Who wouldn’t want to live rent-free in a nice warm home in return for looking after the owner’s pets and keeping burglars away?
Massive houses, expansive gardens, occasionally a fridge full of food – and all of it free. Megan Gay and Sean Wood, both 27, have managed to dodge the cost of living crisis and the rent or mortgage hikes that are ravaging many people’s lives and savings in the UK. Their trick? Full-time housesitting. Seven months ago, the couple decided to quit London’s rental market and go on the road. Their belongings in bags, they have moved from house to house across the UK. They plan to continue living like this for at least another year.
Housesitting – taking care of properties and pets for nothing while owners are away – is not new. But since the pandemic, the trend has boomed. Confronted with an unstable housing market, inflation at a 40-year high and soaring food and energy costs, increasing numbers of people of all ages and walks of life are turning to housesitting to keep a roof over their heads.
