The Life Of A Digital Nomad

Ever since I heard of it, I’ve always loved the idea of being a Digital Nomad. The phrase inspired in me a sense of limitless freedom, creativity and unique outlook on the world. Of course, I hadn’t heard of the phrase until a few years ago. In fact not until somebody had already introduced me to the phrase ‘house-sitter.’ And no doubt if you’d mentioned either of them to me the year before I’d have laughed in your face. 

Yet here I am, three years on, comfortably living the life of house-sitting Digital Nomad, and still loving the concept. Who’d have guessed? 

So why am I rabbiting on about this? Well… I’m hoping it will kind of explain what I’ve been up to - and more to the point, why there haven’t been any posts for a while. Truth is, I’ve been working on my digital nomadicness. 

As most of you will know I’ve been having fun creating online courses for years now - mostly on writing up until this point. But as the months have passed it’s become more apparent that there’s something else I had to do, but… typically… I just didn’t know what it was. But now I do (YAY!) and that’s what’s been distracting me from writing the blog posts (for which I’m sorry, by the way). 

In the past month I’ve working on supporting, informing and inspiring house-sitters coming to Australia. (Yes, I know it’s a pretty obvious shift in direction, but somehow I’d missed it. DER!) Steve and I have, after all, had an overwhelming success with house-sitting so it seems only fair to share what we’ve learned. 

Of course it doesn’t mean that we won’t keep doing all we’ve been doing up until now, it just means there will be more! So now, along with everything House-sitting Life, there’s also a House-sitting in Australia website, blog, Facebook page, online courses, even house-sitting TShirts, stickers, notebooks in my Quirky Bees store… and that’s just for starters. I’m even hosting an All About House-sitting discussion at the Bodhi Tree Bookstore Cafe in Mt Hawthorn, on Friday 14th December (at 2pm if you’re interested). 

So… if you’re wondering about becoming a house-sitter (or know somebody who is) check out everything House-sitting in Australia and stay tuned for more. 

Well, I hope that explains my absence, apologies again, and here’s hoping the next blog post won’t take so long to eventuate. Now I’m off now to go create something Digitally Nomadic. What do you reckon, should I go work in the colourful lush garden or whilst lounging on a comfy sofa? 

Watch Out Perth!

I’ve got rather a strange feeling as I sit in the sheltered sun today. The canal’s lapping near my feet, with the ducks, cormorants and pelicans not much further away and I’m preparing for our move tomorrow.

All moves feel different, because each house and community is different - especially when you’re moving from the outskirts of Perth back to the suburbs again. Plus we’ve been here for close on 10 weeks, in three different houses in one street, all with the same view but from a different angle. We even know which dogs bark when we walk past them, in fact we know several of them (and their owner’s) by name, locals wave to us as they drive past as if we’ve always lived here, and I even think that the girl at the local coffee shop is beginning to remember which of us has the cappucino and which has the chai latte.

Not that I’m complaining about the move. Next week we’ll have more than one supermarket to choose from, a train station less than an hour’s ride away, friends within cycling distance, and all kinds of other metro things. Who knows I might even go buy some new clothes and find a hairdressers…

Every house-sit can be so different from another, and that’s before you even consider the homes and pets. You’d think that after almost two and half years I’d be used to it, but sometimes it still catches me off guard. Just like people’s generosity and respect for the service we provide. When we started out I never in a million years thought our lives would be so diverse or that we would be so sought-after and appreciated. 

Thanks, everyone!

Well, enough of this relaxing and reflecting, time to go bring in the laundry, recharge the bike batteries and start sorting for packing. 

Watch out Perth, here we come!

Gale Force Winds And Torrential Downpours!

Yes, I know it’s been a while since I put my last blog post up. Sorry. I guess things just got a bit busy here. Although I suspect the real truth is… I’ve just been making the most of this year’s wonderful winter weather and, in the time when I wasn’t, I was working on some of the projects that enable us to live the amazing life that allows us to be able to enjoy it so much.

People often complain about having to go to work, to be there at set times and having specific things that have to be done. Well, I’ll tell you one thing, it’s a lot easier to get work done when there are expectations on you than when you aren’t. Fair enough when I was writing and running Writing to Inspire staying up-to-date with the workload didn’t seem too challenging, but now, when it’s a choice between working on the computer or going for a bike ride by the river…

It’s now that I sit down and appreciate gale-force winds and torrential downpours, because they don’t give me any choice. Or how about the pets that insist that sunrise is the best time of the day for you to wake up and give them their breakfast?

So basically, what I’m saying is the main reason this blog post is late is because I’ve been out enjoying winter too much, and when I haven’t been doing that I’ve been catching up on my work.

I am planning on writing the next post sooner but… well… can I get away with saying it has nothing to do with me, it all depends on the weather.

Would You or Not?

Despite us being in the middle of a stormy few days, when Steve checked the computer this morning it said the ‘chance of rain’ was only 10% - which I didn’t really believe, but our washing did need washing. Besides it was sunny outside…

But… by the time I’d put everything in the tub and pressed Start, the computer said the chance of rain was now 80%! Plus, when I looked out of the window it appeared the sun had decided to play Hide and Seek behind the huge grey clouds.

What the…? Was it watching me? Had it seen me press Start on the machine?

Still, by the time I was unloading all our soggy clothes the sun had reappeared. So I decided, what the heck, and put it all out. Besides good British training has taught me that thirty minutes on the line was better than none.

Twenty minutes later though, I looked out the window and the sky was tinged with grey.

‘Do you reckon we should bring the laundry in?’ I asked the man.

But, believe it or not, in the two minutes it took us to get from our chairs to the washing line, the weather had gone from greyish to torrential rain. Meaning, of course, that not only were our newly laundered, semi dried, clothes soaked again… but we were too!

Now, all I can say is… the garden is looking great, the wild birds are enjoying the overflowing birdbaths and good job we’re not moving house-sits this afternoon. Why? Well, because the only dry clothes we’d get to choose between wearing are our shorts, tee shirt or pyjamas!

(Oh yes! And just in case you’re interested, as I write this ten minutes later the rain has stopped and the sun is peeking out from behind the clouds. No… I take that back, it’s bucketing again!)

Why I'm Not Answering Your Calls

 



Has anybody had any problems contacting me by phone recently? I have to ask because I know I haven’t been quite as contactable as usual. Not that it’s out of choice, and I’m still reachable by text, email, through the website and other computer based ways - thankfully. Why not by phone though you might ask, well… primarily because for months now I’ve been inundated with phone calls from all kinds of foreigners eager to tell me how they can improve my life if only I sign up with them! I rarely hang up on people, lie or even avoid calls (especially since much of our business is done over the phone) but it seems like it’s become the only way to go.

The funny thing is though that these generous, friendly people are all trying to inform me about the same thing – the federal government’s new offer on solar energy. Of course, I agree with solar energy (especially in a country with so much sun) but don’t you agree, it’s a bit difficult to collect any when you don’t have a roof or even anywhere to put a panel? I find it all rather ironic really – considering our lifestyle and our effort to be gentler on the world.

On top of all this, ‘nomadic’ doesn’t seem to be a word in everyone’s vocabulary - not even in the form of ‘Digital Nomad’! (I don’t like to say we’re ‘homeless’ because that has so many other inferences.) I’ve tried saying ‘we are renting,’ even ‘we have no roof,’ and, in fact, just about everything between, but I’m still getting numerous calls a week from unknown mobile phones and locations all over the world. Some hang up on me, of course, but others just keep pushing unable to understand what I’m trying to say.

Isn’t it a shame that some things in the world can be so desperate?

Anyway, that’s not really the point of this post… unless by chance you have the perfect solution for me in the form of what to say or do.

No, basically I just wanted to say, if you should phone me and not get through on the first call, please call back immediately or try a different form of communication – I promise you we are still here and I’m not really trying to ignore you.

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Pin, Prickle Or Glass (part two)

Back in January I wrote a blog post mumbling on about the challenges we were going through with the ridiculous number of punctures we’d been attracting. Something that isn’t particularly appealing when the bike is your primary source of transport!

Well, a couple of months on, I have to say our new inner tubes have made a truly tremendous difference. (Here’s hoping that talking about them isn’t going to trigger a hole.)

It seems we often as a universe discuss how technology and various aspects of lifestyles have changed over the decades, but I never really considered that to include the advances in bicycle inner tubes. Did you? But truth is, when it came to researching our options, there were many more choices than I’d ever considered.

Did you know for example that there are inner tubes that come completely filled with sludge. So much sludge, in fact, that any incurred hole is instantly filled with this solidifying gunk negating any chances of a flat tyre.

Or how about a tyre that doesn’t need an inner tube! A tyre that you can see through because it’s made of something resembling a large holed mesh - plus to make it even more appealing it comes in a variety of popular colours!

But whilst both of these might do a great job, the more acceptable (and proven in our case) are the inner tube which is less likely to get punctured because it’s made of extra thick rubber. A rubber that’s simply harder for a prickle to get through Or better still… how about an inner tube that’s made of this thick rubber plus lined with a layer of gunk to instantly plug the rare hole?

After much research the latter of these options is the one we (or rather Steve) eventually chose, and they’ve done a great job… not one puncture in months!

So if you’re riding around at all I would strongly recommend them. They might be a bit of pain to replace if you’ve got gears on the back wheel (in which case you might want to consider a trip to a bike shop), but we found the effort and extra expense definitely worth while. Thought I’d share the update just in case it’s of any use…

The Paths We Travel

The road wasn’t too busy as we cycled down the bike lane. Most semis, vans and cars giving us the newly regulated one metre clearance as they drove past us on Burns Beach Road. Not that I was paying particular attention to them, I was focusing more on staying well to the right of the white line and casting the occasional eye over the native bushland three metres or so to the left of us.

The highlight of our day was going to visit some long-time friends for morning tea. There’s no doubt that one of the advantages of house-sitting around WA is that we get to (temporarily) live close to all kinds of friends. In fact, at our previous stay we’d been only a stone’s throw from our daughter... which had led to more than the occasional morning tea!

This time round we are only a few minutes away from a gorgeous couple who became dear friends over twenty years ago when Steve and I physically built a kit home next door to them in Beverley (a rural town, just outside York in WA’s wheatbelt). And yes, I did say ‘physically built’! We put up the exposed beams, attached the Western Red cedar cladding, put down the slate floors, and everything in between… we did the lot! It still amazes me what we achieved… and the fact that the house is still standing!

Living in the country (on four acres), surrounded by wildlife, was so different from the life we have now. We haven’t been back though, not since we left twenty odd years ago, and I have little idea of how our house is fairing. Part of the reason we love catching up and reminiscing with old friends I guess.

These were the thoughts flowing through my mind as we cycled down the semi-main road.

Thoughts, suddenly interrupted as a wild kangaroo appeared from the nearby bushland, and hopped beside us for about half a kilometre before heading back into the bushland.

And, funnily enough, thoughts that were starting to resurface an hour or so later when an unexpected friend (a stranger to us, but friend of our friends) called in and interrupted our morning tea. Who was she? Believe it or not… the current owner of the house we built in Beverley! The person who is currently living under our exposed beams! On our uneven slate and behind our Western Red cedar!

Who’d have guessed? 

Certainly not me.

What Are The Chances?

I guess no business exists without cancellations. Although, for us, they can be a little bit more awkward than they are for other businesses - primarily because we can end up homeless!

In our time we’ve had a few (especially this year), but more recently I have to admit to being unsure as to whether I’m more amazed with the final outcomes or amazed that I’m amazed. After all, I’ve had enough synchronistic events in my life to know that they happen. But (during our time as house-sitters) getting a cancellation then all of a sudden finding out that somebody down the road needs a house-sitter for the exact dates that we’re free? What do you think the chances are of that happening? Once off would be a surprise. Twice might be too, but three times or more? What do you think the chances are? That has to be synchronistic, right?

Last month we suddenly found ourselves with a free ten days. So I went to the promotional house-sitting website we belong to and… believe it or not… just a few hours earlier somebody less than twenty minutes away had put up an ad saying they needed somebody for the exact same days! What’s more, they liked us and booked us almost immediately.

Then a few days later we got a cancellation for the majority of February! One that we still hadn’t been able to rebook by late January - primarily because nobody seemed to be going away for the same days. Chances are I could have covered the three weeks with a collection of bookings, but it would have meant a lot of moving and short stays. Not ideal and not particularly relaxing. Then when we only had a few days left, I decided a decision had to be made, and… all of a sudden, when I looked at the website… there was a new ad. Not only was it not that far away, for days that suited perfectly, but they liked us as well!

That’s just this year, too.

We did have a few cancellations last year (rebooked equally as smoothly! Thankfully!) but not two in two months. This is why we’re not taking bookings more than six months in advance. Whilst it’s reassuring to have homes booked a long way in advance, it does seem to increase the chances of cancellations and changed plans. Something we accept, but not something we’re keen on... for obvious reasons!

Pin, Prickle Or Glass?

There’s no doubt about it… when we decided to sell the car and travel primarily by electric bike I knew (without a doubt) that punctures would become part of our lives. Thankfully I’ve always felt quite comfortable fixing them and even grew up with a family story about my father once getting caught out and having to fix a puncture with a postage stamp. But I ask you… SEVEN punctures in just three months? That’s definitely more than I expected!

Mind you, I’m not surprised. Have you looked at a bike lane or bike path recently? Whilst I really appreciate their introduction around the state they do seem to be cluttered with a whole stack of spiky things (broken glass, prickles, burrs and who knows what else). I don't doubt some of it is discarded rubbish but I also assume a fair stack of it is simply thrown up by cars tyres or thrown down from trees and bushes.

The first day we got punctures Steve and I were cycling along a footpath which had just had the hedge next to it trimmed. Believe it or not within the distance of ONE block we both got a flat tyre! Then once we’d fixed both of those beside the road we each had a slow one appear, caused I think from another spike picked up on the same section of footpath. That was even without spikes being visually obvious.

Then Steve got another one last week (while we were in Carramar). That unfortunately appeared while we were nipping down to the shops and had forgotten to taken a repair kit with us! Thankfully we did have a pump though, and the tyre was kind enough not go down entirely before we got home.

Our last lot were only a few days back while cycling from Mandurah train station to South Yunderup. Holes caused again, I think, by prickles from plants! Steve’s puncture insisted on being changed mid-trip (thankfully we were able to find a shady tree), whilst mine was patient enough to wait until we were going out the next day.

Does Australia have more spiky plants than the UK or is it because we often cycle on paths as well as roads?

Either way - as readers of this blog post are no doubt telling us to do - Steve has just ordered a couple of sets of puncture-resistant inner tubes (something I was never aware of before now). They even come with a two year guarantee, so here’s hoping… 

Either way, I can see my repair kit growing and quickly improving. Who knows, maybe I should put some postage stamps in it... just for good luck.

What A Surprise!

There’s no doubt that I was expecting a bit of a reaction to my last blog post (you know, the one about selling the car and buying ourselves electric bikes). But the actual response… well, it did take me a little by surprise!

There were off-hand comments and surprised faces, there were concerned phone calls, chats and emails, there were even people totally lost for words and at a complete loss of understanding to our logic. I have to admit, I found it all quite an eye-opener and inspiration - especially when it came to the unexpected, ‘Oh, what a great idea. I wish I could do that too’ comments.

So, first of all, thank you to everyone who read the post and took the time to voice their thoughts and concerns.

Secondly, in response to the main topic that’s continually coming up in conversations…

Yes, believe it or not, everything we need for our day-to-day life as house-sitters DOES fit on the bikes!

We do have a fair amount of stuff in storage. (You know, family me memorabilia and household bits we’ll need when/if we choose to settle down again.) So that cuts down our luggage dramatically, plus, we’ve done an astounding job at downsizing, and, of course, much of what we use televisions, saucepans, etc, is kindly provided by the owners of the houses we stay in.

Besides if you really think about it, we need (please note I wrote ‘need’ here, not ‘use’) exceptionally little for our daily life.

Yes, I expect there are some women out there who could never even think of existing on as few clothes and shoes as I have now. But there is a certain amount of freedom in waking up in the morning and thinking, ‘shorts or jeans?’ ‘tee-shirt or jumper?’ That’s not saying it didn’t take me a while to get used to the concept, and to having no dresses and heels! But it’s true… a girl can manage on one (or two) pairs of shoes and the occasional visit to a good Op (Thrift) shop!

The advancement of technology has also been an advantage. After all, let’s face it - computers can hold just about all the factual stuff and other bits we need, and they seem to be getting smaller by the day. Even if our eyesight isn’t allowing us to use the tinier ones!

On the topic of food - we can now gauge the exact amount of food we need for a stay. Which means we carry very little with us. This includes using up items going out of date in the fridge when we arrive and leaving our few leftovers when we go. Of course, that doesn’t also mean we haven’t been seen to have creative ‘last day’ meals or bought the odd pizza.

So, there you go… as you can see, we’ve got it all down to a routine (or pretty close). Besides packing is all part of the fun of it (except when I’m down to my last pannier and for some reason it doesn’t all fit, meaning I have to start from scratch again!)

Hope that helps and reassures.

Anybody got any more questions or concerns they'd like answered?