Dilemma: to work or not to work (NOT a benefits’ thread!)

[NellesVilla]

Hello!

So, a dilemma.

I currently live in a house for a pittance in return for house-sitting (we’re talking council tax only), but this sweet, sweet deal is soon to end. I have 2 x choices really:-

What would you do?

1. Work 50+ hours a week to rent a tiny one bed flat and have a v basic, modest life.

Or…

1. Travel the country house-sitting in homes all over the place for the year where I wouldn’t really be able to commit to a job (other than maybe a little online tutoring) but would get paid a bit of “pocket money” (the company’s words, not mine!) but have no bills or rent etc.

I’m leaning towards 2 tbh as I don’t want to have to pay £1500pcm for a grim shoebox and I dislike paying rent to greedy landlords, and quite frankly, I don’t want to work so much.

I can’t claim any benefits for housing etc as my savings/flat deposit are over the threshold. I did think of paying a year’s rent upfront somewhere while I make up my mind (I’m v anxious & have mild mh issues), but I worked hard for that money and don’t want to commit to anything. I have no children or real commitments.

Thoughts?

🙏

Have the adevnture.

If you’re happy to live anywhere in the country you definitely don’t need to be paying £1500 a month for a one bedroom flat. My one bedroom furnished flat in the north west is £600 a month and wasn’t the cheapest available option and I’m not in the cheapest part of the country either. There are flat shares available locally with all bills included for around £450. You don’t need to work 50+ hours either, I work full time and am contracted for 37.5 hours a week. I think in order to make a decision you need to at least have the correct figures in front of you so you can make an informed decision.

What exactly does housesitting comprise of?

Your choice sounds good to me!
I think the only thing I'd be wary of is not making friends / losing older ones due to being in different places all the time.
Also your age? Will you want to settle somewhere at one point? You've probably considered all this, and PP's comments that not all places are so expensive, so good luck to you!

Will you have any money to yourself with option 2? Would you be able to get by with what you need? Is there a guarantee of somewhere to live during this time?

What are your longer term plans? The house sitting sounds ok in terms of a cheap way to put a roof over your head. But the trade off is you aren't really earning any money. So won't you be stuck in the house sitting indefinitely? What will change for you be able to afford your own place? What pension arrangements do you have or fall back plans if the house sitting dries up (I'm assuming you work for an agency as you mentioned a company). There is a risk in having your job tied up with your accommodation as lose the job and you also loose the home.

And what happens when you have a gap between house sitting? Where will you stay?

So many qus so will try to answer:-

• No real need for more friends. I’m on the asd spectrum & have a few that are undemanding & demand no commitment or regular meet ups (they are based in south but not in same county)
• Again, no need for a man/relationship & I don’t want children.
• I agree that I may not be in the best best place when the time to buy comes so would need a job with a few months’ payslips before I started to seriously search,
• In between sits (hopefully this will be well-managed) I’ll do Airbnbs in places I want to travel to (haven’t had a holiday since 2016 others than sits).
• I just don’t know what else to do as I don’t want to work all the time to pay a huge rent, but I want to live alone. Being the way I am (a solitary soul who needs space & peace!) I think it’s a good temp situation.
• I do have other possible remote income streams.

Apologies for typos galore!

I vote the 2nd option. Travel the country and not pay crazy rental prices

if you have a deposit saved why not buy a flat somewhere in the country a bit cheeper?

You clearly favour option 2 so go for it. You don't need mumsnet's permission!
What would I do?
I'd go and do it for maybe 2 or 3 years. Picking up some online/WFH/casual type jobs along to way so I could save a bit because I'd need a settling down plan in place at some point.
If you're happy to travel around forever though then go for it, it sounds like a lovely lifestyle.
Just don't watch Man v Bee on Netflix 😆

What's the pension like?

Funny I was just talking to a friend last night who knows a woman who does option 2.

I can see the appeal of option 2 for a few months but not any longer - personally I would get sick of living out of a suitcase, never knowing the area or the house well, not being near friends, the uncertainty of whether my next house sitting gig might get cancelled etc.

I think I would probably try to do option 2 for a year but earn as much as possible through online/wfh work in that time. Then you have more options at the end of that year if you decide it’s not for you long term.

A middle option perhaps is to be a lodger or in a houseshare somewhere (cheaper than a 1 bed flat) but aim to do lots of house sits. That way you have the security/constancy of a home, but would spend a lot of your time in a nicer place to yourself iyswim.

2, definitely. You can always re-evaluate later.

Surely those are not the only two options, why have you restricted your choices?

"Work 50+ hours a week to rent a tiny one bed flat and have a v basic, modest life."

An alternative would be to find a job with more regular hours. Most jobs are not 50+ hours a week! And look for a more affordable flat, perhaps in a cheaper part of the country if you have no commitments where you are.

Another option could be to look for work that is fully remote, a lot of companies offer this post-lockdown, then you could carry on house-sitting with the benefit of earning.

The house-sitting without a job is a valid choice if that's what you want to do. My concerns would be whether you could always find a new one when one ends, and whether you had somewhere to stay as a back-up, and that also by not working you are also not building up a pension or any financial security.

Find an area where it's cheaper to rent...that would be my starting point if I wasn't tied to a specific place for work/family reasons.
Then decide what to do. Have a good think where you'd like to be in 2...5...10 yrs time.

I’m surprised you are able to do this. The agency that my house sitter works through insists that all their sitters have a permanent UK address.