Want to know more about house sitting, traveling 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.
This is Alan and I (in the middle) with our friends Jenny and Hugh in Spain
Yep aging sucks totally and I refuse to be invisible, quiet and boring. Luckily agihtng 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 life-time 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 super human 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.
I am opinionated, outspoken and occasionally (well a lot of the time) I am called intimidating. Which may or may not be true – I speak my mind and will always root for the underdog. I have what feels like hundreds of years in the food business, owned restaurants, been a food consultant to local government and Ag businesses. I am a passionate feminist, reader of many books and oh yeah have a few health issues.
The reason I hate selfies
These days the vision ain’t great, the feet are a trial and a half, diabetes sucks and Sjogrens is a lovely sutoimmune condition to have. I refuse to let any of that stop me (most of the time..lol). I love to write (and I use a lot of words) and provide people with inspiration and information. To me research is like chocolate so I do a lot of it. I hate selfies (don’t we all) because I always look like I have 6 chins and god am I aging. But I am beginning to realize that it doesn’t matter who gives a crap – right?
My office in Cyprus with Boika the puppyOh 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!
Alan with his friend in Cyprus
We first met in 1978, yeah I know we are as old as (deleted) we were together for a few years, broke up and then met up again 12 years later and have been together ever since. Our biggest goal was to retire early and move to a warm sunny place that was dirt cheap. We chose Mexico – the Yucatan Peninsula to start. What I didn’t plan on was the relentless heat I mean really I am a red head (well was) who is Irish born and I was in 45 degree humidity drenched heat for a year. One advantage I lost weight but just couldn’t continue that lifestyle so we decided to become International House Sitters lol.
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 humanely 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 traveling (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.
May of 2018 (in a few days) we are off to house sit 4 lovely cats in the Almeria region of Spain – looking forward to some sun and warmth for a few months. We return to Ireland in July for more house sitting throughout the country starting in Donegal.
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