Pebbles and Bam Bam, our pet sitting charges

Pet Sitting & Travel: Why Do It and How It Works

October 5, 2016

If you have been reading this blog for a while, then you know we are crazy cat people who will do anything to get our feline fix. We've been stalking cat cafes and feeding street kitties for the better part of six months.

So, it's probably not going to surprise you that we just completed a pet sitting assignment, caring for two cats over two weeks in the UK. We weren't paid, but got to stay in a cute village for free in return for a few minor cat-related tasks: feeding, litter changing and, of course, cuddling.

Some might read that and be intrigued. 'Free travel accommodation AND adorable pets?!? Where do I sign up?'

Others might cringe in horror. 'OMG, stay in an actual stranger's house and scoop poop? Is that really a thing?'

Yes, this is an actual thing and a well-known hack (tip) in the long-term travel and retiree communities. We are huge fans of pet sitting while traveling and I'm going to break it all down for you here.

Why Pet-Sit?

Must Love Dogs (or Cats or Horses or Rabbits or Chickens...)

First and foremost, this is pet sitting. While there are some assignments that are house sitting only, the majority involve dogs or cats so being an animal lover is vital. Pet owners want their fur babies to receive lots of TLC and that should be a primary motivator in taking on such an assignment.

If you are that kind of person, then looking at the pet sitting opportunities online is like being a kid in a candy store. There are so many cute dogs, cats, puppies, and kittens, you might need to brush your teeth after the sweetness overload.

Not limited just to traditional pets, there are opportunities to look after rabbits, fish, guinea pigs and birds as well. Those looking for more action can select sits with farm animals like horses and chickens!

Livin' La Vida Local

For a more personal and meaningful experience when traveling, a pet sit can be ideal. Living as a local can help you immerse yourself into the culture and that is difficult to do when staying in a hotel or the main tourist district.

Pet sitting can also be a great way to experience slow travel, which we find very relaxing as it helps balance out the often hectic pace of packing up and moving every few days. We can establish a bit of a routine and go deeper into a location instead of just skimming the surface.

Another benefit is the potential to develop personal relationships with the owners and even neighbors. Many pet sitters and owners keep in touch after the assignment, which can be beneficial if you would enjoy a repeat visit at the same property with pets and people you know and trust.

Love Don't Cost a Thing

A huge advantage to pet sitting during travel is the free accommodation it affords. Pet sitting can help you experience an expensive area where hotels or even Airbnbs might be out of reach for a budget traveler. Additionally, many of the sits are in beautiful homes such as chateaus in France, luxury condos in Dubai, country cottages in England and ranches in Australia.

Choose Your Adventure

If an active vacation or getting off the beaten track is tops on your priority list, pet sitting might be the way to go. The most common house sits are available in the United Kingdom, USA and France, but there are plenty of exotic locales to tempt you such as Yellowknife, NWT Canada, the beaches of Greece or the mountains of Switzerland.

Plus, it's something completely different. There is excitement in trying new and interesting things and even if you find you don't love it, it is a great experience. You might just learn something.

Go for it!

Yellowknife, Northwest Territory, Canada

How Did We Do It?

Several sites offer the service of connecting home owners and prospective pet sitters, but Perry and I joined Trusted Housesitters for the following reasons.

Largest number of sits available
Built-in reference system
Positive reviews from owners, sitters and external sources, like Trust Pilot
Well organized website that is user friendly
Daily email with new pet sitting listings

A few others to check out include Mind My House, House Carers, and Nomador.

Step One: Check it Out

We spent a few days searching listings to get an idea of what was out there before we signed up and paid the $95 annual fee. That may sound steep if you are a budget traveler or just looking to take a two week vacation, but if you amortize that over a 14 day stay, it works out to just under $7 per night. For us, this was something we planned to do several times over the course of a year and well worth the up-front expense.

Step Two: Build a Profile

Pet sitting is competitive, and a great profile is crucial to stand out from the crowd. Many great resources have been written to help you create one that will get you noticed, and while I will hit the highlights here, for more in-depth information, take a look at this website.

HEADLINE

Stand out and quickly convey your experience, trustworthiness and love of animals. Some owners get up to 50 applications for one sit, so this is important.

PHOTOS

Select close up shots that show you are trustworthy, friendly and good with animals.

INTRODUCTION

Provide an 'elevator speech' with your unique experiences and why that would benefit prospective owners. I amended ours recently with a direct quote from our recent pet sit. Two paragraphs is just about right.

REASON FOR PET SITTING

Tell owners why you want to pet sit, but reply thoughtfully knowing that owners want someone who will care for their pets and home as though they were their own.

EXPERIENCE

Don't just stop with your house/pet sitting experiences and interactions with animals, be sure and talk about your abilities, knowledge, skills and expertise that might be relevant as well. Do you have a green thumb? Know how to fix a toilet? Good with your hands? Fluent in the local language? These are attributes that may be valuable to an owner and can help you stand out.

REFERENCES

Last, but not least, the most important step: you must have references. It is the number one thing owners look for when deciding who to choose to look after their home and pets. The more references, the better.

The best references are from completed pet sits on the internal Trusted Housesitter network, but the next best thing are pet/house sitting references from friends and family. You can also use a character reference from a landlord or employer. Just be sure to add something!

Here is our front page with headline, introduction and photos. It also shows how many internal network references we have (2) and external references (2) as well as our security verifications.

Step Three: Apply and Interview

Before we left on our trip, I completed two assignments in downtown Chicago to gain some experience and secure an internal Trusted Housesitters reference in addition to my external references (thanks Traci and Sue!).

Once overseas, we traveled for a bit before deciding to apply for a pet sitting assignment. The opportunities in continental Europe are fewer and more competitive and we didn't land any we applied for. Undeterred, we focused our attention on the UK and applied for five different opportunities since there are three times the number of sits compared to any other country.

We selected the sits to apply for based on date. We had a two week range to work with as the other three were filled with personal travel and visiting with friends. We also selected just cats for this sit since the UK has lots of them and we wanted to have that experience. Generally, you need to be more flexible than this, but in our case, it worked out.

Next, we narrowed it down to the counties surrounding Cambridgeshire so we wouldn't have too far to travel. No way to sort for that, it was a manual effort.

There were five potential candidates and we applied for all of them. Two had already been filled. One didn't reply back. We heard back from two and set up a Skype interview with one the very next day.

The interview was pretty low key, more 'tell me about you' than 'tell me about a time when you resolved conflict' variety.

We asked a few questions about the cats' needs and likes to convey that it was all about the cats and we were focused on their needs, not just ours. We liked the owners and they liked us. They emailed us 20 minutes after the interview to offer the sit.

The main lesson learned here is that applying for pet sits can be a bit of a numbers game-- don't be discouraged if you don't land the first sit(s) you apply for!

Step Four: Enjoy!

The luxury of staying in a house after many tiny apartments on the road was a thrill. Even better, we were in a small village where we could walk to the store or local pub and take long walks in the country whenever we wanted. There were regular home-cooked meals and even a bit of TV watching while the cats sat on our laps. We caught up on projects amidst this rare spell of peace and quiet. It felt so good to live 'normally' for a few weeks, and being in the UK with that comforting familiarity brought back great memories.

The verdict? We absolutely loved it and can't wait to pet sit again.

If you are interested in pet and house sitting, click on this link to receive 20% off a yearly membership on Trusted Housesitters.

Thanks for reading!

Next time on Gobsmacked: How the Grinch Toured Bucharest

Transition to Travel: How To Prepare For A Mid-Career Break

September 28, 2016

UPDATE: I was honored to share these insights recently on the podcast Zero to Travel. To listen to the entire episode, click here.

Whether it's a sabbatical for rest and contemplation, a gap year to see the world or a way to build a new lifestyle, there are many reasons why someone mid-career might trade their 9-5 life for temporary (or permanent) travel.

Whatever the reasons, all require some degree of planning.

My partner, Perry, and I spent a year preparing for our long-term travel adventure and set off six months ago. During this time we have gained new perspectives on the transition period that we call 'The Road to the Road', and have compiled our best advice for those considering their own travel break.

Where to Start

Long-term travel isn't for everyone and the decision to pursue it should not be considered lightly. I try not to glamorize what we are doing, especially considering we are doing this on a budget. Since this isn't likely to be vacation-level travel, start by asking yourself a few questions.

WHY GO?

Why you want to travel long term should be one of the first questions answered. A clear understanding of your purpose will provide the necessary motivation to persevere through some of the challenging times, like when you arrive in a country exhausted after 20 hours of travel and your Airbnb host doesn't show up and you don't speak the local language. It's not going to be sunshine and roses 24/7, but those mishaps make for the best stories so there is an upside even on bad days, but you will need to draw on that original inspiration from time to time.

I found endless encouragement in the book 'Vagabonding' by Rolf Potts (recommend the audiobook over text). Embracing the unknown while exploring the world is a powerful way to learn more about yourself-- and this became my raison d'être during the odd bad day which, so far, have proven to be better than the bad days in my previous life.

For more reasons to say 'yes', check out the inspiring website and podcast, Zero to Travel.

HOW LONG?

Deciding how long you want to be gone is also crucial. Is this a six month sabbatical from work and you intend to return to the same job? A year long break where you quit your job altogether? Or a way to build a new career and lifestyle as many online entrepreneurs have done? An open-ended return schedule (i.e. travel 'until the money runs out') may allow for more spontaneity but also require more attention/adherence to a budget.

WHAT'S THE TRUE COST?

Finally, be honest with yourself about the opportunity costs and trade offs. If you earn $80,000 and put $20,000 in savings towards a year of travel, $100,000 (plus the cost of not contributing to your retirement savings plan) is the value of your year abroad. That is the cost of checking off your bucket list of exotic destinations and unique experiences.

This is a very simplistic way to look at it and, of course, you spend money every day to live so there is some double counting, but the point is to consider the cost and what you are getting in return-- difficult as it may be to forecast. Money and experience aren't easily compared, so to assign a value to a given experience is equally as difficult before it happens as it is afterward. Think of a great travel experience you have had in the past. It's easy to add up the receipts and arrive at a precise cost, however, what you gained from the experience might be impossible to quantify.

Money, Honey

Once the decision to go has been made, funding is the next area to turn your attention. Long-term travel is less expensive than you might think and plenty has been written on the subject of 'travel hacks' or tips to reduce the cost of travel.

I'll address a few of my favorites below, but what is a bit squishier is how much in total you need to travel. The obvious answer is 'it depends'-- on your comfort expectations, how fast you travel and where. There are trade-offs for everything. Some travelers go lower-budget on accommodation so they have more money for food experiences. Some travelers avoid higher cost locations in favor of budget-friendly countries. Some pet sit along the way to reduce accommodation costs.

So, how do you set a budget?

We took inspiration from the hugely successful travel blogger Nomadic Matt and his best-seller 'How to Travel the World on $50 a Day'. With two people, we set a $100 per day spending target. This helped us in two ways.

It gave us a savings target to shoot for
It provided some boundaries for spending on the road

We are budget travelers, but not super-budget travelers, so while that amount has been tough to hit in expensive Western Europe, we have had no problem shooting under par in Eastern Europe. We expect the same balance in our future Asia/Pacific travels between expensive countries like Japan/Australia/New Zealand and budget-friendly Thailand/Cambodia/Vietnam. In the end, we should easily hit our original target and will likely come under it as we become more comfortable with less comfort!

Once you have your budget set, here are a few of our favorite tips for saving money to fund your travels.

Write it Down

This proved to be an effective deterrent for spending. First, we wrote out all of our expenses to see where we could cut costs. Second, we wrote down every last penny going out the door and posted the list on the fridge for maximum visibility.

Maximize Travel Rewards

For what you do buy, investing in the right travel credit card is crucial. The business of credit cards is increasingly competitive, and providers must continually expand and promote rewards to catch consumers' attention. There has been a ton written on this subject by multiple experts including Extra Pack of Peanuts' Travis Sherry and The Points Guy. They can spell out which cards offer the best rewards and how to navigate the value of points, so I won't dive in too deeply here, but I will tell you which cards we selected and why.

Chase Sapphire Preferred

Universally lauded as one of the best rewards cards out there, the folks at Chase have upped the ante again. Our bonus was 70,000 points, but the latest offers are for 100,000 points. To secure our bonus points, we needed to meet a minimum spend of $3,000 within 90 days which we did (by putting all of our household expenses solely on this card) and then paid the balance off immediately.

In addition to generous sign up bonuses, Chase points are more valuable than most airline points. They can be redeemed within the internal Chase Rewards system at 1.25-2 cents per mile while most airline points are deemed a good value at 1 cent per mile. OR you can transfer them to a variety of partners including United Airlines and Starwood Hotels.

Our Chase Sapphire Preferred has become our everyday card on the road due to no foreign transaction fees on top of the great rewards structure. We are big fans of our Chase.

American Airlines AAdvantage

Because I already had a lot of American points due to business travel, the 50,000 point sign up bonus was a good value for me. American has some of the best rewards travel out there with USA-Europe flights starting at just 22,500 points. They don't make it nigh impossible for you to redeem your points either (take notice, Delta).

After meeting our minimum spend requirement on the Chase, we secured this card. Similarly, there was a minimum $3,000 spend in 90 days but with the two of us using it, Christmas expenditures, expensive investments in our travel packs, and a travel laptop for Perry, it wasn't difficult to meet it.

This is a back-up card and we don't plan to use it much unless something happens to our Chase.

So, what's the takeaway?

I had the same credit card for years, and when I figured out how bad the value of the points actually were, I was gutted that I didn't start with a better card sooner. With our two cards, we earned 120,000 free points on top of all the airline miles I already had. Between points and low-cost airlines, air travel is one of the lowest expenses in our budget despite traveling all around the world.

The Right Bank Account

During a visit to the UK before we began our year of travel, we used the ATM cards from our respective bank accounts of GMI credit union (me) and Wells Fargo (Perry) and were shocked to discover how much we paid in ATM fees. We knew there would be lots of cash withdrawals over the course of a year on the road and at $3.00 or more a pop, that quickly adds up. This relieves a lot of stress involved in obtaining cash, because 1) we don't need to look for specific ATMs to minimize withdrawal fees, and 2) we can withdraw cash frequently and thus do not have to carry large amounts of it at once.

We switched to the Charles Schwab High Yield Investor Checking Account where we are reimbursed at the end of each month for any ATM fees incurred. #winning

Leverage Work Travel

Sock away those points when traveling for business, no matter how minor. While we typically stay in apartments, every so often we splurge on a hotel and we do it with the points I saved from business travel. Also, while we usually take public transportation, there are times when a car is more efficient and I use points saved from car rentals to mitigate the cost.

Downsizing

Whether you are going for a few months, a year, or indefinitely, reducing the amount of stuff you have is a great way to prepare yourself for life on the road. In addition to getting practice living minimally, selling possessions can certainly help fund your travels.

After we listed out all of our expenses, we could see the biggest expenditures were rent and car payments. One of the first things we did was move into a small one bedroom apartment and sell one of our cars. This move freed up $1200 per month which over the course of a year contributed nearly one half of our savings target.

If you are renting, this is a pretty easy move, provided you aren't in the middle of your lease, but it doesn't hurt to ask the landlord if they will transfer your lease to another unit. If you own a home, this could be your chance to save money by selling, renting or even listing your property on Airbnb.

Once you move into a smaller place, it is the perfect opportunity to address clutter and excess accumulation. Selling possessions might be difficult for some, but we found it thrilling to offload stuff and make money at the same time.

Moving into a smaller place wasn't much of a hardship but getting used to one car took practice and patience. We had to coordinate our schedules a lot more and Uber helped, too. Turns out, we helped ourselves prepare for life in countries where walking and public transportation is de rigueur.

The Right Stuff

If we could go back in time, this is one area we would do over. The challenge of what to bring on the trip!

The first thing we would do is purchase our 44 liter Tortuga backpacks as early as possible. This would have prevented us from buying more gear than we ultimately needed. Once you make a commitment to the size pack you want to lug around, make it a priority to have it on hand so you can get used to it and figure out exactly what can and can't fit. This should help to prevent overbuying of travel gear.

Then, we would forget the quest for the perfect gear- pants, shirts, underwear, etc. We both spent way too much time on this. I recently wrote an article elaborating on how much the 'right clothes' are pretty much meaningless.

We chose a 44 liter pack as it the maximum carry on size for the majority of airlines. You will breeze through the airport while everyone is standing in line waiting to check a bag or waiting at the luggage carousel with fingers crossed.

While you can get by without much in the luggage/clothes department, one thing that you will need is a good international phone service. The ability to text the owner of your Airbnb, pull up a map when lost, or translate something from a menu is priceless. We switched to the T-Mobile international plan. For $50/month (one person) I have unlimited data (2G speed, so not amazing, but it does the trick) and texting in 140 countries. Calls are $0.20/minute, so it's not the end of the world if you need to make a dinner reservation or quick call for directions.

Where to Go

One of the best parts about the wait is planning destinations and experiences. This became a Friday night ritual for us where we would share our top locations and bucket list items that we could compare and begin building a rough itinerary.

This is where I discovered sleeping in a Mongolian yurt, visiting Estonia and seeing the Terra Cotta soldiers in Xi'an, China are high on Perry's bucket list. He found out that touring the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia and sleeping in a glamping hut were on mine.

In addition to being a practical thing to do, it turned out to be a lot of fun and a great relationship builder. If you are planning to travel with a partner, you are both in this together and there is nothing like creating shared experiences to bring you closer. Turns out, building that goodwill comes in handy during occasional tough days and long stretches of nothing but 24/7 togetherness.

Final Thoughts on the 'Transition to Travel'

While it might take some time to save the money and get your life in order, don't wait too long. After six months of planning, we bought our airline tickets ($600 for two tickets to London, thanks Skyscanner) to force an end date to our normal lives / a start date for our travel adventures.

Good luck let me know if you hit the road! I would love to hear from you at paula_labine@yahoo.com.

Before:  March, 2016 — Before: March, 2016

Travel Packing Update: Winners & Losers

September 24, 2016

After:  September, 2016 — After: September, 2016

We are nearly finished with our breather in the UK before continuing our travels in Western Europe for the remainder of the year. In preparation, I've just finished sorting my stuff into piles of what's 'in' and what's 'out'.

After six months, I've come a long way since I first packed up in March. There has been a lot of learning about how and what to bring for life on the road, but the biggest realization is that you need to figure it for yourself. No matter how many blogs and articles I read cautioning to 'do this' or 'bring that', there is nothing like good old-fashioned experience to help hammer the lessons home.

PACKING LESSONS

Cheaters Never Win

A backpack only holds so much and you can't sneak something in like you might do when packing a suitcase for a weekend trip. You know, those 'just in case' pieces. Once you are over the limit, your backpack will simply ignore your pleas to ZIP UP YOU PIECE OF S&!T while you wrap your leg around it trying to squeeze it into submission. Not that it's happened to me or anything.

Atonement

Speaking of 'just in case', you will curse those items and the extra weight they contribute when you inevitably take a wrong turn on the way to your Airbnb from the train station and end up walking two extra miles in 90F degree heat with 25# of 'just in case' on your back. Not that it's happened to me or anything.

Not Just a Pretty Face

Once in a blue moon, a 'frivolous' item becomes a travel hero. Such is my trusty Michael Kors gold travel wallet- see the WINNERS section below.

The Price of Beauty

Toiletries & makeup are heavy and I'm sick of carrying them around. I've cut WAY back and no longer pack extra amounts of the face wash, lotion and tampons I prefer.

Top Gear

Yes, understand the limitations of your gear but don't let it stop you. You are not going to run a marathon in flip-flops, but you CAN climb mountains in a simple pair of sneakers. You can't pack for every contingency, but somehow things just work out. I wasted way too much time thinking about the 'what if' scenarios and trying to find the 'perfect' article of clothing. 99% of the time, it just doesn't matter what you are wearing. What if I need to go to a nice dinner? What if I get invited to go white water rafting? Blahblahblah! Just throw some stuff in bag and get out there.

WINNERS & LOSERS

As mentioned above, most of the clothes I packed turned out to be just fine. However, there were a few pieces that stood out on both ends of the spectrum. There were several winners and a few losers. Luckily, more of the former than the latter. If you read the original article on what I packed, you know I had high hopes for my gear and here is how it worked out.

WINNERS

CAPILENE MIDWEIGHT ZIP-NECK TOP BY PATAGONIA

The number one can't-live-without piece in my possession is this little number I picked up on sale for $50 at REI in St. Louis. I've worn it nearly every single day over the past six months, even in the summer because air conditioning makes me cold. Lightweight, yet warm and still looking great after countless washes, Patagonia, I owe you everything.

CITY JOGGER BY ATHLETA

My city joggers are SO comfortable, I kicked my leggings out of the pack. Even though they feel like pajamas, they look great.

3/4 SLEEVE BALLET NECK INDISPENSIBLE DRESS BY TRAVELSMITH

I've worn this dress more than I thought I would. Not just for going out to eat, I've worn it frequently on travel days as something that is not constricting but looks respectable.

NIKE FREE 5.0 RUNNING SHOE

These shoes are so awesome, I'm on my second pair! I was lucky to find replacements in Bucharest for $80 which was perfect timing because of the 800+ miles I had put on them up to that point. It's a relief to be in a pair of shoes that are not only comfortable and super lightweight, but my feet still feel great after 7-12 miles per day of walking. They have even tackled some mountain hiking.

MICHAEL KORS JET SET WALLET

Originally, I bought a nylon travel wallet from Travelsmith, but at the last minute I decided to go with what I had been using. What makes this wallet great is the removable strap so I can go from cross-body purse to clutch in seconds. In my previous life, it lived inside my big work tote along with the strap in case I needed to go hands-free.

This wallet has worked like magic on road. It's been a workhorse as I carry it nearly every single day. Not only does it hold my passport, phone and lipgloss in addition to the usual money and credit cards, it's cute AND waterproof. Cue the song of heavenly angels.

LOSERS

TENCEL INDIGO TUNIC BY J JILL

I thought this tunic would be great, but shame on me for not giving it a test drive prior to leaving. Tencel may be easy care, but it wrinkles like crazy! Even after hanging up for several days, the wrinkles won't budge. Ironing on the road? Nope.

RIBBED SLIM TEE BY ANTHROPOLOGIE

How wrong can you go in a simple long sleeve top? Plenty, it turns out. After one wash, it shrank up. Boo!

CLASSIC V NECK TEE BY RAG & BONE

Normally, high performance material is good on the road. In fact, I will probably bring it to SE Asia where cotton just doesn't dry very well in the humidity. The reality is that I didn't reach for this shirt very often as it just felt like a baggy square and was not very flattering.

WUNDER UNDER LEGGINGS BY LULULEMON

I take back what I said about leggings being a must have travel item. I hardly wore mine even though I thought they would be used for both exercise or relaxing. Instead of gyms however, we walked everywhere but I wore either my City Joggers or shorts. If I wanted to relax, it was my City Joggers or pajama bottoms. Caught in the dreaded middle ground, I sent these back to the UK with Alison when she visited us in Split.

THE REPLACEMENTS

If a piece didn't make the cut, I mainly just did without, but there were a couple of items that I did pick up on the road that especially helped during the hot weather period.

CUT & PRET PEASANT BLOUSE

I picked up this shirt in Tallinn and it was a lifesaver. It provided lightweight coverage without making me sweaty. It washed up like a champ and air dried in a couple of hours. It wrinkled a bit when packed but after hanging up overnight, the wrinkles disappeared. Good enough for me!

H&M TANK

When the weather was really hot, even a t-shirt was too much. This tank checked all the boxes- cool and lightweight, good looks, easy wash/dry and packed up in the tiniest ball in my pack.