room to explore and enjoy all of the different nooks and crannies.
Recently in Canfranc, our apartment accommodation was good but basic and more like a holiday-let, although I did keep the budget to under 50 euros per day for the month stay, it was very holiday let in size and feel.
This however, feels so homely and comes with all the things you would expect in a large 4 bedroomed home in the countryside.
One example of the advantages is a fully stocked kitchen for cooking and baking, which means we have taken advantage completely of that and my daughter has been making various cakes and buns, pictured below:
But plus home caretaking chores
I suppose in life there is always a but, when you house-sit for someone it is an exchange - let’s be clear, a transaction. You use their property and home, in return for whatever chores they request, which can include:
pet care and monitoring
plant watering
garden maintenance and care
general house attention and security
plus possible other requests, depending on the house sit offered
So far, I have called these “our daily chores” which we share out and I for one like as it provides a routine for the day and also makes the trade only seem fair!
Not only have you got shelter, comfortable lodging, water, electricity etc. - so far for us, our first house-sitting experience in France is very special and feels like home away from home.
Curious about house sitting? For pet and house sitting visit TrustedHousesitters to get 25% off annual memberships use: ROREMOTE25.
✍🏻 Notes: If you want regular updates, see y’all on Substack Notes.
My next Part III (which will be for paid subscribers only) of this series on House-sitting - will be on the cost breakdown of our month long stay and how remote-work-ready this housesit gig was, plus any learnings from our first house-sit-gig. Subscribe below!
TLDR: 🫱🏽🫲🏾 In case you don’t know me already, I am Ro, I am based in Zaragoza, Spain with my Location Independent, somewhat Nomadic (4-6 months a years of nomading) family. For work, I am a Remote Work and Digital Nomad Expert, Advisor and Writer, oh and a Linkedin Top Voice.
All my web and FREE resource links are here and you can book a 1:1 here.
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May the road rise to meet you,
love n light,
💚 Ro