Torn Tina Can't Travel - Just Jill, Rambler Cafe Blog

Dear Just Jill,

I have a dog whom I love and a garden that I love. I also love to travel!
I have been looking forward to retiring and finally having the time to travel.

Then the penny dropped … how can I possibly go away?

What will I do with my dog? Who will look after my garden? I haven't even mentioned my chickens.

My husband is also getting close to retirement, and all he talks about is traveling. From all our conversations about the future, he would be happy to leave it all.

On the other hand, I am so torn. I do want to see the world and have adventures together with him. I feel divided between that freedom and the things that take me home.

I need advice from my Sole Sisters. How do I balance my passion for travel with what keeps me at home? How do I broach this subject with my husband, who does not feel the same?

What's a gal to do?

Sincerely,
Torn Tina

Sole Sister Advice

Over here in Britain, you can hire a house/dog sitter. It will cost you but allow you to leave knowing your property and animals are cared for.
I really feel this as well. I am a definite homebody, but I also love sharing different experiences. My dog is difficult and cannot be left with just anybody, so it's a struggle for me to leave him for a long time. Luckily, my daughter is often available to care for him. The balance could be finding some interesting and exciting experiences in your home town for some time. Like taking courses together, discovering a new sport together, or learning a language? Can this be offset by one trip per year?
What about getting a campervan? Then you can bring your dogs with you everywhere!
A few worldwide dog-sitting services give people a chance to travel, and you pay a yearly fee, and someone comes and stays in your home and minds your animals. I have been thinking about it myself as we're in a similar situation: no chickens but three dogs, and kennels are expensive! By reading the site reviews, many would be happy to sit chickens, cats, etc.
Seven years ago, we purchased an RV and traveled the US extensively with our dog, 1-3 weeks at a time. Our Central Texas garden beds were heavily mulched, irrigation systems were operating (including hose timers with sprinklers), and a landscaper was hired for weekly weeding and another visit to check on potential issues.
I understand! It can be challenging to vacation with pets. My dog suffers from terrible anxiety, and it's impossible to take her anywhere in the car or to stay at a hotel. She gets exceptionally ill and makes any journey unpleasant for everyone, especially for herself. My older son usually stays at our house; however, our vacations are decided based on his schedule. We tend to keep holidays short as I miss my pup too much to stay away. As for our chickens and garden, I have a wonderful neighbor who loves caring for them, and in return, she gets fresh eggs and veggies (we also bring her back a gift from our holiday) as she will not accept cash for all her hard work.
I don't have pets, goats, or chickens to care for any longer, but when I did, I'd usually find someone local to house/pet/garden-sit for a couple of months. Now, I home-share, so I'm gone from November (or a bit earlier) until May, and my friend has an affordable place to live for six months. But this is a person that I have a great deal of confidence in, who has been a valuable member of our area's team of complementary health care practitioners.
This is an EASY fix! Join Trusted Housesitters, take great photos of your house, your chickens, and your gardens, and then do a bit of graft to find a great match on the site. I've been on both sides of the process. A family of three came to Wellington, New Zealand, to sit my two Greyhounds and cat. I've done 10 sits as a five-star sitter in the UK, Canada, and Australia since 2019. The most recent was 3 weeks in Exeter, UK, for a fab cockapoo called Duffy. We had chickens to care for at a house sit in Quebec, and if you're looking for a gardener-type person, I'm sure you'll find them if you're clear upfront about what you want. You pay a yearly subscription fee (I think as a sitter, I pay CAD130 per year), and then it's free. It's against the rules for a sitter to ask for payment. It is an excellent concept entirely based on trust. The homeowner gives the sitter house keys and one or more pets to care for, and the sitter gives them back a house and a contented pet.
Ever considered a house swap? I've heard you swap houses with another like-minded person or couple, but I'm unsure how the pet thing flies.
We are in the same situation, but add a 16-year-old son! Would pet sitters mind watching him, too? Or at least keeping the parties at bay. LOL.
There is no easy answer to this question. I feel it as well, although on a much smaller scale. We are already nomadic and plan on becoming more so in the next five years. We are selling our home in Florida, so we have more time and resources to travel and plan on spending 7 months a year traveling until we get tired of it and then will settle down again. I am excited about this, and it was a hard decision. Alongside the excitement, we also feel some sadness at letting go. I also crave that feeling of home, and it is hard to have both. It is hard for me, and I am not a homebody at all. So I can imagine how hard this decision is for someone who is. And I feel a longing when I visit others with big gardens, pets and projects, and all the other good stuff that comes with being rooted in place. It is hard to have both, especially if you want to do long, hard, adventurous travel. I am so sad because with this decision comes the necessity of finding a new home for my cat, which breaks my heart. I only have advice if it is a decision that is hard to make and challenging to do incrementally. Good house sitters are hard to manage and difficult to find. Maybe a roommate? Or a tiny house on your property where a caretaker could live in exchange for work?