Living in Grenada: House Sitting and Our Need For a Home Base

Dariece Swift author's bio Goats On The Road

I’m sitting here typing away on my computer, while struggling to keep my mind (and eyes) focused on the task at hand. This would be much easier if the birds would stop chirping in the trees, the waves would stop lapping at the shore, and the lizards would stop running around in the bushes.

Our current Caribbean home is fitted with screened windows and doors, allowing fresh air to pass, sounds to enter, and my mind to drift. With a view of flamboyant trees, soaring Egrets and calm ocean, how could I possibly focus?!

We have found peace and tranquility in both of our temporary homes here in Grenada.

digital nomads grenada
Not a bad view, but a bit distracting!

We first came to the island in April of 2014. We were invited to the Caribbean on our first overseas pet-sitting assignment, which we received through TrustedHousesitters.com, and to say that we were excited would be the understatement of the year!

We spent 6 months in Grenada taking care of Spare Dog, while living in a lovely cottage by the sea. When it came time for us to board our plane to Mexico, Nick said:

“We’ll be back, probably in a couple of years from now.”

But I knew we would return sooner than that. There was no way we could stay away. We had fallen in love with this tropical paradise, its jagged coastline, pristine beaches, unique vibe and of course, “our” dog.

pet sitting in grenada
Spare Dog!

Sure enough, I was right. While we were hanging out in Mexico, Spare Dog’s owners asked for us to come back, and we agreed to do part of the sit, for three months from August to November.

As time went on, we both wondered if three months on our island home wouldn’t be long enough, and if going back at the beginning of April for the first part of Spare’s sit would give us enough time to travel around more of Mexico and Guatemala.

guadalajara cathedral mexico
Inside the Guadalajara Cathedral, Mexico.

Luckily our questions were answered, and our predicament of wanting more time in paradise was solved. On the house sitting site appeared a new posting for a peaceful home with two dogs…in Grenada!

We were in San Cristobal, Mexico, freezing cold and were daydreaming of the tropics when this came in. We were put on the short list, then did a Skype interview with the homeowner, and by the end of the call, we were hired.

She loved the fact that we knew the island so well and was pleased with our references.

travel to san cristobal mexico
Dancing to stay warm in San Cristobal, Mexico

And just like that, we had two house / pet sitting jobs from June 3rd to November 4th.

We really enjoyed our first temporary home with Pumpkin and Macy, the two sweet dogs who gave us lots of love…we also didn’t mind the ocean view from the home, or the incredible pool! The house and the area were so peaceful and we enjoyed evening wine as the sun dipped behind the cliff.

digital nomad pet sitting
Pumpkin on the left, Macy on the right. Can you believe that sunset?!

After nearly 2 months there, we returned to our cottage on the sea and the divine dog, Spare. We love the natural feel of this home, the property that we’re on, the nearby walks, and of course, “our” furry friend.

As you’re reading this article, we only have a couple of weeks left on our gem in the West Indies. I cannot believe that more than four months have gone by already, but it has definitely been memorable.

living in grenada
We love living on this natural property!

This is our second year in Grenada and it truly feels like home to us. So much in fact that we have already given our confirmation to Pumpkin, Macy and Spare’s owners that we will be returning next year to take care of them! There’s just something magical about this place.

Apart from simply loving the island and the dogs we take care of, Grenada has been an excellent base for us to grow our website. By staying in one place for an extended period of time, we’ve been able to get caught up with writing, and have had time to learn about (and be a part of) various campaigns.

When we’re constantly on the go, we often miss out on massive opportunities for our career. Either due to the fact that we aren’t able to check our emails on time, or, we’re just too busy moving around that we find it hard to stay on top of everything.

living in grenada
Being interviewed for the Mashable video in New York.

We’ve had a chance to think about how we want to travel and live in the future, and the simple answer to that is: slowly.

In order to be able to run our website, which provides us with money for travelling and living, we need to have some down time in between moving around.

It simply isn’t feasible to be working on online campaigns, writing articles / creating videos, and keeping up with our freelance projects while constantly on the go.

digital nomad lifestyle guatemala
View from our apartment that we rented on Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.

Although we’ve rented apartments overseas in the past, and probably will in the future, house / pet sitting is a great option for us. We’re able to have a pet, we live in local neighbourhoods rather than in tourist areas, and we have local and expat friends. Plus, we receive free accommodation which really helps us to keep our finances on track.

(Check out these 5 Surefire Ways to Save Thousands of Dollars on Accommodation Costs)

We will be returning to our home base(s) in Grenada at the end of May next year, but we have seven months between when we leave here, and when we return. This is ample time to backpack around and explore more of the world.

our digital nomad lifestyle, what does it cost?
I wonder where our backpacks will take us next?

We have a flight booked to take us to visit family in Canada for 10 days, before taking off on another pet-sitting assignment, in yet another paradise!

Stay tuned to hear the announcement of where we’re going.

From there, we’re not sure if we’ll be heading south, or east, but that’s the joy of being digital nomads and house sitters. We’re able to be spontaneous and can live / travel anywhere in the world…as long as there is an internet connection 🙂

This is why we always write about, and try to inspire other travel-lovers to consider this lifestyle. It’s almost too good to be true!

We use and recommend TrustedHousesitters.com. Click here to check it out.

What sort of a traveller are you? Do you prefer to jet from place to place, or do you prefer to travel slow? Tell us below!

 

Living in Grenada- House Sitting and Our Need For a Home Base

Dariece Swift author's bio Goats On The Road

Written by

Dariece Swift

Dariece is a co-founder of Goats On The Road, and an expert in saving money, finance management, building an online business and of course... travel. She loves meeting new people, trying new cuisines, and learning about the unique cultures of our world. She has over 12 years of experience helping others to realize their travel dreams and has worked in numerous jobs all over the world to help pay for travel.

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18 thoughts on “Living in Grenada: House Sitting and Our Need For a Home Base”

  1. I have never been to Grenada, it does look amazing and it is so lovely that you get to stay there for extended periods of time and feel more grounded and in control of your projects. But also it is good to take off on new adventures, I am curious and looking forward to your next destination.

  2. I’m glad you’re having such a great experience house-sitting. I’ve done plenty of workaway and some couchsurfing, but have never been organised enough to get going with house-sitting. It seems like such a great way to be location independent!

  3. I have many questions about house-sitting in general, but I’m definitely going to look into it and check out TrustedHousitters. Sounds like a great way to save lots of money.

  4. I truly think it’s a great way to travel / live! We haven’t tried WorkAway, but i have heard good things about it. We’ve done CouchSurfing and totally recommend that.

    Thanks for the comment!

  5. Hi Guys, I love your goats on the road,;I look forward to reading what you guys are up too. I’m very happy to learn how much you all love Grenada, you all are doing a great job in promoting Grenada. I’ll be going there early next year, I have my ticket, hotel and car rental booked so I’m just waiting on my departure date. I have been there three times in the pass so this will be my fourth visit. The people are so friendly and the island is just beautiful, everything is great over there. The sea foods are so delicious the best one could fine. I do hope I get some lion fish, I ate it in Belize, for the first time and I must say it’s very tasty.
    I hope you all have a nice time in cold Canada, I heard it’s already below zero on most days.
    Okay friends until next time. Be well. Yvonne…………

  6. I totally agree that you need a home base once in a while. We have been traveling for 14 months and for the last 8 months we have been house sitting non-stop with two months more to go. At this point, we are thinking of taking some time for us in January. As much as we enjoy house sitting it can be draining in itself, especially when the internet is bad.

  7. Grenada looks absolutely gorgeous and those doggies seem so sweet! We just finished our 4th housesit (all through THS as well) and I can’t imagine this last year and a half of traveling without each one of them. Our sits gave us a chance to slow down, to breathe and to just be. And to get “caught up” on million different things. Housesitting has taught us that we really enjoy slow travel and I hope we can continue to find more sits down the road. In the mean time, we’re slowing down and renting a place on Lake Atitlan until the end of the year. Enjoy your time back in Canada!

  8. I joined trusted house sitters recently and am already on my third sit in London! I’ll probably be here for two months total before I move on, and without an income at the moment, I’d never be able to afford to remain in London this long. I’ve also realized I need to move much more slowly than I have been. I get burned out much too quickly these days if I’m constantly on the move. House sitting is perfect for that, plus I not only get to know a more local area, I get to know local people! I’ve become good friends with all the owners of the house/pet sits I’ve done so far which has been very rewarding. I look forward to hearing about your next sit! 🙂

  9. Beautiful photo of the rainbow. I love rainbow pictures. I completely understand your need for a place to settle but not be totally settled. More of the slow travel versus quick few days here and there. I like to get to know a new area. Set a few roots even if they are short roots.

  10. That’s awesome – what a cool gig! I’m really curious about Grenada. I’m stationed in the Caribbean at the moment too, and the diversity between each island is fascinating to me. I love slow travel for all the reasons you mentioned!

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