Dive in to Issue 4 by Ian Usher Welcome to Issue 4 of House Sitting Magazine, brought to you this month from the beautiful old colonial city of Granada in Nicaragua. We have been here for about three weeks, and have one more week left at our current house sit before moving on. At the end of the month we are heading north, up through Central America. We plan a few stop-offs along the way, in Honduras, San Salvador and Guatemala, before our return to Mexico for a repeat sit in San Miguel de Allende. Nicaragua has offered a variety of interesting experiences. Before our house sit began we dropped off our bags with the home owners and headed to the coastal town of San Juan del Sur, for a couple of relaxing days by the sea. It is low season here, so we had the place practically to ourselves.
We spent another night in a hostel overlooking the stunning volcano crater lake of Laguna de Apoya, close to Granada. The water is crystal clear and beautifully warm.
We were very excited to find out that Nat and Jodie from House Sitting Academy were also house sitting in Granada at the same time. It was fun getting to meet them in person, and share some house sitting stories over a couple of big jugs of Sangria. House Sitting Academy is hosting the first every House Sitting Summit, and we also enjoyed a poolside interview with Jodie, which you'll be able to see if you sign up to this great event!
Our current charges, now the house sit is well under way, are a lot of fun. Tabby is a very lively and smart boxer dog with boundless energy, and our four cats are easy to look after, and demand very little from us. We have a swimming pool too, which Vanessa is enjoying to the full.
Of course, we also have to maintain the pool, which I get to "enjoy". Just joking! I do like the process of looking after a swimming pool, keeping it clean, and checking the chemical balance to ensure all is working as it should. There is a tremendous satisfaction in jumping in crystal clear cool water on a hot afternoon, knowing the pool is in great condition. In fact, swimming pools are quite a feature in this issue, as we have an in-depth article covering the basics of swimming pool maintenance. If you want to secure the luxury assignments with your own pool, you need to dive into this one !! We also take a look at house sitting expectations from both sides of the house sitting equation, and examine why misunderstandings can lead to problems. Learn how to avoid the most common issues. We take a look at vacationing close to home; computer security while on the road; and consider cultural differences you may encounter when applying for house sit assignments. There are the usual features, such as the picture gallery and other bonus snippets, and this month's "Resources" section features a great website for rail travel information and ideas. We'd love it too if you could help us out by reviewing the magazine. It only takes a couple of minutes, less if you simply use the star rating system.
So, once again, we hope you enjoy the magazine and look forward to your comments, questions and suggestions. ian@HouseSittingMagazine.com vanessa@HouseSittingMagazine.com Happy house sitting, Ian and Vanessa (currently house sitting in Granada, Nicaragua)
Tabby: "I've got my eye on you."
You'll find extra news, reviews and snippets throughout the magazine!
House sitting skills - Basic swimming pool chemistry Ian Usher
That's unrealistic! Or is it? Vanessa Anderson
Cultural differences when house sitting Mariannig Ferrari
How to stop your dog barking Dan "Doggy Dan" Abdelnoor
Destination Staycation - Discover your part of the world Alannah McEwan
An introduction to VPNs Martin Robson
Why we recommend PureVPN Vanessa Anderson
Money matters - The mathematics of freedom Ian Usher
Get started on your road to freedom: Teach English Vanessa Anderson
Sell all your stuff for what it's worth! Al McCullough
First time ever - "The House Sitting Summit" Nat Smith and Jodie Burnham
Meet, greet, eat - Baked apples with dried fruit and rolled oat topping Jen Evans
Photo gallery Resources In the next issue...
House sitting skills - basic swimming pool chemistry by Ian Usher
Do you ever dream about house sitting a beautiful property with a swimming pool? Imagine plunging into crystal-clear cool water on a hot sunny morning, or incorporating swimming into your daily fitness routine. What a wonderful luxury to spend a warm evening lounging on a floating chair with a glass of wine, or taking a quick refreshing dip in the middle of a scorching sunny afternoon.
If you'd like to offer your house sitting services for home owners with pools you need to learn some of the basics of swimming pool maintenance. A pool is a huge investment for the home owner, and after pets, is often the main reason swimming pool owners will employ the services of a house sitter. Swimming pools require regular, reasonably simple, on-going attention. You can't expect to simply swim every day without carrying out the routine maintenance tasks that will keep the pool in tip-top condition. Spending time learning about pool maintenance is a great investment, as it will put you in a much better position when applying for such assignments. To give you an idea of what is possible, here are pictures from three of our recent house sitting locations.
We were able to secure these wonderful house sits thanks in some degree to our experience in looking after swimming pools. In each case one of the home owner's major concerns was that they would return to a murky green swamp, rather than a crystal-clear pool. In almost all situations pools will be trouble free, especially during a short house sit. However, we recently experienced a cyclone during our assignment in Fiji, where excess vegetation in the pool turned many of them green overnight.
Understanding that this was also likely to happen to our pool meant our first task was to get the leaves and sand out as quickly as possible. By taking swift action we avoided the need to completely empty, clean and refill our pool. This would have been a time consuming and fairly costly process.
Do you have what it takes to look after a pool? Here are a few suggestions to help you get started on building your swimming pool knowledge:
If you have friends with a pool, try to spend time with them, asking about their routines and the chemicals they use. Watch how they test the water, and learn how to interpret the results. If you don't know anyone with a backyard pool, you could visit your local council-run sports facility to see if you can get some time with the swimming pool manager. Shadow him on his regular maintenance tasks. The scale is a bit larger than a home pool, but the basic chemistry is the same. Find out if your local pool shop or hardware store is planning on offering any basic pool care courses. Failing this, simply search online and study the basics – there's a wealth of information out there.
An overview of basic pool chemistry There are three main goals when looking after a swimming pool: 1) Swimmer comfort A pool is for pleasure, so a major consideration is that the water doesn't cause skin irritations or sore eyes. The water should be clear and have no strong odour. 2) Germ neutralisation Pool water should be free from pathogens and have no risk of causing any sort of infection. 3) Equipment care A mix of chemicals are used to achieve the first two goals, but it's extremely important these chemicals do not damage the pool or related equipment, which can be expensive to repair or replace. Good care and maintenance should also prolong the life of the equipment as much as possible.
Let's look at how these goals are achieved Maintain pH balance pH is one of the most vital aspects of pool chemistry. As well as being a major factor in swimmer comfort, it affects how most of the other chemicals in the pool work together. pH is a measure of the acidity or alkalinity of the water. You may remember from school chemistry that pH is measured on a scale ranging from 0 to 14.
0 is extremely acidic and 14 is very alkaline. 7.0, right in the middle, is neutral. Our eyes have a pH of 7.2, so this is considered to be the most comfortable pH level for pool water, but anywhere between 7.0 and 7.8 is acceptable. If the pH of a pool is too high it can be lowered by the addition of hydrochloric acid, often referred to as muratic acid, when used for swimming pools. This comes in liquid form. If pH is too low it can be raised with sodium carbonate, a white powder, also called soda ash or washing soda. Getting the pH right is usually the first step to keeping a pool in great condition, as this has such a big effect on other chemicals present. The next step is making sure the pool is safe in biological terms.
Testing the pool regularly is vital. There are many different types of test kits. Make sure you understand the testing method your home owner prefers.
Chlorine levels The vast majority of pools use chlorine to kill bacteria and microbes in the water, which if unchecked can multiply quickly, resulting in unsanitary swimming conditions. Some pools use bromine rather than chlorine, but we'll stick to the basics here. You can study further online if you need information specific to bromine pools. Chlorine can be introduced into pools in several ways – powder, liquid, gas, or by salt water generation (SWG). Some people are under the misapprehension that salt water pools do not use chlorine at all – this isn't the case. Whichever method is used the goal is the same – clean, germ-free water. To achieve this the pool needs enough chlorine to kill contaminants, but not so much that it causes swimmer discomfort. In the process of killing germs chlorine is used up, and therefore needs replacing. The more swimmers there are, the more work is created for the chlorine to deal with. pH, sunlight and water temperature all impact the effectiveness of the chlorine in the pool. Some pool systems are chlorinated by fully automated systems and simply need occasional checks to confirm all is operating well. Other pools generate some chlorine automatically, but also need an element of manual balancing too. Some pools are chlorinated manually all the time.
Regular testing and small adjustments to chlorine levels are much better than the occasional random test followed by a slightly panicky mass input of chlorine! When testing chlorine levels there are three readings:
Free chlorine Combined chlorine Total chlorine
Free chlorine is responsible for killing the germs. Combined chlorine is the result of this germ neutralisation, and total chlorine is these two added together. You can read more about the different stages of the chlorination process here, or at many other pool websites.
Regular testing and cleaning will ensure small issues do not develop into serious problems.
Buffering pH and chlorine Two agents are used to buffer pH and chlorine levels, with the aim of keeping them within a narrow range to increase the effectiveness of the whole system. Total alkalinity (TA) is a measure of the pool water's ability to resist changes in pH. The goal is to keep TA within a range that holds the pH steady. If TA is too low then pH can fluctuate wildly. If TA is too high, it can be extremely hard to adjust the pH if you need to change it. Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) is used to raise TA. It will also raise pH level at the same time. To lower TA the only practical method is to dump some pool water and top up with fresh water. Cyanuric acid (CYA), usually in granular powder form, is used to stabilise chlorine levels, and helps the chlorine to be more effective. CYA is also referred to as "stabiliser" or "conditioner". Chlorine dissipates quickly in sunlight, so is usually added to outdoor pools in the evening. CYA helps prevent this chlorine loss, and also means less chlorine needs to be added to create the same degree of disinfection. There are several other factors at work in the pool too. They are beyond the scope of this article, which aims to arm you with all of the basics needed to cover the most commonly encountered situations.
Your next luxurious assignment As a house sitter you will need to discuss in detail how the home owner maintains the pool, and follow their suggestions and requirements. Your understanding of basic pool chemistry, together with the ability to test pool water and interpret the results, will give the home owner confidence that you'll be able to keep their pool in excellent condition. I love this aspect of house sitting and get a little "pool separation anxiety" when I leave a property. It's very satisfying to keep or restore a swimming pool to perfect conditions. I keep a spreadsheet with all my test results and environmental conditions when looking after a pool – this is particularly useful for repeat sits and to give home owners a record of activity during longer assignments. As you build your experience of looking after pools you can also build on your own knowledge and understanding. You will soon find that you are being considered for some very luxurious assignments.
Some useful resources This website is my favourite for a simple, basic overview of all the chemicals and measurements involved, and how everything works together: http://poolcalculator.com/chemistry.html There is also a great tool for calculating quantities of chemicals based on pool volume and what you are trying to achieve. See here: http://poolcalculator.com/index.html There are lots of other resources available online. Here are a few useful pdf files you can download for reference. An internet search will produce a wealth information if you run into any sort of problem. A Pool Owner's Guide (Arm and Hammer) Swimming Pool Water Chemistry Fact Sheet Domestic Swimming Pools: Water Care
A final word of warning Before you start any hands-on work with pool chemicals, make sure you read all the labels, follow the guidelines and use the appropriate safety wear. These chemicals can be dangerous if not handled properly and should be stored away from children and pets. Never mix chemicals together, use the appropriate containers, and always ask for qualified assistance from your local pool specialist if you are unsure about anything.
That's unrealistic! Or is it? by Vanessa Anderson
Producing a magazine every month that continually provides new and interesting information, specifically about house sitting, is a bit of a challenge. In search of inspiration I spend a lot of my time reading comments on house sitting forums and social media sites! One of the topics that arises over and over, in a variety of guises, is about "unrealistic" expectations of either the house sitter or the home owner. Sadly the result is usually a post about an unhappy experience, for one or other involved. That's not to say that house sitting doesn't also produce many amazing, positive outcomes, it's just that the negative situations are more often reported - usually in an attempt to understand exactly what went wrong. Most misunderstandings come about because of a mismatch of expectations between the home owner and the house sitter. When a transaction is entered into without payment, the parties involved often find it harder to lay down firm expectations. A contract of trust is something many feel should be built passively, and a lack of assertion in regard to expectations, can lead to false impressions being created about what is expected.
The good news is however, that by defining your expectations in advance, and by communicating before or at the outset of the assignment, you can minimize all but the most unexpected of situations. A written agreement is even better and doesn't have to involve a formal contract - just a list of what is expected during and at the end of the assignment. Having an awareness of some of the common misunderstandings can highlight those areas that cause most upset, and perhaps allow you to make some small adjustments or compromises to your own requirements in order to secure your perfect sitters, or for sitters, your ideal house sitting assignment.
What does a homeowner expect? Homeowners usually have very clear expectations of house sitters: 1. They want to leave their home and pets with people they can really trust and rely on. 2. They want their house sitters to turn up and leave when expected. 3. They want their pets cared for, fed and exercised in much the same way that they themselves would look after their fur families. 4. They want to return to a clean and tidy home, with happy pets and a well tended pool, garden or outside area. They might also want to establish a friendly relationship whereby they can call on you for a repeat sit sometime in the future.
What does a house sitter expect? House sitter expectations are less easy to define, but as an absolute minimum they would hope: 1. To have been given honest information about the pets, their behavior, health and temperament; the property and location; and the homeowners expectations. 2. To be provided with a bedroom, a bathroom and a comfortable living space (especially on long term sits), with enough storage space for hanging clothes and storing possessions. 3. To be handed over a home that is clean, tidy and doesn't constitute a health risk (it happens!), and to know there aren't any infestations of fleas or other insects/critters beyond what is considered generally acceptable. 4. If WiFi is a necessity because the house sitter works remotely from home, then they would expect an honest appraisal of internet connectivity, speed and possible downtime issues. 5. If the property is remote, that a vehicle is provided at least for emergencies and food shopping, or alternatively that they have been advised that a rental car is necessary. I hear you saying that this all sounds like simple common sense... and it is!
So, why do house sits go wrong? Well of course expectations are pretty personal and subjective. What one person considers normal, another may see as completely unrealistic. Take a look at some genuinely "unrealistic" expectations of home owners: Adding pets without notification - Whilst it's admirable to adopt or foster rescue dogs, it is not acceptable to expect a house sitter to unexpectedly deal with additional animals without notification. Leaving unpaid utility bills - Utilities such as gas, electric and water, should all be paid up-todate, and provision made for settling ongoing bills. The exception may be for long term house sits where the house sitter has agreed to pay for the utilities themselves. Soiled bed linen and pillows - Don't provide a bed with unclean linen or very badly soiled pillows. New pillows are extremely inexpensive these days in most countries and will always be appreciated by house sitters! Similarly a mattress cover is preferable to encountering a badly stained mattress when changing sheets! Not leaving on the specified date - It can be uncomfortable to co-exist in a property for any length of time, especially if this is unexpected. If the house sitters work from home this may impact on their income, commitments and deadlines. It becomes difficult to know when house sitting duties commence and can in fact cause minor conflicts as the pets become confused about who is exercising or feeding them.
Unreasonable pet care or behaviour - Examples include not being able to EVER leave the pets alone; pets that MUST sleep in the bed; cleaning up after pets that have had no toilet training, and who pee and poop all over the house; undisclosed continual barking or aggressive behaviour. Allowing your kids unrestricted access to the house - House sitters are not "baby sitters" and leaving teenage kids behind in the property is unacceptable. For grownup kids, it is not acceptable that they are allowed to sleep over while you have house sitters, unexpectedly. If it's agreed beforehand then fine, but avoid surprises! Asking for a deposit when the house sitters arrive - This must always be disclosed at the outset as many sitters will choose to decline the assignment when a deposit is requested. Let's talk about subjective, unrealistic situations. These are things that are perhaps acceptable to some people, but unacceptable to others. However, they wouldn't necessarily be deemed unacceptable at all IF they had been discussed at the interview stage. Video cameras - While it is usually acceptable for external security cameras, it is not generally considered OK for internal cameras that film house sitters throughout the house sit. It is especially unrealistic (and possibly illegal) to film secretly. Always disclose cameras in initial conversations.
A vegan or eco-friendly, green property - In this situation there may be special considerations that need to be adhered to, such as no meat products in the kitchen, use of only eco-friendly
toiletries, and possibly the use of only a composting toilet. Fine if discussed and accepted by the house sitters, but a shock if they arrive and are not prepared. A remote or off-grid property - If not experienced in remote or off-grid living, this may be a difficult first assignment for some house sitters. It's important they are informed about all aspects, including any special daily maintenance that may be needed. You may also need to give specific instructions for solar systems, rain water collection and management, and other remote living challenges. Lodgers - If you have a lodger, boarder, or elderly relative living in the property or an adjoining house, it is courteous to discuss this with the house sitters in advance. It's up to them whether to accept in this situation. Building work with unacceptable noise - Don't knowingly move out of the home to go on vacation because of building work in your house, on adjoining land, or in a neighbour's home. This will be especially distressing for the house sitter if it impacts on their ability to work from the home. Emptying the pool - If the property is listed as having a pool, don't empty it prior to the house sitters arrival, just to save on pool cleaning and maintenance costs. Let them know you plan to do this in advance and perhaps give them the opportunity to maintain the pool or pay to have it maintained. Paid staff - Don't retain the services of a house keeper, gardener or other staff and expect the house sitter to personally pay their wages without prior discussion. Similarly, don't provide staff but not inform the house sitters until they arrive. While many will welcome the help, some people are extremely uncomfortable having staff in the house, and dealing with their pay, especially when it involves a different language. Unpaid care of a B&B, AirBnB, hotel or rental business - Looking after a business with no payment is a no-no for many house sitters, who are very clear that this is a job, not a house sit. Others may welcome the chance to gain experience in a business environment. Full disclosure should always be made, and any arrangements to split the income, pay a stipend, or salary, should be clearly discussed and agreed (I would suggest in writing) well before the assignment begins. Cancelling a sit after house sitters have committed to an expensive international flight - This is a tricky situation, as we can't always prepare for unexpected emergencies, accidents, family deaths etc. But likewise, your house sitters may have incurred a hefty charge for airfares. As a gesture you could pay for alternative accommodation, help them find another house sitting option, or put them up while they organize their alternative accommodation. If it's within your means, then paying for a flight cancellation would be very much appreciated.
And now some unrealistic expectations of house sitters: Cleanliness - Don't assume it's not your job to clean, tidy the home and garden, or wash the bed linen throughout and at the end of the assignment. You aren't staying in a hotel - it's somebody's treasured home. If leaving the same day, remove the bed linen ready for laundering.
Rearranging homeowner cupboards and drawers - However untidy you think they are, leave well alone. Similarly, don't move furniture unless you plan to replace it when you leave. Take photos so that you can put it back in exactly the right position. Turning the swimming pool green! - Don't allow this to happen just because you didn't have the appropriate skills to maintain a pool, or you neglected to regularly do what was required to keep the chemical levels balanced. For more on pool skills check out the previous article "House sitting skills - Basic swimming pool maintenance".
Unattended pets - Don't think it's OK to leave the pets unattended for long periods while you go sightseeing. Remember house sitting comes with responsibilities. Discuss how long the pets can be left when you work through your handover. Uninvited guests - It's generally NOT OK to have friends or family visit or stay, without prior permission from the owners. Many owners will say no - this is quite normal. But, you can always meetup at a local restaurant or hotel. Overnight stays away - It's wrong to expect that you can leave pets with some extra dried food, while you pop off on an overnight excursion. However, if your pets are cats, you may be lucky enough to have the homeowner confirm that an overnight stay is fine. Cats are generally more independent than dogs! Overuse or inappropriate use of cars, boats or other vehicles - Always agree the terms for use and also any maintenance required during your stay. We were once left mountain bikes, but were asked to have them serviced before leaving, if used extensively. Restocking food - Don't assume you can eat any of the food left in the freezer, pantry or refrigerator without replacing, like for like. This is one of the most common areas of misunderstanding. Many homeowners will specify that it's OK to eat perishable items in the fridge. But, they may have food items that they've bought from home that are especially difficult to import or replace, and so get very upset (rightly so) if these are eaten without permission. If you are lucky, they may leave you something special like a bottle of wine, or some nice cheese!
Changing the pets diet to make things easier for yourself, or feeding "human" food when you've been specifically requested not to - This can cause discomfort for the pets and unwanted sickness or diarrhea - neither of which are pleasant to clean up. Pet sitting is about maintaining routines, not introducing new ones that cause disruption. Mistreating pets in any way - This is so obvious, and I have rarely heard of any cases of house sitters mistreating dogs. But for example, I recently heard of a house sitter who left dogs outside the house at night, when they were considered indoor dogs. For the homeowner this was, in her mind, a case of abuse. Your own pets - Don't ever take your own pets to a house sit without first discussing with the home owner. This could cause all sorts of problems. Off limits - Often rooms or equipment will be designated as "off-limits" by the home owner. They may lock the room or just request that you don't use it. Be respectful in this situation. Breaking items and not replacing them - Even worse is to hide a broken item and hope that the home owners won't notice! Own up to breakages - accidents happen. Especially on a long term assignment where the occasional broken glass is to be expected. If you see glassware or crockery that you think might be expensive or difficult to replace, avoid using it. Arriving late or leaving early - Arriving late should be avoided at all costs. We always plan to arrive a day early, especially when multiple international flights are involved, and where delays are likely. If you can't avoid a late arrival, keep your homeowners informed and arrange an alternative handover. If an emergency situation means that you have no choice but to leave early, try to find a suitable replacement and do a handover if possible. Involve reliable neighbours or emergency contacts to help you.
Last minute cancellation - As we have mentioned, emergency situations sometimes result in an unavoidable cancellation. But, cancelling just because you find a better option, or have a change of mind is really unacceptable and bad practice. In this case, you might consider financially recompensing the home owner for any inconvenience or costs they have to incur. We can't stress enough how important it is to always take house sitting commitments seriously. Consider the financial implications and the mental distress of your actions.
How to make sure you meet each others' expectations All of these situations can be avoided if you enter into a house sitting assignment with integrity, and you are honest with each other about what you expect. However crazy you think your expectations are, the chances are there will be someone out there who thinks just like you, and who is happy to fulfill your requirements. For instance, while one person may categorically say they don't sleep with pets in the bed, many are happy to accommodate this. With the exception of the few "genuinely" unrealistic expectations (see above), most are simply a case of finding like-minded people who manage their pets and homes in the same way that you do. That's why house sitting platforms often talk of "match-making" when bringing homeowners and sitters together.
It's only when you aren't honest and don't communicate your expectations clearly (and this is as much for home owners as house sitters), that misunderstandings occur.
Exceeding expectations Sometimes of course home owners and house sitters exceed expectations. We consistently hear of house sitters who leave houses cleaner and tidier than when they arrived. Who cook amazing return meals for the home owners, and who exceed all expectations in pet care. We are hearing more often too about appreciative home owners, who leave welcome packages of food, take house sitters for amazing meals, or leave gifts and tips at the end of the house sit. We'd like to hear your thoughts on this subject. Send us feedback here with your experience of unrealistic house sitting situations or when you've had a situation where expectations have been exceeded!
Nomador launches new blog series:
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES WHEN HOUSE SITTING by Mariannig Ferrari with intro from Vanessa Anderson Last month when we interviewed Mariannig Ferrari, founder of Nomador, we learned that a new blog series had just been launched. It provides valuable information for house sitters and home owners by exploring cultural differences that impact the house sitting experience across countries. There's also plenty of practical advice, explaining how you can best present yourself to each other when firming up on an assignment. We wanted to find out more about what inspired this new series. Mariannig explained...
"In fact we felt the need to introduce this series soon after launching Nomador, when we realized it would be very helpful to the international house sitting community. Why? Well, that's probably because of Nomador's specific story, which you may have read about in the Nomador Supplement (House Sitting Magazine Issue 3). To summarize, however, we had significant experience of house sitting - almost 10 years - but only through a national agency, i.e. owners from a specific country communicating with house sitters from the same country only, namely France. Discovering the international scene when we launched our online platform, presented a new challenge - but it was also so interesting!
Cultural factors can interfere with the communication process We were able to observe homeowners and house sitters from various countries, and combined with our previous experience on the ground, were probably in a better position than anyone else to immediately realize how much cultural factors can interfere and play a part in the success (or failure) of an attempt to communicate. And to see that people (owners and sitters alike) were certainly not aware of it enough. We would probably not have realized that so much if we had started an international platform without the previous experience at the agency.
Thanks to our fantastic new contacts among house sitting fans and supporters all around the world, we found out that there are big differences in the aspirations, needs, and conceptions of house-sitting. These are summarized here in the first article that introduces our series.
"Fur babies" and "pet parents" But, as an example, here is an observation we made about the USA. In the United States, many people refer to their pets as "fur babies" and to themselves as "pet parents", to the degree that many Americans consider their pets to be a part of their family.
This contrasts greatly with many other countries, where pets are kept as much for utility as for love; a barking dog makes a great home security system! We also observed that there is often a lack of knowledge about local habits and basic "cultural etiquette", especially when people have not being lucky enough to travel a lot. In general, this is nothing very serious, but those details in a first introduction will often make a big difference when you are dealing with something as important as entrusting your home to someone you don't know yet (or accepting the responsibility of looking after someone's home).
How not to say hello! For instance, when applying to assignments in France, so many people make the effort to write the first few lines in French. But starting with "Salut", although being very French, is often perceived also as very colloquial, and therefore inconsiderate! Addressing someone with "Salut" is like saying "Hey!". So actually the more formal "Bonjour" is much more acceptable. At least on a house sitting platform, where we're talking about entrusting something as important as the home and family pets.
Why were these issues more obvious to us? Probably because Nomador is a bi-lingual site (it is offered as both a French and an English version). We are very used to establishing connections and links between people from different countries of the world who do not always speak the same language! Those who know us well also understand that by launching Nomador we did not want to create a merely utilitarian platform. Our goal was also to create a community that would help build international friendships, which was one of the reasons why we launched the Nomador Stopovers (put link in) option last May.
Not surprising then that we wanted to introduce this series about culture as soon as possible! Fortunately this year we were put in touch with Katie Matthews at Wandertooth.com. Katie and her husband have been house sitting since 2013, as a way to gain a deeper interaction with different cultures. Katie also holds a Master of Arts in International and Intercultural Communication, and so she knows well how culture shapes communication … she was the ideal person to help us bring such a series to life! It was logical for the initial article to focus on France, firstly because it is our country, and secondly because we have many assignment postings in France, thus many interactions between French speaking owners and English speaking candidates from North America, Oceania, Europe and other countries around the world.
House sitting in France - a cultural guide House-Sitting in France: A cross-cultural guide for Anglophones provides lots of cultural information that we think will be very useful to many people. It covers the evolution of house sitting in France, provides theories to help you better understand French culture, and very comprehensively explains the best way to address your communications and avoid misunderstandings. For anyone that has ever done business with the French, you will know that the formal use of the language is important to show respect and professionalism - well the same is considered respectful in a house sitting transaction. So, if you have been in the situation of applying for house sits in France and haven't heard back, you may discover the reason why by reading about the common mistakes Anglophones make, and also learn how next time you can write a culturally appropriate house sitting application for French assignments. We really hope this new series will help everyone gain a much better understanding of each others cultural differences, and further help to build the cross country associations and friendships that we so much support and encourage among our members at Nomador!"
DOGGY DILEMMAS - BARKING DOGS Introduction by Ian Usher
Here in Nicaragua we are looking after Tabby, a two year old female boxer dog. She is very well trained and very well behaved. Her owners have obviously spent plenty of time with her ensuring she knows how she is expected to behave. They have set rules and boundaries that Tabby understands. Sure, she is young, lively and very boisterous, but the thing that has impressed us the most is that she only barks when appropriate. She doesn't bark at us for attention, she doesn't bark at us when she wants us to throw her ball. She doesn't bark when the cleaner arrives, or when the fruit and veg lady shows up each morning.
She knows these people and is very polite and well behaved when they arrive. But if a stranger's car backs into the driveway, or the kids from across the road come onto the grass, too close to the front of the house, Tabby will let us know with a couple of loud barks. Our neighbours have dogs which bark constantly throughout the day, and often continue late into the evening. Tabby never responds, even when they all start howling. It is almost as if they are of no concern or interest to her at all. From my recent studies of dog psychology and behaviour, I think this is because Tabby's owners are strong people, and Tabby sees them as the alpha leaders of her pack. She now considers Vanessa and I to be the alpha in the absence of her owners, and as such looks to us for clues as to how to behave when something happens. Because we completely ignore the dogs next door, she continues to do so. As a pet owner, and also as a house sitter, it is important to understand things from a dog's perspective. This can help us in training our dog to behave in ways we want them to. In this article "Doggy Dan" explains, from the dog's point of view, why they bark when we leave them on their own, and gives some tips on how to stop this unwanted behaviour.
How to stop your dog barking when you leave home by Daniel "Doggy Dan" Abdelnoor
Few things in life can drive you as crazy as a constantly barking dog. Whether they have that deep shuddering "Woof, woof, woof," or that ear piercing "Yap, yap, yap," it can get to you very quickly.
The great news is that barking is not something that dogs need to do in order to be happy. In fact, generally speaking barking is a sign of stress, frustration, anxiety or over excitement, and none of these emotions are particularly good for your dog. Or for you! Remember a content, relaxed dog does not bark! So lets take a look at one specific type of barking and get you started on putting a stop to this unwanted behaviour...
Why do dogs bark when you leave them at home? Dogs who bark when you are not at home is a very common issue. Usually people have no idea that they have a problem until the neighbour, or even worse the dog control officer, pays you a visit. Understanding why your dog is barking is the key to stopping it.
When you actually understand what is going on in your dog's mind you can begin to address the cause of your dogs problem, and not just treat the symptoms. Now bear with me on this one because you MUST remember you have to see it all through your dogs eyes!
Pack psychology So think of it like this... Your dog is a pack animal, and understands that there are leaders and followers. And one of the pack leader's jobs is to protect the pack.
So when on Monday morning everybody leaves the house to go to work and leaves the dog at home alone they become stressed. You would be too if you lost your pack! That’s the reason why they're stressed and barking. They are calling out to you to come back. They just are trying to do their job as leader of the pack. Think about it. If you are a parent with a young 3 year old child, one of your main jobs is to keep that child safe, so you keep an eye on them. All the time. All over the house you know where they are. They are safe. You are relaxed. If they suddenly walk out of the house and shut the front door behind them locking you in what would you do? Chase after them? Of course... But, what if the door was locked and you couldn’t open it? And all the other doors and windows are locked? Then what would you do? Phone for help? Your dog doesn't have that option! Shout for help? Well, that is exactly what your dog is doing... You certainly wouldn't sit down, relax and have a cup of tea, knowing your young child was wandering around the streets alone. Are you starting to see why your dog is stressed and barking when you leave now? This same stress is often the cause for all those other annoying behaviors that only happen when you're not around - chewing, destruction, trying to dig under the fence, or jump over the fence.
Yep, that’s right. They are all symptoms of a stressed dog that’s desperately concerned about you not being home and safe. Remember your dog can’t speak English to tell you any of this! So what’s the solution? Well it's almost certainly not by giving them a bone to chew on whilst you are away. Imagine trying that with the parent who is totally stressed that their young child is out on the streets... "Don’t worry, here’s a box of chocolates." You may love chocolates but that isn't going to help in this situation. Toys jammed full of food and other distractions do not treat the cause of the problem either. They are only treating the symptoms. They may work, if you’re lucky, for half an hour or so – max – but not long term. Most of you will know that this doesn't work because you'll have already tried it!
A simple solution The solution is actually very simple. You need to become the pack leader in your dog's eyes. Once you do this correctly your dog will not see it as their job to protect you. You will be able to come and go as you please and your dog will be totally relaxed. This is the real solution to having a calm relaxed dog. No tricks here, just an honest understanding.
Now, becoming the pack leader is not complicated. Anyone can do it, however it's not really something that can be explained in one short article. On my website, TheOnlineDogTrainer I explain very clearly, with lots of in-depth video examples, how to establish yourself as the pack leader. This quickly enables you to stop dogs from barking when you leave them, as well as help you address almost all other problems you may have with your dog. Everything starts with becoming the pack leader.
Editor's note: We highly recommend taking a look at Dan's site. It's where we learned so much about dog psychology, and what we learned from Dan has meant we haven't really had a single problem with any of the dogs we have looked after over the past couple of years.
Here are some additional tips that you can use in conjunction with becoming the pack leader that will help stop your dogs barking.
Exercise: Exercise your dog before you leave them – a tired dog is more likely to relax Find the right space: Try leaving your dog in different areas – some dogs will relax more outside, others inside and some prefer smaller areas such as a washroom Fed and watered: Always leave water down and make sure that your dog is fed and warm before you leave Pick up the bones: Leave toys around for your dog but not bones - control of food is one of the keys to pack leadership Music and TV: Consider leaving music on for your dog, or perhaps the TV – these distractions can help Herbal remedies: There are some herbal products for dogs which can help them relax – but again they do not really treat the cause of the issue, they simply help relax them, and are also quite costly Dog walkers: A walk in the middle of the day can certainly help break up your dog's day Leave calmly: Leave your dog calmly – whilst it's fun to get excited when you leave your dog it's better if you leave calmly - say goodbye 5 minutes before leaving to help them stay relaxed as you go Comfort jackets: There are also jackets and shirts available that are designed to comfort them – however they are very expensive and have limited success in my experience. I know of one dog that actually ate his comfort jacket!
Unfortunately the popular idea that getting another dog is going to stop the problem is something I would stay well away from. Remember the source of your dog's issue is not boredom.
After all, many dogs who bark all day when the owners leave are the same dogs who lie around the house doing nothing most of the weekend when the owners are at home! So with all that said, hopefully now you have a far better understanding of your dog's problem! I would suggest if you are really serious about stopping the barking immediately then learn how to establish yourself quickly as the pack leader. That will be the end of your issue.
Editor's note: There is actually an entire section dedicated to stopping this sort of barking under the dog problem section "Separation Anxiety" on Dan's website
It’s not hard but you have to understand your dog's problem through their eyes rather than human eyes! They do not want more bones, or biscuits shoved into a ball... All they they want is you to be a strong pack leader.
Click here to visit Doggy Dan's website, and watch his FREE 4-part mini video course on how to make your dog want to be obedient
DESTINATION STAYCATION by Alannah McEwan Many people overlook what's right in their backyard. They forget to check out all the great things their home town, and surrounding areas, have to offer. Trying to save money? Want to avoid the stress of travelling? Can't travel because of health concerns? Your boss won't give you a couple weeks off work? What you need is a staycation!
Discover your part of the world A staycation is a vacation spent close to home, instead of travelling to far away foreign places. Who wouldn't want to go to Bora Bora for 10 days, but unfortunately that's not always a realistic option.
While staying around home for a week might not sound as exciting as a 10 day trip to Fiji or Peru, it's still a lot better than nothing. It's certainly better than moping around all summer depressed about being stuck at home. Your city is awesome so start acting like it! Get out there and enjoy it. Even if you live in some tiny hillbilly country bumpkin town (I feel your pain) and you think that there can't possibly be anything to do, get creative, do some research online, and look for day trips and nearby cities and sights that interest you.
You don't have to go far to have a vacation! When you live somewhere you tend to take it for granted. There are probably many attractions and events close to home that you've never experienced. Does any of this sound familiar?
I drive by it every day on my way to work but I've never actually been inside. I've lived here ten years but never been to that festival. I have always wanted to go but never had the time. I've heard that restaurant makes delicious burgers but I always end up going somewhere closer to home. I know it's popular with the tourists but I've never been there.
What you need is a staycation. So get out your camera and get ready to be a tourist in your own city!
Ground rules for a staycation To have a staycation you first have to set a few ground rules, after all you want this to feel like a vacation not just like any other week at home.
Set a start date and an end date. Set a budget. Create an itinerary of what you want to do and see. Don't do anything you wouldn't do on vacation. No laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, or yard work. Turn on your answering machine and leave emails behind.
What to do during a staycation
Go somewhere ‘touristy'. Visit a nearby tourist stop or attraction that you've never been to. Rent a bike and explore a scenic park or trail. Go kayaking or canoeing for the day and pack a picnic lunch. Visit National Parks and go walking and hiking. Camp at a nearby campsite or even in your own backyard. Even sleeping in your backyard, because it's something you're not used to doing (I assume) and is something different than your regular routine, will feel like a mini adventure. Take a road trip. Plan out a road trip that you can do in one day. Choose roads and places that you've never been before. Take a ferry if you can. Stop along the way for pictures as if you are not going to have the opportunity to go back. Spend the night at a hotel. Treat yourself to a night in a hotel, you'll feel like you're on vacation even if your only a couple of hours away from home. No cleaning, no cooking. Order room service. Book a spa treatment. Find a local event or festival. Research what festivals, events, shows, and concerts are happening around your area. Go and enjoy them because you don't have to work the next day! Spend a day at the lake, river, or beach. Swim, rent a small boat, explore trails, enjoy the scenery and soak up some sun. Take a ride on the city tour bus or go on a walking tour – you might be surprised what you learn about the history of your city. Use apps like Yelp to find new places to eat. You might discover your new favorite restaurant!
Staycations and house sitting Staycations and house sitting go great together. Take a vacation close to home while saving money by staying in a house sitting assignment. Staycations give you the opportunity to discover and explore your part of the world. Staying in a home will give you a unique experience and enhance your staycation. Remember that if you house sit you will often be required to look after pets and care for the property during your stay - this is why the accommodation is provided free of charge! If you want to spend a lot of time out and about, you'll also need to consider whether this works for the home owner and the animals in your charge. Generally this means no overnight trips, but cats can usually be left alone for much longer periods than dogs. On the other hand, you may enjoy having a dog to take with you on your days out, and to cuddle up to in the evening if you are staycationing alone! Enjoy your staycation!
I have a serious case of itchy feet and incurable wanderlust! Since going on my first international trip 10 years ago, my passion for travel and adventure has continued to grow. Having visited over 30 countries and lived in Canada, Austria, Italy, and Australia, I've learned a lot about travelling on a budget and life as an expat. Itchy Feet Travel is where you can find travel tips on packing and saving money to help you make the most of your next adventure. Follow my blog for weekly stories and travel tips. www.itchyfeetravel.com
Introduction to VPNs by Martin Robson with introduction from Vanessa Anderson
A virtual private network (VPN) is technology that creates an encrypted connection over a less secure network. The benefit of using a secure VPN is it ensures the appropriate level of security for the connected systems when the underlying network infrastructure alone cannot provide it. Essentially it keeps your data safer, but it can also allow you to connect to services in your home country that would normally restrict you while travelling. International house sitter and traveller, Martin Robson explains in simple and basic terms why you might need to consider using this technology while you are on the road.
How a VPN helps you reach your final destination You're in a foreign country. You know where you want to go, but are not sure how to get there. So you ask the first helpful looking local and they tell you to go ask at the fruit shop on the corner. The fruit shop lady tells you to take the A35 road for 20 miles to an intersection where you’ll find a wood carving shop. You should ask there for more details. You do as instructed and begin your journey.
It’s an easy straight road but traffic is heavy and progress is slower than you'd hoped. Eventually you arrive at the shop and make enquiries. “Oh yes”, says the wood carver, “I can see from your car you have come from Sofia. Did Jean send you?” We confirm she did. He is happy about this and directs us around the one way system to our destination.
I'm sure this story will sound familiar and resonate with at least one experience you’ve had while travelling? What might not be so familiar is the inner workings of the internet! I mean, when you type an address into your browser, how the heck does it know where the computer is that hosts your desired website? Actually it's pretty similar to the above scenario. You connect to an internet service provider (ISP), which has a computer that "knows" another computer "down the road", which "knows" another one, and so on. Finally you reach the computer that knows the exact destination you are looking for. Normally all this takes just seconds at most. Amazing!
Enter the need for a VPN But what if, in our original scenario, instead of just one local, there were loads of them and one of them knew that you didn’t have to go to the fruit shop lady every time – and that right now it would be a bad idea because she only knows about the A35 and it’s really busy at the moment? You would have got an alternative route and got to the wood carver much more quickly. And what if the wood carver doesn't like Jean and refuses to tell you the final instructions? All that travel but now you are unable to complete the journey! In the world of internet travel, that’s where a VPN comes in. Without one, your ISP will send you the same route every time. If that route is busy, your website will load really slowly or not at all. If you come from a location that your website doesn’t like then the website will tell you that you can’t come in. In the UK, for example, the BBC TV channel doesn't like anyone from any other country watching their programs.
So a VPN is a piece of software that can take different routes to get to your destination, and in so doing can fool the destination website about where you have come from. The net result is that you can access sites that are geo-blocked (only accessible from certain countries) and potentially you can get to some sites more quickly. If we are thinking about TV or sports streaming (on the most common blocked sites) then speed matters.
Do I still need a subscription with my chosen TV network? If you don’t have a Sky Sports, Netflix or Hulu premium subscription, then taking a different route to get to their websites still won’t get you in. There are ways to do that, but they are not entirely legal and they are not what a VPN is designed for. Besides allowing you to load websites that are geo-blocked, a VPN will also allow you to load sites like Facebook and Twitter if you happen to be in a country (such as China), where the government doesn’t want its own citizens to access these sites.
Where do I get my VPN software? There are many companies that sell VPNs, generally on a subscription basis, and there are some free ones too. You simply download a piece of software and install it. When you next connect to the internet, this software will give you some options to select before you get sent anywhere on the internet by your ISP. One of these options is the country you would like to be seen to have come from. So using our BBC example, to watch this channel from the USA, you would tell the VPN software that information sent on your internet connection must also be seen to come from the UK. Each VPN software has its own pros and cons and some extra features beyond the basic functions, so it's good to compare which best meets your specific needs.
Why it doesn't pay to use free VPN software The free VPNs are not as good as the paid ones. It takes a lot of investment to make a good quality VPN. They have to be regularly updated as the TV networks, for example, find new ways to block them. Free VPNs can only afford to keep going via advertising income and that slows everything down, which if you're going a circuitous route to your destination anyway, is not a great idea. There are a heap of other considerations too, mainly involving the security of your data as it passes around the internet.
So which VPN should you buy? I have tried many VPNs over the years, and to keep this simple, I have recommended what I consider to be the best solution. It is PureVPN which costs a little under $60 a year with the 50% discount at this link - or looking at it another way, just over a buck a week to be able to:
keep in contact view exactly what you want guarantee social media access while on the road
A summary of PureVPN's services follows this article but you can also refer to my website if you want to delve a little deeper into why I recommend this particular company - see my author bio below.
Editor's note: Using VPNs in China A VPN will allow you to bypass the "Great Chinese Firewall" and access any website you want. But you need to choose wisely as only a few of the many available works well in China. This article on a website specialising in all things Chinese has been testing VPN services for many years, and they have a great up-to-date comparison of the best software to use in different areas of China. PureVPN is one of the options compared.
Originally a business analyst turned long-time IT Project Manager, I worked in UK and US and got the travel bug. I changed my life completely, quit my job and put myself through Open University to get an English degree and teaching qualification. Whilst in Turkey I met and married Gonul and changed her life completely too! We have just finished a year long road trip through North and South America which included house sitting and house swapping (in Ecuador).
I earn a living online building websites, marketing, and teaching English. My mission is to help people and to try ice cream in every country. Where do you think has the best? http://www.robsononline.co.uk
Why we recommend PureVPN This information has been summarized from the PureVPN website. It explains the key features of their service, and illustrates why, in our opinion, this is one of the better VPNs available on the market today.
Why do I need PureVPN? PureVPN operates a self-managed VPN network that currently uses more than 500 servers in 141 Countries, promising the fastest speeds possible. Because they own their network there are no third-parties involved. Consequently there are NO logs of your internet activities.
Online security Secure your internet connection PureVPN encrypts (converts information or data into a cipher or code to prevent unauthorized access) your entire internet with up-to 256-bit high grade encryption to protect data on your system or device from prying eyes, both on the go or at home.
Secure connection on Wi-Fi Hotspots (important for long term travellers) Public Wi-Fi hotspots are breeding grounds for hackers and identity thieves. PureVPN secures your Wi-Fi connection to protect your data transmissions. Concrete protection against "data sniffers" With a wide variety of security protocols, and top notch encryption, no data sniffers will be able to penetrate the web of security surrounding you to get their hands on your data. Safeguard your emails and instant messages PureVPN offers a shield for your emails, instant messages, personal photos, videos and other sensitive data, so you never have to worry about unauthorized access.
Online privacy Avoid third-party surveillance PureVPN creates a secure, encrypted tunnel to hide your real IP address and location. This makes it impossible for third-party websites and ISPs to monitor your online activities. Defeat ISP packet inspection PureVPN prevents your own ISP (internet service provider) from inspecting your data including website URLs, videos, e-mails or downloads, etc. This keeps your privacy intact and also helps bypass your ISP's congested network. Protect your identity PureVPN have employed the world's leading encryption standard AES 256 to secure your personal and financial information so that it stays out of the hands of identity and data thieves. Prevent geo-targeting PureVPN tucks you away safely from online marketers, advertisers, search engines, and content providers who infringe on your privacy and serve you continually with location based ads.
Internet Freedom Surf the internet easily PureVPN lets you visit websites so you can enjoy surfing on the internet freely with superb user experiences from anywhere at any time. Connect VoIP Services (such as Skype) Many countries such as Brazil, China, Mexico, Panama, etc. frown upon on VoIP services. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), is a technology that allows you to make voice calls using an internet connection instead of a regular phone line. Skype and Vonage are examples of this type of service. PureVPN not only allows you to use VoIP services, but also encrypts your VoIP communications.
Overcome ISP speed throttling PureVPN makes it IMPOSSIBLE for your ISP to monitor your activities; hence your ISP is unable to determine the type of data being sent and received and this results in faster internet speeds. Experience ultra-fast streaming We manage and run our own VPN network and DNS hardware. We have optimized our VPN servers and apps for every platform to deliver the unrestricted and fastest VPN speeds at home or on the go. We own a global network PureVPN owns a self-managed global network of 500+ Servers that has physical presence in 141 Countries. As of now, PureVPN is the only VPN provider with this level of global presence. Other providers have servers in a few countries and most of them use shared servers from third party providers. This decreases speed, and also raises questions about dependability and the privacy of your data.
Software and app compatibility PureVPN wrote its own code for its proprietary software and apps for every major platform including Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, and Linux. It is compatible with consoles, SmartTV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast, routers, laptops, desktops, and smart devices among others. No matter where you are or where you travel to, PureVPN will connect you to your favorite entertainment content. You get to access every server on the network regardless of the package you choose, with unlimited server switching.
Other features 99.9% up-time - PureVPN has its own network of servers and a team of highly professional experts who manage and host the network to guarantee 99.9% up-time. Multiple logins - PureVPN provides 5 multi logins with one single account. So, whether it's your laptop, tablet, mobile or PC, you can enjoy true freedom on every device. Unlimited data transfer - Download, browse, stream or share, PureVPN users are free to do whatever they want, how much they want since there is no bandwidth or data limit. Split Tunneling - PureVPN users can choose which data to send through VPN and which to send through their ISP to enjoy the best of both worlds. 24/7/365 live chat support - Day or night, rain or shine. PureVPN's friendly support representatives are always there LIVE to answer your questions and solve any VPN problems you might experience.
Travel colouring books for adults! by Vanessa Anderson I don't know about you, but I've been seeing more and more adult colouring books in airport shops as we travel the world between house sits. It's a craze that seems to have taken the world by storm! According to Jorge Ribas of The Washington Post, "The popularity of colouring books for adults has exploded in the last year, with an estimated 12 million books sold in 2015 for people looking for ways to relax after work or satisfy their artistic side. In Washington, D.C., one meetup group has 190 members, and their weekly events often have waiting lists." It seems this is "big business" and The Independent reported earlier this year that, "A surge in the number of people buying adult colouring books has threatened pencil stocks world-wide as manufacturers struggle to cope with an increased demand for quality crayons. The world’s biggest wooden pencil manufacturer, Faber-Castell, say they are experiencing "double-digit growth" in the sale of artists’ pencils and have been forced to run more shifts in their German factory to keep up."
I don't have a problem with lack of pencils at the moment, as I recently downloaded a free online app called "Colorfy" which provides me with endless patterns and pictures on my iPad to "colour in digitally". But, to be honest this isn't quite as satisfying as the real thing! So I was excited to discover this week that Katie and Geoff Matthews, the travel bloggers behind wandertooth.com, have designed a small but growing collection of "Travel Between the Lines Adult Colouring Books".
Their first book, "Inspirational Coloring for Globetrotters and Daydreamers" is a 47-illustration printed colouring book. The book is based on Geoff and Katie's own travel photographs and includes line drawing illustrations from 29 countries around the world. Each illustration is unique, with subjects as varied as the countries themselves: aerial, wideangle images of cities; street scenes; up-close images of statues and vignettes; decorative details; and famous landmarks are all represented to varying degrees in the book. Each drawing is paired with a short story or description, indicating the city and country featured, and connecting the photographs to a memory or feeling from Geoff and Katie’s travels. We think these books would make amazing Christmas presents or stocking fillers for family, friends, travelers and house sitters - or anyone who loves colouring between the lines! Click this link to find out more.
Money matters - Part 2 of 3
THE MATHEMATICS OF FREEDOM by Ian Usher
In last month's "Money matters" we took a look at the interesting concept of how much one hour of your time is worth, and the opportunities offered when you earn your income in one location, but spend it in another. This month, I'd like to examine in a little more detail the idea of "freedom", as well as some financial options you should consider as you begin to move towards the life you truly want to live...
Do you feel trapped in your life? Do you yearn to be free? Would you like to have more free time to do the things you enjoy, to travel to places you would like to see, to live life on your own terms?
The key to both financial and lifestyle freedom is simple - earn more than you spend, and invest the balance for your future. But in the modern world, today's upside-down financial model would appear to be to borrow as much as you possibly can and buy as many big things as possible (house, car, furniture, TV). Then spend your time wondering if the monthly income will pay off the bills and loans.
Do you live paycheck to paycheck? Statistics show that a vast majority of consumers in the western world live paycheck to paycheck, and any major financial challenge would be a disaster for those who have little or no savings. The monthly bills and commitments take up just about all the monthly income, perhaps leaving just enough to enjoy a weekend break or a couple of evenings out. A downturn in the economy resulting in lay-offs, or a long term injury, could result in financial ruin within only a couple of months.
Earn more, spend less Of course, it is very easy to offer a simple "earn more, spend less" solution, but how realistic is it to actually be able to achieve this? Perhaps easier than you might think, but it does involve a change of mindset, as well as a restructuring of your financial position. There is no "one size fits all" model, as we're all different, but I hope to offer some food for thought if more freedom and a different, perhaps better, lifestyle is something you would like to work towards. Please note: I use the phrase "something you would like to WORK towards" because, yes, it does take work and time to achieve a wonderful lifestyle of freedom, which will allow you to live your life on your own terms. However, let me assure you that it is absolutely worthwhile.
Our three part solution I'll outline briefly the lifestyle Vanessa and I enjoy, not to blow our own trumpets, but to hopefully inform and inspire you as to what is possible when you shift your mindset a little to rethink how you structure your finances and your lifestyle. There are three parts to how we live our personal version of lifestyle freedom.
1. Lack of possessions We own very little in the way of possessions - no house or car. We have no TV and few clothes, and are, by most people's standards, homeless. This means we have zero debt, and no monthly financial obligations in terms of mortgage payments, bills, rates, or loan repayments.
2. House sitting Offering our services as professional long term house sitters secures our accommodation in the parts of the world we most want to visit and explore. Normally we look for house sitting assignments of at least one month, often longer. We tend to pick one continent of the world and then spend six months or more in that area. This limits our long distance flight costs to just once or twice a year. Our main living costs are therefore food and local travel. 3. Remote online income Our income is earned online, which means we can work from anywhere in the world. As I outlined in last month's article "Getting more bang for your buck", our income is derived mainly from teaching English lessons to language learners in China. We work on a self-employed, casual basis for a Chinese company. We get to choose our own hours, which gives us plenty of flexibility to work around travel, house sit responsibilities, and the challenges of being in different time zones.
Editor's note: See the article on the next page for information on how to get started as a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) teacher. There is also a great offer, exclusively for readers of House Sitting Magazine.
A balanced lifestyle These three aspects of our lifestyle are interlinked and without any one of them our lifestyle would not be as enjoyable, easy or balanced as it currently is. It's a little like a three-legged milking stool - with all three legs it is solid on any surface, but remove any one leg and the stool no longer functions as it should.
What's your favourite objection? Yes, yes, yes, I know you may have all sorts of objections and challenges that trigger the initial thought, "It's all very well for you Ian, but we couldn't do that because... (insert your favourite objection here)."
Maybe you're in debt, perhaps you have children, or you have a job that ties you to a particular location. What about your pension, your future? You like the house you live in, the car you drive, and the big screen TV. Or you don't yet have any experience as a house sitter. I can't answer them all here, but there are answers for most of your objections. See previous articles by Al McCullough on selling all your stuff, or Tracy Tullis's inspiring tales of long term travel as a family. In future issues of House Sitting Magazine we'll be looking at some of the different ways people create flexible, mobile incomes as they travel. There are many, many examples of people who have faced similar challenges to the ones you have, and yet they have found a way to overcome them and create the life they truly want to live. But I digress a little. To come back to my original point, the mathematics of freedom is simple earn more than you spend, and save the remainder for the future. Our three-part answer to the lifestyle of freedom challenge highlights this beautifully.
We have cut costs down to a reasonable minimum by selling up most of what we owned. We travel light, and try to stay on one continent for at least six months at a time to keep travel costs down. We offer a very professional house sitting service, which means we secure zero-cost accommodation for most of the time. And we earn a reasonably good income in a very flexible way.
Keep a buffer for unexpected opportunities Most months we manage to earn more than we spend, and we save the balance to cover future flights, or possibly unforeseen circumstances ahead. This buffer of savings also allows us the flexibility to say "Yes" when interesting opportunities present themselves. Future house sitting plans for next year include Africa and the Caribbean. If we hadn't spent a little less and saved a little more, we may have had to turn down these amazing assignments.
All of these things didn't happen overnight, nor did they happen without some work and a fair element of sacrifice. Yes, you may have to give up some of the things you enjoy, in order to have the lifestyle you desire. It has taken several years of consistent effort to finally get to this position where everything has come together for us, but now that it has, we can look back and know that it has all been worthwhile.
Take advantage of geoarbitrage One of the key elements of making all of this work is geoarbitrage. "Geo-what?" I hear you ask. Well, quite simply, as a global wanderer it is possible to earn income in one location, while living your life in another. We looked at this idea in last month's "Money matters".
Editor's note: Credit must go to Tim Ferriss for the term "geoarbitrage". Read more about his thoughts on money and travel on his blog here: http://fourhourworkweek.com/category/geoarbitrage/
In our case we earn our income in China, where English teachers are in high demand. This means we are paid a pretty decent salary. However, this money wouldn't go too far in expensive European destinations, and we don't want to work 40 hours a week just to support ourselves.
We much prefer a nice 10 hours per week easy-going work schedule. We haven't quite reached Tim Ferriss's 4-Hour Workweek yet, but in teaching terms we're not too far away!
Editor's note: If you haven't read The 4-Hour Workweek we suggest you do so... great ideas and inspiration for a lifestyle of fun and freedom.
We also like to have enough funds left over each month for some fun and entertainment, such as the occasional bottle of wine, adventure activity, or entrance to a tourist attraction. When we have spent a little extra in one month we have the flexibility to be able to work a little more the next month to top up the funds. At times we can even choose to take a whole month off from teaching to enjoy a month of travel, free from house sitting and work commitments. Therefore we choose to live much of the time in countries where our money goes much further. We're currently in Nicaragua in Central America, house sitting in the beautiful colonial city of Granada. It's an expat favourite, so there are plenty of house sit opportunities here. In fact, we were very excited to find ourselves house sitting here at the same time as Nat & Jodie, from House Sitting Academy.
Editor's note: Nat and Jodie are launching their "House Sitting Summit" this month. We don't want to give too much away at this point, but they did film a poolside interview with us for broadcast on the weekend of the summit. Find out more here.
Jodie, Nat, Vanessa and Ian in Granada, Nicaragua
However, in Granada, the expat community, coupled with the touristy nature of the town, means the city is far from being the cheapest place in Nicaragua. Yet we still manage to live very comfortably on our small income. Shopping at the local market means that an hour or two of teaching covers much of the weekly shopping bill. I got my haircut the other day for an absolute bargain price in a little backstreet barber shop. In England I could possibly get my hair cut twice with one hour of teaching income. In Central America I could pay for half-a-dozen haircuts with the same money, and still have some change left over. Local beer is super-cheap. We can fill the fridge for much less than it would cost to do so in Europe. Eating out is incredibly affordable, with a delicious, healthy local-style meal costing less than a fast food meal in England. Even going upscale once in a while doesn't break the bank either. Central America, South America and Southeast Asia come to mind as fascinating travel and lifestyle destinations where your income will go MUCH further. There are diverse cultures to explore, new foods to sample, and amazing locations to visit. I'm sure there are many other offthe-beaten-track destinations which also offer similar benefits.
Change your mindset to change your life It's all about designing your life to make the most of what the world has to offer. If you do want to make some changes to your lifestyle, it probably won't happen overnight, but we can help to ease the process for you. Many of the contributors to House Sitting - The ultimate lifestyle magazine have overcome similar challenges to yours, and have created amazing lifestyles. You can too. You just need to change your mindset a little, then take the first step towards the freedom you desire. Next month we'll take an in-depth look at several options for creating flexible mobile income from anywhere in the world.
Do you operate a freedom lifestyle business? How do you support your travels? Would you like to tell your story? Send me an email: ian@HouseSittingMagazine.com
Part 1 - Teaching English online
GET STARTED ON YOUR ROAD TO FREEDOM by Vanessa Anderson A couple of years ago, we took a break from house sitting and hot-footed it to Shenzhen in China to top-up our travel funds. We were off to teach English to Chinese students in Shenzhen, a sprawling modern city of 23 million people, conveniently located just across from Hong Kong on the Chinese mainland. We took a slightly "unconventional" approach, arriving on a six month business visa with no firm offer of employment, or place to live. But we did have a friend with "connections". Within 10 days we had an apartment. This was our view, across to Hong Kong:
We also had bank accounts, WiFi, and an all important WeChat account - a Chinese app which is like a combined WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter. Absolutely everybody uses WeChat in China currently 700 million users and counting (Ref article). Most crucially, we had also secured teaching jobs in a super-modern, well equipped, Chineserun language school.
It's all about who you know Networking is key in China and having that initial contact who'd already established himself in Shenzhen, made all the difference to the speed with which we were able to integrate ourselves into the teaching community, especially as a "mature" couple. As it happened we were in great demand as a couple in our 50's. Teachers in China are very highly respected, as is maturity, and there are some excellent opportunities for older, native speakers interested in teaching English in both public and private educational establishments. With 1.4 billion people, China is now the most populated country in the world and this has resulted in a large number of teaching positions. The Chinese people currently have an insatiable demand for improving their English language skills. Fulfilling this desire has also become a major priority for the Ministry of Education. Schools are constantly seeking good teachers and offer competitive salaries.
Of course 1st tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen pay most, but equally living costs are high and continually rising. Buying a property in Shenzhen is now as expensive as in places such as London or New York! Second and third tier cities like Chengdu, Wuhan, and Ningbo can make great alternatives, with lower living costs and less stringent teaching requirements if you want a work visa.
What if I want to be "legal"? It isn’t always easy to find work legally (yes you read that correctly), as it seems the government is making it harder, not easier, for full-time teachers to access the coveted Z working visa. But, with any type of degree and a minimum of 120 hours TEFL certificate, you can pretty-much guarantee a job somewhere in this vast country. You just need to be aware of unscrupulous agents and scams. While in Shenzhen, I wrote a comprehensive guide to teaching English in China for a popular blog site. Here's a link to everything you would need to know about how and where to apply for legitimate work. The only thing that article doesn't cover is online teaching, but don't worry, we will cover this in depth in next month's issue of House Sitting Magazine.
Transitioning to online teaching After 8 months of teaching in classrooms, we were asked if we'd like to do some online teaching for the same school. At first we rejected the idea because the pay was a little less, but then a light bulb flashed on! Teaching online could be done from ANYWHERE in the world! We decided to get on-board quickly and took the time to negotiate higher salaries while still in China - we had become popular teachers within the company among staff and students, and wanted this to be rewarded. We knew from experience that the chances of securing pay increases once leaving China would be minimal! Everything was finally coming together. After a number of years experimenting with remote income streams, we now had a way to continue our world travel adventure, and earn a regular income. As the final piece of the puzzle, we could combine online teaching with house sitting to create our version of a perfect lifestyle!
We only ever work between 30 and 70 hours a month, and we can schedule our hours to suit our free time. We can even take a month off whenever we choose to travel more extensively, or don't have access to good internet. Working for a Chinese company presents a number of frustrating niggles. We've learned how, as a Westener, it's virtually impossible to make changes to the system (the cultural gap is still too wide). We've accepted these subtle nuances of Chinese business etiquette. "Losing face" means that it's difficult to effect change, as someone would need to "lose face" in the process! Apart from this, the work is easy, all lessons are pre-prepared by the school, the platform works efficiently and the students are amazing! Most of them speak very good English - it's simply a process of making improvements. Our salary is paid into our Chinese bank account (or Paypal as an alternative). As long as we have an internet connection we can earn our income anywhere in the world. If we are in a property with two separate areas we can both teach at the same time, and then enjoy our time off together. This has worked out wonderfully for us. We were able to save all the money we earned while in China and simply use our new monthly income to fund our continuing travels.
First things first We will be comparing the options available for online teaching over the coming months, but if you want to get started teaching in another country, or online, you will almost certainly need a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification (or an equivalent such as CELTA). There are many options available online, but we have negotiated a special 35% off deal with respected international TEFL training company, MyTEFL (use promo code "HSM35"):
TAP HERE for a 35% discount on a very respected TEFL course. A comprehensive 120-hour course for under $200. DON'T FORGET, USE THE SPECIAL CODE "HSM35" AT THE CHECKOUT FOR 35% OFF
Invest the time now to get your TEFL qualification and you'll find that there are many different opportunities available for using your new skill teaching English as a foreign language! Part 2 of this article in next month's issue will outline the different options that can be utilized to get your new income stream flowing nicely to help you continue your travels!
Part 3 of "How to sell all your stuff"
SELL YOUR STUFF FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH by Al McCullough
OK, last time I told you to be like a mobster and get organized. And that was after telling you to come out of the closet with all your stuff. Now, I'm going to help you become a superstar at selling your stuff - and for the right price. You've got your stuff organized, right? OK, let's take a look at your pile of stuff to sell.
Get started with eBay Let's say you have collectibles - baseball cards, dolls, thimbles, spoons, whatever. Those are probably best to be sold on eBay. Not sure what they are worth? Well, eBay is a great place to check what other similar items are going for.
Even better, Google your item and you'll get a few more ideas of where else you might be able to sell that item, and you'll get listed prices too. Not sure what I mean? Okay, here's an example: Google: Wade Boggs Topps Rookie Card At time of writing, eBay returns the top two in search, followed by a few other sports memorabilia sites. Hmm, didn't think of those did you! Google: Franklin Mint Silver Ghost Again, this will return eBay and a few other places where you can; 1. See what it's priced at, and… 2. See where else you might be able to sell it. A note about Google: This search engine behemoth knows where you're surfing from, so you'll likely see some local results as well as eBay results.
Other places where you can sell your stuff Now, some items have better platforms than others. Case in point, let's say you have an antique tea trolley. That's a heavier item that is going to cost you an arm and a leg to ship (and it might break on route, too). You could still try selling on eBay and offer shipping or even "local pickup only", but you may want to try selling it to a local antique dealer first.
There are endless options for sites you can sell stuff on. Facebook groups, eBay, Craigslist, Gumtree, Kijiji, Nextdoor, Letgo, Wallapop, to name a few. And there are always more being developed too. Here's another option: do you go to work at an office or building of some sort? Put up a printed ad with your contact info. And then there's local consignment shops, buy and sell stores, trade-in stores (usually store credit exchange). You won't get your asking price at those, but you won't have to go through endless haggling with numerous yard sale patrons.
Editors note: If you live in the UK you'll also be able to take your stuff to "car boot sales", held regularly in towns and cities, and all over the countryside.
That being said, the good ole' fashion yard sale can be kind of fun in that regard. And if you're moving abroad, chances are you're going to need all the experience you can get with haggling and negotiating prices.
Just as each item has its price it also has an ideal platform to best sell it Large items (think furniture, frames, sports equipment, tools) are best sold in local buy and sell groups online like Facebook, Craigslist, LetGo, and VarageSale. This is because you get a local audience through pre-existing targeting, and you won't have to worry about shipping costs. You will have to deal with people saying they will come by at 6pm and never show up…cost of doing business I suppose. Some items you may not even know have value. I helped an Aunt with an estate sale recently, and she had a display case of old padlocks and skeleton keys. I did a quick Google search and found most of the padlocks were going for $30!
When it comes to books ... In my sellallyourstuff.com blog and eBooks I write about knowing the value of your stuff before selling it - especially artwork, because you don't want to be that person who accidentally sells a Monet for $2 at your yard sale. But when it comes to books, you need to basically give them away. I'll elaborate…
We had some nice hard cover books by a best-selling author - several actually. We started them at $4. They didn't even get a second glance. We cut the price down to $2. Barely any takers again. When we reduced the price to $1 we started getting some action. And we also reduced soft covers to a quarter. At my aunt's estate sale we basically wanted to get rid of those books, so we had a sign "4 books for $1" - hardcover or soft cover. There were eight milk crates of books when we started. We brought in zero. Books are heavy, you don't want to keep lugging them back inside. Like I said, give them away! You can try donating your books to a library or exchange at a used book store, but sometimes both of those places might not be accepting books. You can also see when a local "book fair" may be happening too, and those are awesome because 9 times out of 10 book fairs are usually paired with a bake sale, and who doesn't love a bake sale, am I right? I know I make this sound easy, and that you may feel overwhelmed at times. But you'll want to ask yourself, is stuff holding me back? What does that mean? Stay tuned for my next post to find out!
We are Shelly and Al McCullough and back in 2014 we made a huge change in our life. We sold all our stuff, quit the cubicle, and moved from Canada to Panama. We were never the type to accumulate a lot of stuff, and we often had yard sales just to purge stuff we no longer used and/or wanted. Every spring and fall we would go through our closets and figure out what stuff we didn’t wear so we could donate it and get rid of stuff. Prior to our move, we sold EVERYTHING. And after a year of living abroad an opportunity presented itself for us to travel. So we sold everything ... AGAIN! And all that stuff brought us here. SellAllYourStuff was created to help others that want to lead a minimalist lifestyle. You can also read more in Al's books - available on Amazon here:
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Baked apples with dried fruit and rolled oat topping by Jen Evans
I always love to cook with the produce of the season. Right now it's fall and prime time for fresh apples. At least it is where I'm traveling right now (in Bulgaria). So I thought I'd put together an easy recipe this month that works well right out of the oven. Alternatively it is fun treat to eat cold out of the refrigerator with a little ice cream or yogurt.
Ingredients:
2 Firm Apples ¼ Cup (60g) Dried Fruit (such as cherries, cranberries, raisins or apricots) 8 Pecans or Walnuts 3 Tablespoons (45g) Brown Sugar ¼ Cup (60g) Rolled Oats 1 Teaspoon + (5.5g) Ground Cinnamon 1 Tablespoon (15g) Flour 1 Tablespoon (15g) Greek Yogurt 4 Tablespoons (90g) Softened Butter
Method
Finely chop the pecans and dried fruit. Combine with the oats, cinnamon, flour, Greek yogurt, softened butter, and sugar. Cut the apples in half and remove the seeds. Carve out a small well in the center of each apple half. Sprinkle the apple lightly with cinnamon. Fill each apple with the rolled oat topping, pressing it down lightly. Place the filled apple halves in a baking dish (or I like to place them in muffin tins to hold them in place) Bake for 30 – 40 minutes in a 375 degree oven (until the apples are soft).
Editor's note: We think this could make a great breakfast meal too with yoghurt! Will be trying this out soon!
Jennifer Evans is a freelance writer and co-publisher of a travel and food blog, Venturists.net. She travels full-time with her husband Sean, and shares her stories about food, people and destinations along the way. Her goal is to inspire others to explore destinations that they may not have considered, or to embark on adventures they believed were beyond their grasp. She has been living her dream of traveling the world for 2 years and counting. You can read her recipes and articles on: http://www.Venturists.net
Each month, in this section, we introduce you to a handy resource. Some you may already know, others will be useful additions to help you on your journey. In this issue... a very useful website for rail travel information
The man in seat 61 Train journeys are often so much more than a convenient way to get from A to B. They can be an integral part of the journey, the experience of travel itself being as important as the arrival at the final destination.
Trains have criss-crossed the continents for over a century, and offer a wealth of possibilities for the adventurous traveller. Super-high-speed routes can now take you from one city to another at speeds over 300 kph in a matter of hours, or you can spend days rattling across a continent at a crawl, watching as the scenery majestically unfolds along the way. There is a timeless romance attached to longer train journeys, particularly when you travel overnight, sleeping in your own little cocoon of gently swaying space, lulled by the hypnotic rattling.
Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint enjoy overnight romance in Alfred Hitchcock's classic 1959 movie, North By Northwest
Escapist Traveller Magazine have a great post here about some of Europe's most romantic rail journeys.
In China recently Vanessa and I experienced a wonderful overnight journey from Zhengzhou to Zhangjiajie. We boarded early evening after dinner, and were assigned our sleeping space.
The bunks were three high, and we both had a middle bunk opposite each other. People were reading quietly, listening to music or chatting in small groups. We found two seats and watched the scenery roll by as the sun set. The beds were comfortable, and we both slept well, woken only once as the train stopped at a station in the middle of the night. In the morning the breakfast car provided a wonderful start to the day, and we loved having the time to gaze out of the window over breakfast and a hot cup of fresh coffee.
I have taken overnight train journeys on previous occasions in Kenya, Zimbabwe and Thailand. Each has offered a different experience, and each stands out in memory as a travel highlight. Most flights I have taken simply blend in to one memory of merely wanting to get from one place to another as quickly as possible.
If the idea of train travel appeals, this website is one of the best resources available:
The Man in Seat 61 Mark Smith was an English career railwayman, but his passion for rail travel led him to set up his website, The Man in Seat Sixty-One, dedicated to all things rail-related. In 2007 he quit work to run the website full-time, and he has built a reputation for top quality information.
Mark Smith - the man in seat sixty-one
Why "Seat 61"? On his "About me" page Mark explains that on most of his globe-trotting rail adventures he begins by crossing the English Channel on the Eurostar. He always requests seat 61 in one of a few select carriages, as it offers a completely uninterrupted window view. Mark's website has become so popular, that at one point a TV show was considered. You can see the pilot episode here:
The website is packed with rail info from all over the world. To get an idea of what is on offer you can start at the site map page, where you will find lists of subjects covered. My favourite part of the website is the long-haul routes section. One day Vanessa and I hope to travel from London to Beijing via the Trans-Siberian Railway. What an adventure that would be. You can see a pictorial overview of the Moscow to Beijing section of the route here The site has a useful "search" feature too, at the top right of each page. You can buy tickets via the website, or follow links to other sales outlets. You'll also find lots of info on rail passes, ferry schedules, hotel options and more. If you are planning to incorporate rail travel into your itinerary at any point, this website should be your first stop along the way. All aboard.
We'll tell you about another great resource next month. In the meantime, for links to house sitting platforms, comparison articles, books, websites, downloadable forms, and lots of other useful house sitting resources, take a look at our "Resources" page on the House Sitting Magazine website.
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What you can expect in Issue 5 Issue 5 is an issue that focuses on any special considerations that you might need to allow for if travelling, house sitting or offering your home as a vegetarian or vegan. We have a platform interview with Kindred Spirits, who specialise in connecting vegans and vegetarians for house sit and also house swap experiences. Octavine Swanson of VegansTravel.com will be contributing with her "Vegan Smarts When Travelling", Charlie Marchant from CharlieonTravel.com gives us the low down on "5 Unmissable Vegetarian & Vegan Cafes In and around Bournemouth", in the UK, and Samantha Anthony gives us an insight into her "plant-based connections" while house sitting.
There's plenty for non-vegans too! Faith Coates will be supplying our destination guide, following her recent travels around Ireland, and we have the final part of Al McCullough's series about "How to sell all your stuff". We'll also be looking at selling branded products, and hearing from fellow long term house sitter, Martin Gray, about his venture, HouseSitTees. Next month's gallery is a free-for-all, anything goes. Please send your pix to gallery@HouseSittingMagazine.com - we will put a link to your profile or website too! If you missed out on Issue 3 then you can download your copy here Issue 2 can be downloaded here Issue 1 can be downloaded here If you've a story to tell, please get in touch, but until next month, when we will be publishing Issue 5 while on the road between house sits, we wish you happy travels wherever you are in the world! Vanessa and Ian (currently house sit in Granada, Nicaragua)
The small print
Reproduction - Reproduction in whole or part without written permission of the publishers is prohibited. Disclaimer - Information provided in this publication is intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. It should not be used as travel, lifestyle, financial or legal advice. You should always consult with your qualified and licensed professional practitioner. The publisher accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of any of the opinions, advice, representations or information contained within this publication. The publisher expressly disclaims responsibility for any adverse effect that may result from the use and application of the information contained in this magazine. Readers should rely on their own advice and enquiries when making decisions affecting their interests. Publishers - The opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the publishers. House Sitting The ultimate lifestyle magazine is published by Ian Usher and Vanessa Anderson. Email: contact@HouseSittingMagazine.com. The publishers assume no responsibility for unsolicited materials. Copyright 2016 by Ian Usher. All rights reserved. Affiliate disclaimer - Our website and apps do contain links to affiliates via advertisements and these are financial relationships. If you choose to apply for any service or product through an affiliate link we may be compensated by way of a small commission. This should never negatively affect the price that you pay for the product or service. House Sitting Magazine offers a FREE subscription service, and we use affiliate sales to ensure that our subscriptions remains free. They help us to fund the production of this magazine to the house sitting community. We will always try to link only to information we have tried or used ourselves, and that we think you will find beneficial and good value. It is your choice, as with any advertisement, whether to obtain further information or make a purchase.
Next issue: 15th November 2016