Latest news with #TrustedHouseSitters
The Sun
12-05-2025
- The Sun
How to stay in the world's most expensive cities for free according to the woman who's visited 90 countries
AN AUSTRALIAN has visited over 90 countries, yet for several of her holidays she didn't spend a penny on accommodation and experienced destinations better than most tourists. Kiera Bourke from Newcastle, Australia, and her partner, Nathan, have experienced some amazing destinations through years of flying, backpacking and exploring the world. 10 10 But the savvy traveller has also managed to find a way of seeing new places, without paying for accommodation - and actually having a better holiday for it. Kiera said: "We've visited like 90 countries and all seven world wonders. "We were looking after people's pets, in their homes, around the world. "We didn't take any payment, but in return we would get these great places to stay, with great animals as company. "It helped us to see more local parts of the world and the local way of experiencing places, that we may not have had access to otherwise." Since, the 33-year-old has told other people about her experiences and how it is a great way to save money "but also experience things more authentically". Over the past years, using Trusted House Sitters, Kiera and Nathan has been to Glasgow with a German Shepherd, stayed with a Rottweiler on Vancouver Island in Canada and mostly carried, a French Bulldog around New York City. But it is not just dogs the couple have sat, they have also stayed with cats including in London. "We did a cat sit in Wimbledon with a lovely lady, whose cat came and go as it pleased. "We almost felt guilty because we had so much free time. The Sun's Travel Editor Lisa Minot shares her favourite destination dupes "We would walk around and see cafes, chat with locals, write and even see how the subway (tube) connected into the area. "It was definitely a more original way of seeing the city, rather than hopping into the very centre of London - which is still a cool experience, but once you have ticked off the typical tourist spots they are done. "We even wet to a Millwall FC game." As for her favourite place, that was also in the UK. "I think my favourite sit was probably in Scotland, in Glasgow. 10 10 "We had a car and we were looking after a German Shepherd named Lola and she was a gorgeous dog. "So we were really lucky that because she was so athletic, we could drive two hours into the countryside and go for mountain hikes with her during the day." Lola went with the couple everywhere, even down to a creek on the hottest day of the year. "We would keep the owners updated and it was funny, because we sent pictures of Lola when we were hiking, and her owners said she'd now seen more of Scotland than they had. "I'd been to Scotland before, but not to Glasgow and being able to explore the regions, hike and see nature was absolutely beautiful." 10 10 10 Replacing hotels with peoples homes meant that Nathan and Keira could cook their own food and have space to spread out - as well as save thousands. Keira added how in a lot of the destinations she pet sat, owners would leave a basket of goodies, or perhaps bake a cake or stock the fridge up. In return, her and Nathan would try and leave some Australian goodies. "Slowing down and experiencing the local way of life around the world was something that was a novelty to us when we travelled before [pet sitting]." And when it comes to perhaps weird or hard situations, the couple have been fortunate enough to not experience any. Keira admitted: "Sometimes an animals' quirkiness is quite funny." The duo were so inspired by travelling locally, that when they returned to Australia they set up their own tour company, Newy Tours. 10 "We found that the days we got the most out of a travel experiences, were not when we were at the middle of tourist hotspots but actually when we were experiencing the local way of life." By fostering good relationships with locals, Keira and Nathan have created tours that allow visitors from the people who live there. People get to meet the creators and hear stories straight from owners - offering a different experience to much of the tourist draws in Sydney, only two hours away. There is also a man who has travelled to every country in the world and claims there are four things the UK does better than anywhere else. Plus, the clever way you can get a holiday abroad for free. 10
Metro
02-05-2025
- Business
- Metro
A little-known app means I live in London for £99 a year
Waking up in a plush bed in a spacious bedroom on the second floor of a London house, I felt the most relaxed I had in ages. There were windows overlooking a verdant garden, I could hear birds singing and a fluffy labradoodle soon rushed up the stairs to bid me good morning. Yes, this comfy abode had a lot to do with my renewed sense of zen. But the best part? This house didn't come with a mortgage, rent or bills attached. Here's the catch though: This three-floor detached house with a huge garden and a spacious kitchen in the heart of London, was not actually mine. In fact, it belonged to a perfect stranger. No, I wasn't squatting or breaking and entering. I've actually been living in London rent-free for the last nine months and it's all thanks to an app. You can access completely fee-free mortgage advice with London & Country (L&C) Mortgages, a partner of Metro. Customers benefit from: – Award winning service from the UK's leading mortgage broker – Expert advisors on hand 7 days a week – Access to 1000s of mortgage deals from across the market Unlike many mortgage brokers, L&C won't charge you a fee for their advice. Find out how much you could borrow online Mortgage service provided by London & Country Mortgages (L&C), which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (registered number: 143002). The FCA does not regulate most Buy to Let mortgages. Your home or property may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage. My husband and I moved to Paris in 2020, but we had to travel to London once a month when we had work here. Unsurprisingly, we quickly tired of relying on expensive hotels and Airbnbs for accommodation. And that's when we found 'Trusted House Sitters'. When one of my friends first told me about the app, I was skeptical: The idea of staying in a stranger's home felt weird. Then I remembered that renting an Airbnb is not that different, so I figured I'd give it a look. The app was free to download and while there was no acceptance or heavy application process there was a £99 fee to pay to join – this is mainly to help the app to stay afloat and also act as a deterrent for people who don't plan to use the service appropriately. As an annual fee I didn't think that was too bad, so I decided to sign up. I filled in a profile with information and photos and then began my search for our first homesit and found it works much like AirBnB or You look for the location you are interested in, select your available dates, and scroll through the options until you find an offer that you like the look of. However, as the service is review-based – Trusted House Sitters says 79,212 pets/houses were added to the app in 2023 and they currently have over 200,000 members in more than 140 countries – I was warned it might be hard to find our first sit. Generally, you have to send a request to the owners selling yourself as a great house/pet-sitter and it's important to bear in mind that some homeowners have specific requirements or preferences. For example, I've seen listings where owners have stated that they prefer couples over those travelling alone or even sitters who speak the local language or who have experience with farm animals. It all depends on what kind of adventure you are looking for. Luckily, I managed to find a pet sit in a remote part of France, only accessible by car, which I had. This meant that the competition was thin, and the chances of me getting the sit were pretty high. After having a chat with the owners, we made our way to the Bordeaux region where we spent a week looking after two extremely well-behaved terriers in a lovely countryside villa, with a huge pool and a pizza oven in the garden that we put to very good use. We had so much fun that, from that moment on, most of our holidays or weekends away involved looking after someone's pet. From there, we made sure to do a few pet sits that were easy for us to do (but not popular) all so we could get our first reviews. Gradually our reviews built up over time and before I knew it, three years of being on the app had passed. In that time we've spent weeks in Barcelona and Amsterdam with the only requirement being to look after some cute pets. We even spent a week in a gorgeous villa in Tuscany, working from the pool instead of our boiling-hot apartment. But it was only last year that I unlocked the app's full potential. At the beginning of 2024, we decided we wanted to move back to London permanently. The only thing we hadn't anticipated was the nightmare that the rental market had become post-Covid. Originally we'd hoped to find a place similar to the one we'd left behind for our Parisian adventure – a lovely two-bedroom flat in East London for roughly £1300 – but it soon became apparent that we were living a pipe dream. We spent months trying to find a place but were gradually having to compromise on more and more of our needs. Even when we came to accept that we might have to spend £1,600pm for 350sq ft, every single flat we saw was unlivable – complete with damp patches and a low ceiling – or fell through. By June we just thought that enough was enough. Throughout this time we had been pet-sitting for three months and we'd actually loved it. So, I realised, why not continue doing that for a while? For this specific moment in our lives, it seemed like a perfect solution. We could use this time to really figure out if coming back to London was a good idea for us and if so, where we felt more at home in the city. And not having bills to pay would also allow us to save money and give us more freedom in our work. Suddenly, I felt a lot less anxious and a whole lot freer. Now, we've stayed in flats all over London including the luxurious stay I mentioned earlier. And when I woke up in that plush king-sized bed, I was glad all those flats we saw fell through. I'd never get to experience this otherwise. Don't get me wrong, not every house is as incredible as this one: I've had dogs with separation anxiety and owners messaging me constantly, but overall, the positive experiences outweigh the bad ones. And really, how can I complain when they're all free of charge? Sometimes we stay for only a couple of days and others for months but doing this has allowed us to get to know the city in a way we never had before. Of course I know that this can't last forever. Not having a fixed address is not a long-term solution and securing one sit after the other can be stressful, but I have loved this experience and would recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone who can afford to be a bit nomadic. More Trending If you work from home and have a flexible schedule, this app can allow you to live in different places while saving for a deposit or a big trip. For us, it's been a great way to test out life in London again, and I plan to use it in the future for both trips and longer stays. At the end of the day we all want a place to call home, but for right now, I'm okay with borrowing someone else's. View More » This article was originally published November 30, 2024 Do you have a story you'd like to share? Get in touch by emailing Share your views in the comments below. 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