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Last Updated on September 16, 2012 by Work In My Pajamas
If you’re one of those who’s lucky enough to work at home, what happens when you want to go on a holiday or have to take an extended trip? Of course, you can always work from a hotel room but this can often be a hassle. Hotel rooms don’t come cheap, internet costs aren’t always free, and the whole “home” ambiance is missing.
One solution is to take a house sitting job in the place you want to visit. House sitting is where you live in and look after someone else’s home when they need to be away. First of all, house sitting can really bring down your travel expenses. You’ll have all the comforts of home without having to shell out your hard-earned dollars for a room in a hotel or motel. Next, you can save a lot on food expenses. You’ll have the use of a kitchen, cook your own food and not have to depend on restaurants for your meals. House sitting will also give you the time to find the best, least-expensive groceries and markets so you can stretch your food budget.
But the true beauty of house sitting, for someone who works from home, is the environment you’ll find yourself in. It won’t differ much from your own home, you can have all the privacy you need, and you can still work at your own pace. Set up your work station the way you want it, wake up when you want to, take your breaks as you wish and work as long as you want. All you have to do is look after a house, clean up a bit, water the lawn and keep things secure and in order.
In some house sitting assignments, you might even get the chance to earn some money. Depending upon your arrangements with the home owner, you could charge for some services that are usually not part of a standard house sitting arrangement. This is often the case when pet sitting is involved. You may have to look after, feed and exercise a pet. Or, the home owner may ask you to oversee some repair or maintenance work on the house. The money you earn from these services can add to your budget for tours and entertainment during your holiday.
House sitting is an excellent way to have a holiday without having to interrupt your normal work schedule altogether. If you work at “home” during your vacation, you can intersperse your holiday schedule with a little work now and then. This way, you don’t need to give up the income you make from working at home entirely.
In much the same way that working at home is a paradigm shift from the traditional work environment, house sitting + working at home during a holiday will introduce a new angle to the usual concept of a vacation from work.
Mel Bridge is a travel writer and pet lover who has found the best way to experience different parts of the country is to live like a local and work from their homes. For him pet and house sitting in different locations is the ideal way to achieve this and also keep the company of animals. His preferred house sitting website is http://mindahome.com