Want to know more about house sitting, travelling when old, eating weird food, retiring to other countries? Well, it’s all here, the good, the bad and the ugly. Join us on our ass-end boomer tour of Europe and our quest to find a permanent retirement home.
Someone once asked how this website got its name, truth be told it was some kind of dyslexic moment. I wanted to search out my hometown’s (London, Ontario) airport IATA call sign which came up on Google as XYU – but apparently, in reality, it is YXU. Because nobody ever asked before and no one noticed I just left it as XYUandBEYOND which generally just comes down to the fear of changing anything on a website like a title and an URL because god knows how the Google God’s will punish you.
Yep, ageing sucks totally and I refuse to be invisible, quiet and boring. Luckily ageing has its advantages you can do whatever you actually want for a change and don’t have to put up with any crap. I have spent a lifetime working with community-based initiatives (including historic sites & venues, theatre, farmer’s markets, and community economic development) with a special interest in helping people start businesses.
I have raised a few million for not for profits, helped launch successful businesses and successfully marketed many start-ups and entrepreneurial ventures. My superhuman skill is to be able to look at a business and know if it will work or not and to help create an online presence for that business. I can market anything and anybody (but have a little trouble marketing myself). I have worked for hypnotists, African Caterers, Designer Exchanges, Coffee shops, Beer Equipment, Restaurants, Pioneer Villages, Museums, and Arts Projects.
The reason I hate selfies
Oh and hubs is Alan, we have been together for nearly 40 years although we did take a break in there for around 15 of those years…lol…that’s a story for another day.
It’s true Alan is far more obsessive about shoes than I am but that’s because I have crappy feet and can’t wear any beautiful shoes anymore. So Alan is a guitar head and totally wishes he could have brought his 4 guitars and amps with us on this carry on luggage journey. Not to mention his Armani jacket (a thrift store find of his) and his fancy suit. Alan is a genius at finding that one piece of incredible designer gear in a thrift store that fits him and him alone (so not fair). Alan drags the luggage around, carries my computer, takes photos for the blog and is working on learning how to edit videos. He’s not a planner I do that…sigh…he cooks a mean fry-up breakfast and his baking is addictive – those pretzels WOW!
We got our first house sitting gig in Mexico in 2015 and we haven’t looked back. Our second house sitting “job” was in Ireland – which since we were both born in Ireland was a brilliant chance for us to visit the “homeland”. Well, we fell in love all over again with Ireland and have now house sat in Donegal, Tipperary, Dublin, N. Ireland, on the Wild Atlantic Way and have pretty much decided to make Ireland our future base.
Alan and Pooka in Ireland
We have also sat in Spain, Canada, Yorkshire, Berkshire, Blackpool and Cyprus (have a read of homeowners from hell for that one). We will continue to house sit for as long as humanly possible. We will have to find a permanent base though because these days the medications are threatening to overwhelm the carry-on and I am having trouble fitting in the clothes I need.
So we want to keep travelling (on a Post Office pension no less), learn more about living in Europe and Ireland. Exploring the beautiful landscapes and cities of the EU and providing you our readers with a ton (and I mean a ton) of facts, beautiful pictures, some of the most amazing food ever and inspiring you to do the same thing. Get rid of everything you own, simplify and travel the world.
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