We recently caught up with Moz, who travels the globe with her partner Jay. After downsizing their lives in Cape Town, they sold nearly everything they owned and now live nomadically with just 70kg of belongings between them.
Currently based in beautiful Mauritius, Moz and Jay blend remote work with slow travel and house sitting. In this chat, they share how they got started, why they love having a “little heartbeat” in the home, and what’s next on their global journey.
Tell us a little bit about yourself – who are you, where are you from, for, do you do it full-time or sporadically.
My name is Mo,z and my partner is Jay. We are 52 and 47 years old, respectively, and come from Cape Town, South Africa.
We specifically adopted a less flashy lifestyle by downgrading cars and houses several years ago with the aim to reduce our footprint, as well as our expenses to enable a nomadic lifestyle in the future.
By November 2018, we gave away what we couldn’t sell, rented out our house (which was only a 2-bedroom), and flew to Bali on December 31, 2018.
For 11 months of 2019, we traveled around SE Asia. As we had a specific schedule we wanted to follow, we didn’t house sit – but as we love animals, we tried to stay in Air BnBs or at places with pets.
By November 2019, we arrived back in Cape Town, and once lockdown hit, we were pretty much stuck in Cape Town until the end of 2021. During that time, we did a number of sits – but our focus is not on pet sitting. Our focus is on travel.
We both work nomadically to support ourselves. I am an education consultant in the higher education space and my husband is a compliance specialist in financial services.
How many housesits have you had and where?
2019-2021. Cape Town – family and friends – 7 sits – cats, dogs and budgies. We never went back to our own place as we have had good tenants, so we are flexible to pet sit
2022 – Mauritius – Dogs. One so far with a repeat booked for the end of April, end of June, and October
Why do you housesit? What is the main motivation?
Up until now, it’s been to help family and friends, and also to get a change of scenery. We dont pet sit with our own pets but we love a little heartbeat around the house, we love pet sitting.
How did you find out about house sitting?
I’ve house sat for many years….since I was a student.
Was it hard for you to secure your first housesitting gig? How many applications did you have to send before you got accepted for your first assignment?
NA/ we housesat for friends and then got referred. When we travel next year we are hoping to use some of those experiences as referrals for more formal sits
Pros of House Sitting?
- Change of scenery
- Some pretty cool pets to look after
- Although we know all the people we pet sit for – we are hopeful to also do some sits for some interesting folk we don’t know in the next year.
Cons of House Sitting?
My hubby and I are awake in different time zones – I’m an early riser, and he’s late to bed – as a result, we don’t like sharing a room. Sometimes with house sits, we need to.
How do you decide on a destination?
We haven’t been to the USA or South America. This was on our bucket list when Covid hit. So some slow traveling in southern USA, with a bit of housesitting if possible would be nice. Followed by some more adventure in South America.
Was it hard for you to secure your first housesitting gig? How many applications did you have to send before you got accepted for your first assignment?
NA/ we housesat for friends and then got referred. When we travel next year we are hoping to use some of those experiences as referrals for more formal sits
What’s been the biggest adventure so far?
Our year in SE Asia was amazing. We now know we can work part-time remotely as well as travel – and its made us want to keep going. Although we will remain in Mauritius on the very flexible premium visa for 1 year – we are keen to head to the USA next year.
What was your favorite housesitting experience to date and why?
We babysat a kitten a few years ago, whom we named the “terrorist” – he was super busy and we loved chasing him around the house and watching his antics as he almost got himself into all sorts of trouble.
How much luggage do you travel with?
We sold or gave away everything and rented out our house in 2018. We travel with 2x 23KG bags plus 2 x backpacks of 5kg. These are all our worldly possessions that we have left. Although I have 1 confession to make – I have a small box with some keepsakes stored at my sister-in-law’s house in South Africa. It weighs less than 10KG.
So all in, we are down to less than 70Kg of movable worldly possessions. ( excluding our small 2-bed home in Ct). We rent a furnished place in Mauritius.
Did you ever have any unusual pets to take care of or responsibilities that were out of the norm?
Nope – give love and treats.
Tips for others wanting to get started?
I’m not sure how the more formal sitter sites will work out for us next year, but I suspect having referrals from people one knows could help. I would suggest folk start with sits in one’s city via friends and family referrals and build up from there.
Where to next (when you can)
We are headed to the USA next year.
Want to see what they get up to next?
You can follow Moz and Jay’s adventures on their Instagram marcelle_durand
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Author: Britt
I am Britt. I have been house-sitting and pet-sitting for the past seven years. I have cared for 25 dogs, 35 cats, one turtle, and one rabbit over 80+ houses in 15 countries.
The opportunity to experience different homes, cultures, and communities has been extraordinary.
I’ve connected with homeowners seeking reliable sitters through house-sitting platforms like Aussie House Sitters and Trusted House Sitters. This unique way of living has allowed me to save money on accommodation, explore new cultures, and meet new people.
Being a member of these platforms has broadened my horizons and opened doors to short- and long-term house-sitting jobs. I’ve found joy in providing excellent pet care and ensuring the home is well-maintained.
I get many questions about how to start as a housesitter, so please reach out if you have any questions! I want everyone to enjoy this incredible lifestyle as well!
You can read more about Jay and me here!
Or connect with me on Facebook or in our house-sitting community on Facebook.
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