House-sits

Throwback to when we met the people who sparked our plan to travel Australia.

It’s been a strange feeling, being homeless and to be living in someone else’s house. We’re not homeless if we’re living in someone’s home, I get that, but this is very temporary and after the arranged house-sits are done it’s all Airbnb’s, as we can find them, until our caravan is ready—we are now a family with no fixed address.

The change has been refreshing so far, however, and the different surrounds and scenery has been great—apparently, change is as good as a holiday. Homeowners typically opt for house-sitters when there are pets involved, and our first house-sit had 2 lovely, big dogs, that were very friendly, particularly around children. This was important as our daughter, Alina, had previously only had limited exposure to dogs and so it was interesting to watch her interaction with them. She wasn’t nervous around them, but was tentative enough to show some caution and not just run up to them and grab a fist-full of fur, as many kids will naturally do, instead, approaching with some instinctive caution and gently touching their fur with an open hand. The home itself was a delightful Queenslander located west of Brisbane, perfectly situated for my work and close to every amenity we’d need, and aside from taking care of the 2 dogs, along with a little yard maintenance, the sit was all business as usual with Alicia continuing to record her podcast, Cuppa with a Doula, Alina just being Alina, and me enduring work, all as per normal.

The only difficult thing with house-sits, Airbnb’s, and moving every couple of weeks is that we’re always having to pile our stuff up around the house, and usually in conveniently inconvenient paces. We bring in the large plastic containers and bags that contain everything we’ll need whilst we’re there, pantry items, kitchen stuff, Thermomix, our clothes, laptops, and all the other bits and pieces that you use and need on a daily basis, and because the homes are already furnished and stocked, particularly house-sits for obvious reasons, we’re loading bench space and tables with all of our things. It’s not a major inconvenience in the scheme of things, but it just means there’s always stuff everywhere, and you can’t cook or sit down at the table to eat without heaping said stuff in unstable piles (anything not piled up high and off the floor is fair game for Alina)—it’s just constant clutter. Not a bad situation at all, though, if that’s one of your biggest problems.

Our second location saw us heading to a Shailer Park Airbnb which was, well, just some accommodation, really. The host doesn’t want guests parking in the driveway and didn’t want us parking out the front of the neighbours because it was for sale (?!?!) so that made parking 2 vehicles slightly difficult. And whilst I’m whinging, there was no mobile phone reception inside, only on the veranda, which made taking work phone calls problematic and, while I’m at it, the hosts were a little noisy. At the end of the day, it was just somewhere to stay until the next house-sit, and it was not long before we found ourselves packing up, again, this time heading to Hillcrest, a suburb of Logan, south of Brisbane. It was a good sit in an older brick home, looking after a lively Jack Russell while its owners took some time away on a 10-day cruise. I was left a bottle of home brewed Jack Daniels and, whilst I’m not much of a drinker these days, it was superb—I think it will be left to enjoy once we’re on the road. It’s been a great house-sit so far, in a good location allowing me to continue to work, but we will soon be needing to pack up and move on, yet again, this time heading for the Brisbane suburb of Wilston for a couple of weeks in an Airbnb—an old stomping ground, of sorts, from quite many years ago. I have also given my employer notice of resignation and have also requested to utilise what leave time I have to allow me to finish sooner, so things are really moving on now.

To finish off, I think it’s time for a shout out to Stephy and Leigh from @GrizzlyNBearOverland, who played a part in our decision to take a sharp turn away from the status quo. If you haven’t read the earlier posts, it was Alicia’s Dad who said we should watch their YouTube videos—he had been enjoying them as, with Stephy being French, and Leigh an Aussie, they apparently remined him of us. And so, we began watching their videos and became inspired to live life differently. We’re fortunate to have met Stephy and Leigh at the All British day in Brisbane, and they are both so likeable and generous with their time—we wished we had more time with them, however, being as popular as they are, they were quickly inundated with followers and fans alike. So, to Stephy and Leigh, if you somehow catch wind of this, thank you so much for the inspiration and contributing to us having the courage to take on this adventure. And if you both do happen to see this, little Alina is soon to have a brother or sister join her in life on the road. Thank you, guys!