I used to investigate murders – now I travel the world rent free and save £1,500 a month with no bills
A WOMAN who used to investigate murders now travels the world rent free and saves £1500 a month.
Jessica Holmes, 28, worked her way up the ranks of Gloucestershire Constabulary until she was based with their so called "murder squad."
Jessica worked for the force's major crime investigation team , and was seconded to investigations across the UK.
But then she walked away from the force to travel the world with her husband Thomas, 29.
The couple are now professional house sitters, looking after homes across Europe in return for a fee.
Thomas is able to work remotely as an accountant, which tops up the couple's income.
Jessica explained that she decided to leave her "dream job" with the police after she felt that the humdrum of everyday life was not for her.
During the pandemic, she and her husband would spend hours sitting in the garden making “grand plans”, from safaris in South Africa to walking around India.
The pair began house sitting in their local area after travel restrictions were lifted.
“Just to get away and have free mini-breaks on the weekend basically,” she said.
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Then after Thomas qualified as an accountant and was offered a remote job, they began to think that house-sitting could be more than a cheap weekend away.
“I had this sort of ‘identity crisis’ in the summer of last year,” she said.
“My career was the main thing getting in the way, so I took the plunge and quit my job.”
The couple are UK citizens so are legally allowed to be house and pet-sitting in Europe for 90 days or less within a 180 period.
But others haven't been so lucky.
One Australian woman was recently locked up by police after using the accommodation site in the US.
But Jessica and Thomas now house sit across Europe, including the UK, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Albania and Austria after Christmas.
Each sit can last anywhere from a few days to several months and even years. “I’ve seen some on the website for five years,” she said.
“Our minimum now is a month because I don’t enjoy packing and unpacking all the time.”
Jessica and Thomas, who have done around 20 sits so far, promise to look after the owners’ pets and plants, as well as the house, while they are away.
“I’ve always been an animal lover,” she said.
“We’ve looked after all sorts of animals, ferrets, sheep, chickens and ducks, parrots and lizards, snakes, everything you can think of really.
“We’ve had a few hilarious times on sits where like the sheep managed to escape from their paddock, and it took hours and hours for us to herd them back with the help of a neighbour.
“The parrot was also quite difficult actually because we did not have any experience with birds and she really did not like Tom and would go for him.”
This has allowed them to save an estimated £1,500 per month compared to renting or paying off a mortgage.
“We use all of the homeowners’ facilities, so heating, electric, water, wifi, so anything like that is included,” Jessica added.
At Christmas, the couple search for a house sit within an hour’s drive of their home in Gloucester.
“Last Christmas and New Year we did a month-long sit in the Cotswolds which was lovely,” she said.
“We actually took the dogs and stayed at my parents in law’s house on Christmas Eve which homeowners were completely happy with”.
The properties where Jessica and Thomas stay come in different shapes and sizes.
“There are mansions or places with acres and acres of land, with lakes and things,” she said.
“Then there’s small flats, so there is a range.
“So if you want to go to New York for a week and you don’t mind looking after a cat you can get accommodation next to Central Park for free.
“The possibilities are amazing.”
Jessica has written a book titled The Housesitter’s Guide to The Galaxy, a guide to house sitting based on her experience over the past 18 months.
“The amount of people who are working remotely now since COVID and would like to travel, I think is the perfect storm for house sitting,” she said.
“So I just thought people should know about it.
“The book is kind of a guide on how to do house sitting successfully and how to travel in a greener and more sustainable way.
“There’s a big chapter on how to be greener in someone else’s home.”
Moving around every few weeks has also taken a toll on the couple’s social life.
“The biggest thing for me is isolation, because it’s hard to make friends when you’re in an area for such a short amount of time,” she said.
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“This year we really struggled when we were in Spain because we were in a tiny town in the south and nobody spoke English.
“It was very lovely but going to a cafe and not being able to order a coffee without an issue became quite tiresome quite quickly.”
