Tourism Sites and Numbers Guide – FREE download! – More Information
Live rent-free as a property caretaker
Since 1983, the Caretaker Gazette has been hooking up property owners with people who have the availability and willingness to serve as caretakers or house sitters. Guess what? Such arrangements are often ideal opportunities for RVers.
Opportunities for property caretakers are growing nowadays. With theft and vandalism persistent threats, many owners are finding that putting a caretaker in place is not only cost-effective. It’s just plain common sense.
By the same token, lots of people (many of them RV travelers) are discovering caretaking as a unique opportunity. It affords variety, an independent lifestyle and a chance to experience something entirely different. It appeals to those seeking a fresh start, retirees in search of a slower-paced second career and those wishing to explore new areas without a commitment to settle down.
Run your own show.
As a caretaker, you’ll run your own show on your own schedule. It’s a simpler, quieter life. While you don’t have to be a hermit, the nature of the work means you have to be self-reliant and independent.
Clearly, arrangements vary widely, but housing is usually a part of the deal. So you’ll probably be able to live rent-free and not have to get bogged down in mortgage or lease entanglements. The pressures of the workaday world simply won’t apply to you.
Locations and situations are varied—and growing all the time. The Caretaker Gazette, the only publication in the world devoted to this pastime, has about 150 caretaking jobs in each issue, and about 1,000 new caretaking opportunities surface each year. Opportunities are in all 50 states and in more than a dozen foreign countries.
Who does this?
Who employs caretakers? Farmers, “gentleman” farmers looking for managers, resorts, ranchers, camps, nature retreats, national or state forests, parks and individuals or families with widely varying kinds of properties.
Obviously you need to be honest, dependable, versatile and able to produce references from satisfied former employers/associates. Once you complete a caretaking assignment or two and are armed with the references to prove it, you may just find yourself in demand for future assignments. As in virtually every other field, experience counts.
If you want to seriously consider property caretaking, go where owners and caretaker candidates meet up on a regular basis—www.caretaker.org. And for other work opportunities for RVers, check out www.workamper.com.