A pensioner who lives off just £300 a month travels the world and lives out of a suitcase.
Tiera St. Claire has spent the last two decades globetrotting, exploring countries including the UK and across Europe, enjoying the delights of house-sitting properties.
The 69-year-old has had no home of her own for 20 years, following her divorce in 2005 after 18 years of marriage. After the breakup, she set off on a 500-mile walking pilgrimage across Spain (something she has done 15 times now) before discovering her love of pet sitting in Hawaii.
“In 2005, I divorced after being married for 18 years, and I decided to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain. It’s a 500-mile walking pilgrimage across the north of Spain. A friend of mine in Hawaii, where I had previously lived for 15 years asked if I would pet sit for her so I did… then I just kept going,” Tiera told the Express.
“I’ve pet sat in Hawaii, New York and Florida and I have recurring sits in London, Madrid and other parts of Spain (Alicante, Valencia and Marbella). I essentially live out of a bag. I am lucky, though, because I have friends who have space for me to leave a suitcase here and there. The best bit of living my life this way is the freedom. I have the life of freedom and adventure, but what I’ve had to give up is security. That’s the choice I make all the time.”
While Tiera says 80% of her time is spent happily living in the moment, she does worry about her future security. The OAP can get lonely and has no savings, living off $400 (£300) a month pension. Despite her limited funds, Tiera says she is fortunate not to pay rent, thanks to her house-sitting gigs, as doing so would be unaffordable for her. The only bills she has are food and her phone.
“Most of my days, when I’m not actually travelling, I don’t have much to do and that’s harder than the loneliness I can sometimes feel. I have very good friends that I call – I mean, most people don’t see their friends that much these days anyway because we’re all so busy,” the OAP continued.
“The hard thing is I don’t have a lot to do most of the time. I have a lot of energy, so I’ll do a lot of walking around, seeing things. I do some travel journal writing, and I teach, but it’s more occasional. I’ve surrendered to ‘I’ll just trust that the money will come in’ and let life be in charge of me because when I try to control everything, things don’t get better. I just get stressed out.”
While she may feel lonely and down occasionally, Tiera usually feels confident travelling by herself.
“I’m grounded and strong inside of myself, so I generally feel safe travelling as a female solo traveller. There are times when I’ll walk down a street and think ‘oh, this feels a little sketchy’ and I’ll cross the street and be aware of my surroundings. As I’ve got older, I work hard on staying physically strong which gives me the sense of safety and security, too,” she said.
“I fell in love again – and had my heart broken – in 2009 in Arizona. A friend laughed and said, ‘most people go through this when they’re teenagers!’ I’m just treasuring being free and not having someone want to control me, or change me, or make me think the way they do. A lot of the things that unfortunately come with being in a relationship. But what I do miss is affection, but pet sitting gives me this and fills the gap. When I have a cat I can pet, that helps. They love you unconditionally.
“I’ve fallen in love with all the pets that I’ve looked after. My favourites are the cuddly ones, but I find it easy to love them and tune into them. In Madrid, I’m with four guinea pigs, but I’ve had rats, snakes… I like the snakes.”
Tiera organises a lot of her stays through HouseSitMatch. Lamia Walker, founder of the home-sitting service, said: “We’ve seen a huge rise in the number of mature couples turning to house sitting as a way of saving money on holidays and even general living costs. They then find they like this form of slow travel and get hooked on house sitting.
“Retirees can struggle to afford a getaway these days with the cost-of-living crisis eating into funds, so house-sitting makes an affordable alternative, allowing them to explore fun new locations while staying in a comfortable home. House-sitters can even save money on their own energy bills while they enjoy a holiday, as all the property’s utility bills are usually paid by the owner.”
It’s important to note that some countries consider house and pet sitting to be forms of work, and may refuse entry to travellers who do not have working visas.
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
