Our Journey From IL Readers to International Housesitters

Our Journey From IL Readers to International Housesitters
Next stop for house sitters Steve and Deanna: six months in colorful San Miguel de Allende.|©iStock/Alexcrab

Long before we met, we both knew we wanted to travel. Steve’s career as a freelance video producer/director afforded him a bit of opportunity to travel, but it was never enough—and it was always for work. Before we met, Deanna did a bit of RV travel and visited a few of the more popular US tourist destinations on vacations.

When we found each other, later in life, we didn’t waste any time: In short order—on our way to retirement—we checked off San Francisco, Puerto Vallarta, Toronto, the Virgin Islands, both US and British, and a few others. There was just one problem: our desire to stay always exceeded our ability to pay for that extended stay.

Somewhere along the way, we discovered International Living. We were dazzled by the promises of fabulous, yet inexpensive places to actually live instead of just visit. We were hooked.

But “problem two” soon surfaced: where should we live? Under the IL influence, we soon checked out Panama and the Dominican Republic. But “problem one” still plagued our search for the perfect retirement location. We had to figure out a way to stay longer than a couple of weeks.

When we saw a feature in IL about housesitting, things started to click. We bought Yvonne Bauche’s housesitting course, and got started writing our profile and checking out the recommended websites. We now had a plan: in about two years, we planned to retire and start housesitting.

Then Deanna’s secure job as a tele-health triage nurse came to a screeching halt when the hospital abruptly decided to eliminate her entire department. We were now on a clock—and a pretty short one: three months.

IL readers Steve and Deanna Guidry at Casa las Sirenas.
IL readers Steve and Deanna Guidry at Casa las Sirenas.

We finished the profile, got the required background checks, and badgered friends to write recommendation letters. We began the process of putting our house into the short-term rental market. Steve stopped taking his freelance video gigs.

We weren’t sure any of this would pan out, so when the time came to make our profile live, we decided that failure would not come from lack of trying, and began “working it” hard.

Fortunately, Steve’s freelancer mentality was good training for booking and juggling dates and the sales end of things. We booked our first sit from our first application, then our second sit from our second application, and our third—all within a week or so. It was starting to look like this “homeless” lifestyle would work out after all.

We’re now about six months in, and we’ve done about 10 sits. Our first international posting was in Drumheller, Alberta—the home of Hoodoos and Dinosaurs. To explain: Drumheller is the home of the largest concentration of dinosaur bones in the world, and like the aliens in Roswell, they’re everywhere—the whole town has really leaned into the Dino thing: Whimsical colorful statues grace most street corners. Dino murals adorn downtown buildings, and many local businesses proudly include “Dinosaur” in their name. It’s all great fun!

But there’s a serious side: Drumheller is the home of the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology, a world-class collection that’s true to its name, and the home of many complete and nearly complete Dino skeletons. When they were younger, our grandkids would have been all over this!

Our second international posting is here at a gorgeous resort on the Sea of Cortés in Baja, where we’re taking care of things during the off-season. Casa las Sirenas (House of the Sirens) is both remote and hauntingly beautiful.

Steve and Deanna’s latest ‘sit is by the beautiful Sea of Cortez in Baja California, Mexico.
Steve and Deanna’s latest ‘sit is by the beautiful Sea of Cortez in Baja California, Mexico.

For those not in the know, “the Baja” is a place where one can experience the seaside, the desert, and the mountains all within an hour’s drive of one another. Desert jackrabbits, lizards, and kangaroo rats are separated by a thin row of dunes, and all frolic within a two-minute walk of tide pools where baby octopus, sea stars, and shrimp are trapped by the receding tide… it’s a magical place.

We were so enchanted that we went ahead and got our temporary residence cards while here—but that’s a story for another article.

Next up is a six-month sit in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Our plan is to start Spanish lessons and try to assimilate more into the culture.

Will we do this forever? We’re not sure. But we’re finally getting to travel at our own pace, and that’s pretty good for now.

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