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In this episode of Journey Jabber, I got to interview one of my favorite travel bloggers and all-around great guy, Pete Heck. Pete and his wife Dalene run hecktictravels.com and specialize in adventurous couple travel, and have been traveling full-time quite a while – since before anyone even cared about Instagram or Pinterest, if you can remember when there was a time like that ;)
While their website is mostly comprised of their phenomenally crafted stories of traveling around the world for the last 3.5 years, there is one notable exception; one area where they really focus not just on providing great stories, but also helping you navigate the ins-and-outs, so you can get the most out of traveling, and that is house-sitting.
(If you’re a fan of HeckticTravels and are new to the site, thanks for coming and click here to learn more about us!)
If you’re like me, you’ve probably heard of house sitting before, but other than watching over your buddies sass-mouthed cockatoo, you weren’t sure if it even really existed. If there was really a way to watch over a strangers house and pets, in exchange for living in their home cheaply, or often enough, for free.
For Pete and Dalene, house sitting has saved them enough money on living expenses, that it allows them to live the lifestyle of their dreams. But it doesn’t matter if you’re planning on becoming a digital nomad who can work from any corner of the globe, or if you just want to spend two weeks in the South of France without breaking the bank, house sitting can work equally well for both extremes and (like Becki and I) anyone in between.
I was trying to get a good balance between getting you enough house sitting information, and letting more of Pete’s personality show through so you can get to know him and his blog on a more personal level. In the end, I think maybe we didn’t go over enough info on just house sitting, so if you want us to do a follow up and really dive into it, just let us know!
Click here to download the MP3
In this episode you’ll discover…
- How Pete and Dalene got started house-sitting in the first place
- The best and worst experiences they’ve had while on the job
- Why you have to realize house-sitting is a “resource exchange” and not just living it up for free
- How many changes of underwear Pete keeps in his backpack
- Plus much more!
Mentioned in the podcast
Pete and Dalene’s Guide to Becoming a House-sitter
The 10th century Irish Manor Pete and Dalene watched over
Rock the vote!
We just had the podcast accepted into iTunes as well. Click here to subscribe to it and it’ll be automatically downloaded to you phone, iPod, and iTunes library. Also, if you’re feeling really generous, you can leave a review of the podcast there as well. Thanks so much for taking the time to listen! :)
P.S.
While Skype is an awesome tool – especially because it’s free to download and use – it does have its limitation. I just want to apologize about the audio quality in certain parts. Pete was in Turkey while I was in the USA, and calling someone over the internet who is on the other side of the planet can get a little rough sometimes. Working on making it less of a problem in the future though!!
Pete @ HeckticTravels.com says
Thanks for the interview guys, sorry about the quality at times, the internet here in Turkey can be quite flaky. But if anybody has any questions about house-sitting you two or we can answer them. Looking forward to hopefully seeing you guys again soon. Very best.
Andy says
No worries Pete, it’s a small miracle that we even can make a free call to each other from half-way around the planet ;) Thanks again for the interview – you two are awesome!
Cam @ Traveling Canucks says
Enjoyed this – and have enjoyed following Pete and Dalene over the past few years.
Andy says
Thanks Cam! I agree, following Pete and Dalene is a lot of fun. Their photography and writing are top notch!
Val says
Great guys ! I’m happy for you. Is good to know that fun comes cheap these days.
I had no idea about House Sitting. I love the freedom of moving, but somehow like most of us I don’t have the courage to just “do it”.
For sure I’m gonna read some of your stories.
Andy says
Thanks Val!