Life in Paradise on a Shoestring
The show is all about creating a Life You NEVER Need a Vacation From. (It’s ok if you still WANT to take Vacations) It’s designed to give you insights and wisdom to create your “somebody pinch me” reality. We share experiences, strategies and practical steps you can take to live your dream life in paradise. Listen and you’ll know that if you can dream it, You Can Achieve it
Life in Paradise on a Shoestring
International Housesitting doubled my bank account in 2 1/2 years with George White
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In 2018, George White left California to start his first House Sit. He'd been reading about and studying it for a couple of years and was ready. He's done 10 house sits now, with multiple stints for the same owner. He's living his dream of traveling the world - free from rent, mortgage or car expenses. His lifestyle has taken him to place like Nova Scotia, Scotland, Italy and beyond. His bank account balances have doubled in the 2 1/2 years since he started. His joy is contagious - you'll love his story. FB: iGeorge White IG: iGeorge66 Twitter: iGeorge48 LI: George White Productions
Here are some of his recommended websites:
mindmyhouse.com
housesittersamerica.com
housesittersuk.co.uk
trustedhousesitters.com
nomador.com
housecarers.com
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Commercial: Welcome. You are listening to the overseas life redesign podcast where you'll hear fine, relaxed, and inspirational interviews with people who are really living the dream. I'm Dawn Fleming an attorney turned alchemist and your host for the show coming to you from the tropical island paradise of East level net us Mexico. Listen to conversations with courageous souls who step out of their comfort zone and designed a new way of life. They'll share their experiences, wisdom and offer practical steps you can take to redesign your life overseas. Listen, and you'll believe if you can dream it, you can achieve it.
Dawn Fleming: [00:00:43] I am so glad to have the opportunity to speak with George White today. He actually reached out to me through Facebook. We were corresponding a little bit and he told me he's been doing some house sitting in Italy. And I said, Oh my gosh, I would love to interview you for my podcast because I haven't really talked about that at all. So thank you, George, so much for being with me today. I really appreciate your time.
George White: [00:01:08] Oh, Dawn, thank you so much. This is exciting for me to do this, and I really like to tell the story. I've had a wonderful time housesitting and I've met so many wonderful, wonderful people, including people, as well as wonderful animals.
Dawn Fleming: [00:01:29] And I love that.
George White: [00:01:33] I you know, I've never disliked animals. It's just we always had animals. When I was a kid, we had mostly dogs, my three brothers and I. I don't know how my mother did it for pets and for boys and my dad. I don't know how she did it anyway.
Dawn Fleming: [00:01:50] Right. It seems like moms always said,
George White: [00:01:53] Oh, I look back at that. And so when I started, I thought, oh, gee, what do I do? What if somebody wants me to watch their goats or, you know, I, I don't know if I can do that, but it's worked out fine. I haven't really taken care of any goats, but I'm looking forward to that time anyway. The House house settings been wonderful. I've done for four cats and a dog several times and where I am now in Italy there are two cats and two dogs. And so but it's all worked out fine. I've had a wonderful time, met some wonderful people who have been so caring and helpful and friendly that to me it's been a blessing. Really, honestly, it's been a blessing.
Dawn Fleming: [00:02:46] That I loved what you said in your message that you don't have to worry about rent or mortgage pay your rent, isn't that.
George White: [00:02:56] Yeah, I when I started in twenty eighteen, I have been reading about it for several years from International Living magazine had talked about it. They had a representative or one of their writers had written basically a program about it. And so in their presentation of that I kind of said, oh, this sounds like that would be fun and and live and invest overseas. They they've talked about it a little. And I've gone to a couple of their conferences in Italy and Portugal and Panama. So I started reading and I would have everyone do that. Of course, you can find our programs and information from programs such as yours, Don, but it's invaluable. It is to start reading and find as much information as you can. So I did that and and enjoyed it so much. And finally, after a couple of years of thinking, you know, you can do this, you could do it. I picked the right time. And and I actually. Answered an advertisement on one of the websites for Housesitting, and they accepted and away we went and it was in Nova Scotia, I was living in California, so that was a long flight. I kept thinking, what if I fly all the way to Nova Scotia and this doesn't work out? But if it was absolutely perfect, I can't tell you how wonderful it was to to do it. So that's what got me started. That was in July of twenty eighteen. So here we are in January of twenty twenty one. So happy New Year to everyone, by the way. And, and God bless you and hope it's a wonderful year. Twenty, twenty one for all of us in America, out of America and all around the world. So anyway I started this. Now it's been two and a half years and I'm s till I'm still traveling. I have gone back to the United States once in the spring of twenty nineteen to pay my taxes and talk to my tax guy who's been a friend of mine for thirty five years, and he's been doing my taxes for the last thirty, thirty one years anyway. And so I went back and had a sit down with him because we had not sat across the desk from each other for a few years, mainly because I traveled a lot and I was doing everything with him by email and he would send my taxes. And I thought this was a good time to go and sit down with him. So I did. And I was back in the States for about four days. And then I went to Canada and I did another house set up there and. And then I I flew to Italy for the conference about living in Italy, so that was sort of how I got started with that with the whole city.
Dawn Fleming: [00:06:13] So what did your what were your accountant's thoughts on this, this whole lifestyle of the house in the sea?
George White: [00:06:22] Well, I don't know that I told him that I was actually housesitting for say, I don't remember,
Dawn Fleming: [00:06:31] OK,
George White: [00:06:32] But we were on the different sides of the political spectrum. And and so he's always was always. And he loves to travel. He loves to take cruises. He goes on a cruise a couple, two or three times a year. And I love cruising too. But I've been traveling since two thousand five. I went to Vietnam with some Vietnamese friends of mine who came over as children, as refugees from the war. And I met some of the family back in 2004 and they invited me to go to Vietnam with them. And and I did. And that's what caused me to get a passport. And it seems I've been traveling ever since my church in Florida where I lived for over 30 years. We traveled a lot, mainly force for study, studied in Europe. We traced pole journeys in two thousand seven. Really got the bug after the trip to Vietnam in 2005, and then the church said, well, we're going to study Martin Luther. So that's what we went into Germany, Italy, Austria, and then down into to study, study all about Martin Luther, I'm sorry. And and then the next year, I went to China with four chambers of commerce from Florida and we did a trip sort of business and holiday to China. And then twenty ten I was back in Europe with the church for Oberammergau, which is where they hold the Passion Play of Christ, and they do it every 10 years. It's alive. And that's outside in Oberammergau, jerm Germany. So with the church trips and cruises it seems I was traveling quite a bit. And then I at some point, if I might say and you can edit this out at some point, but in twenty sixteen, with the election coming up, I decided, you know, I didn't really need to be in the United States and I was living in California and had been there for about five years. And that's when I thought, I need to leave now.
Dawn Fleming: [00:08:58] It's time to go. That's our favorite saying it's time to go.
George White: [00:09:03] When I heard, you know, who say that the media was the terrorists of America, I thought, oh, yeah, so and I'll tell you why. I thought, oh, but I thought it's time for me to go. And when he was elected in 20 and thus began his administration in twenty seventeen, I thought, this is this is not going to work. And then of course, the building of the wall, I thought that's not my America. And so I thought I can go. And I was living in California, as I mentioned, which is a democratic state. But where I was living, it seemed I was surrounded by those who were not Democrats and were party was in Glendale, Glendale, right outside of L.A. And so I thought, well, I can go. And and they all laughed at me. Those of non Democrats, they said, where do you think you can go? I said, I can go anywhere.
Dawn Fleming: [00:10:08] Lots of places right now.
George White: [00:10:11] Can you go anywhere? I said, well, I'm used to traveling. And so I was fortunate enough when I left Florida after 30 years and I moved to California, I had sold everything. I had a motorcycle.
Dawn Fleming: [00:10:26] I was going to ask you because obviously that that's an issue for a lot of people to decide to have that type of lifestyle. It's always what to do with the stock. Right.
George White: [00:10:38] And even whether you're house sitting or not, what to do with the stuff. But for me and I lived near the water and I could put my boat in the water and I had my motorcycle in my truck. And my daughter lived a half mile up the street and my granddaughter was about 20 minutes away. And my great granddaughter was not born yet. She was born in twenty sixteen. So she's going to be five and my granddaughter will be twenty seven and my daughter will be fifty three in this in two weeks. I don't know how they got that old because I'm only twenty three myself. So anyway.
Dawn Fleming: [00:11:24] So you were just renting in California then. You did didn't.
George White: [00:11:28] Yes I was because thank you for putting me back on track. Anyway when I went to California I thought I don't need to take this boat because it's old and I don't need to take my truck because it's old and my motorcycles. I've used it. I rode all over Florida Road to Pennsylvania once from Florida when I see my mother. And so I thought, I don't need to take all of this with me when I get to California, I'll buy something out there while I got to California. And I realized I didn't want to be on a motorcycle or a scooter. I had envisioned myself being on a scooter in California. And it would be like being on a scooter in Italy, so I thought, oh, when I got there, I had been there before but never looked at it. Look with me living there in California. And when I realized they might run over me in California and and driving on the interstate in California is not the best not the most fun when especially when you just get there after you're there for a while. I'm sure you would be used to it, but.
Dawn Fleming: [00:12:40] Well, I don't know. My husband has been he's from Newport Beach, California. OK, riding motorcycles since he was 16, 15, 16 years old. And there were times when he would ride his motorcycle 80 miles an hour in the rain on freeways. And he said about every other car had Jesus waving at them because he thought he was going to die.
George White: [00:13:07] Oh, I found that driving there when you're new to the area. So you don't know the street names. And I think I was sixty five or something when I moved there. Anyway, I guess I'd drive until I didn't drive at all for the six years I was there. And I found it not really necessary to drive because the the bus system and being a senior citizen, I was riding the bus for twenty five cents. It's just and they did raise it to thirty five cents. And then I bought a senior pass and you could just tap and away you go. I could be in downtown L.A. from Glendale in less than an hour. Forty five minutes and it would take that long to drive or close to it and then you'd have to pay twenty five dollars to park somewhere. That's right. And so so I found it. I didn't really need a car. So after being there six years I thought I didn't need a car, I had no mortgage, I have no boat, I never bought a boat or anything or the scooter. So when it came time to leave, I just I just left. So that's why. Yeah, I just said, OK, I'm done. And so I took clothes to Goodwill and church charity places and I said, I don't need all these suits and coats and everything, but because I, I love to go on cruises, I made sure I had both of my tuxedos with me because and and and and I'm part Scottish and Irish and Italian and German. And so the Scottish part, I wear a kilt. So we're the ladies love the kilt on the cruise so. Yeah. So I have it. So I made sure I have my kilt and my two but tuxedos. Because when you go overseas I envisioned myself, James Bond, I said I am going to be like Bond because I'm going to go to Nice France and I'm going here and I'll be having my tuxedo on. And that part has not happened yet. But that was that's the kind of lifestyle that I thought of. That's what's going to happen to me. So far that hasn't happened. That's how we got into the the lifestyle of of how sitting it looked to me like it would be something and and all the reports and everything I read that was one of the things you could really save money for is now you're going to have to travel to get there. Sure. But once once you pay to to to get there, then usually there's hardly any expense whatsoever. Now, some people, if you're going to be somewhere and I can understand that if you're going to watch a house for two months, they may want you to help with the electric bill or the oil bill or whatever that they have for gas bill, something to that nature. And I can understand that. But most places, nobody's ever asked me to do that.
Dawn Fleming: [00:16:31] Just out of curiosity. And you just you're basically living there at no cost. Is there is there paying it at times to or. No? Typically,
George White: [00:16:42] I've had people offered me money. I haven't taken it because that was never part of the original deal. And you can on most of the Web sites, you can say that you you like to charge, but I've never done that. I, I think it's it's not necessary not for me in my situation. And I've I've had a few people offer it, but I've. Others say now there is no charge and I say, yes, there is no charge. I've I've had some offer to pay at least half of the expense of me getting there. And I think that's been very nice. And that's why I said I've met some wonderful people and I've had them offer to pick you up at the airport or take you to the train station or at least give you a good advice as to how best to get to their home from the train station or the airport. When I say best way, you know, some will say whatever you do, don't take a taxi. And in all my years of traveling, that's the one thing that I've not really been positive or fond of is taxis.
Dawn Fleming: [00:18:03] Sure.
George White: [00:18:04] No matter what, even if they don't rip me off, I feel as if I often feel that way. So there's I'm not really happy with the having to take a taxi. So if they can give me a better idea, such as, you know, the local bus to take or something else,
Dawn Fleming: [00:18:23] I was better sometimes in sharing channels.
George White: [00:18:26] Oh, yes. Yes. But and it's never been a problem. But it's nice to know that they say, if you like, will come and pick you up at the train station.
Dawn Fleming: [00:18:37] Sure.
George White: [00:18:37] Or we'll pick you up at the airport. I think just I've done 10 houses in two and a half, half years, everything from a week to three months where I am now in Italy. This is my fifth time at this location. And that's not part of the nine house six. The nine House seats are are separate. And then at this one, I've been back five times and we're now talking about when I can come back again, maybe this spring or early summer. And if not, I will come back for a couple of months this this fall. So that's how I got started with the house sitting was just not kind of happy with our our politics in the United States and and my situation in California. I thought, oh, I'm from Idaho. I realized that, hey, I can actually go anywhere. So because I have nothing holding the no mortgage, no house insurance, no car, insurance, hospitalization, insurance. That's always a concern, especially as we get older. But I have been very fortunate and blessed. Knock on wood somewhat your mother to be very healthy.
Dawn Fleming: [00:20:09] Yeah, I wanted to ask you about that, do you have. So do you carry any type of international health insurance or.
George White: [00:20:15] We don't? You know, it's one of those things that I need to do. I do have Medicare, which I started when I was 65, but I don't even use that.
Dawn Fleming: [00:20:27] But you have it. If you needed it, you would have it as an emergency backup plan if necessary.
George White: [00:20:35] Take some phone calls. I just haven't settled on a plan. There's is one I've looked at, but for me it's hard because I've not really had health care. Even when I lived in Florida and some of my clients for my business were hospitals and health care places. And it's I'm sorry to say that I never really had the health care when I was in Florida. So when I moved. The California health care, because I was sixty five and they were going to take it out of my Social Security anyway, so but I never used it. I finally had to get a doctor. So I'm not really the best person to talk to about the insurance. But that's that's something.
Dawn Fleming: [00:21:30] Right. Who wants to hang out a hospital, right? Say health is the best health care plan?
George White: [00:21:38] Yes, and I've been fortunate. I, I studied forever. I think I started when I was twenty five. So this is my forty fifth or forty sixth year or something of yoga and every year. Yes. And it has been good for me Dawn honestly. But I think I lived that life. Not knowing that I was doing what until I read my first yoga book, not my book, but I read the first book about yoga while I was working, and I thought, oh, this is sort of where I've been all my life as far as eating right and keeping a positive mind. And that's yoga. Yoga means one, it means to be one with within yourself, your mind, your body, your spirit all as one, and then you are working constantly to be at one with the universe and the world around you and the universal God. So that is the whole concept of yoga. So when I read the first book, which was called Yoga, Youth and Reincarnation, but I just. Stern, Jessica Stern, thank you. Wrote the book in the mid 60s. I was reading it in the mid 70s. I read that and thought, this is right along with my my mindset and the way I've been since I was a young boy, and so I just continued with it. And when I moved to Florida, I found a yoga teacher and I thought, I've been doing it by myself for ten years. I should see if I'm doing it right. So I went to this yoga class and I was with that teacher for 12 years and she was from Canada. And then another after that lady had to move back to Canada. She and her husband were quite advanced in their years. And so they needed to go back there because of their insurance. And so then we had another yoga teacher in Florida through the recreation department of the city where I lived. And I went ahead and signed on with that teacher. And I was with her 15 years. She was in Germany and they were both wonderful instructors, very kind people. And I enjoyed with with them taking the yoga classes. And I think that has helped me to get to the point where I take no medicines and I've been very fortunate. So as far as the health care, I'm not the one to say, yes, you need this health care or that health care. This this is where you can get it. I wished I could say,
Dawn Fleming: [00:24:50] OK, that's OK. I just wondered what you did by yourself.
George White: [00:24:53] So that but that's something that is important, whether you're you're going to move overseas or do some extended traveling or if you're doing house settings such as what I'm doing, you're going to at some point or another need to figure out what you're going to do with your health care.
Dawn Fleming: [00:25:11] So more importantly, do you still practice your God, do you go to your classes when you're finally free?
George White: [00:25:19] I haven't done I haven't done the yoga classes, but I continue on my own. Matter of fact, at this place where I am, there's a little gym next to my apartment I'm in. It's part of the same same building and it's about a 20 by 20 room or 15 by 15. And they have a few weights in their. What do you call a Browning machine, what you would call one of those treadmill, a treadmill, and and then the other thing that looks like like your skiing, that.
Dawn Fleming: [00:25:57] Elliptical. Yeah,
George White: [00:26:00] yeah, I don't use any of those. I have used the walking machine, the treadmill. I use that a few times when the weather was not really good here to go outside and walk. Mostly though, I just do my yoga in that room and, and I'm fine with that and I try to walk as much as I can. Scotland, I was doing seven, eight, 10 miles a day in Scotland.
Dawn Fleming: [00:26:25] We'll be back in a moment.
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Dawn Fleming: [00:28:01] Welcome back to the Overseas Life Redesign podcast, thank you so much for being here, and we invite you to subscribe, if you like, what you hear.
George White: [00:28:10] I was there under the lockdown twice this past year. Fortunately, they allowed us to go out. But everything all the stores and everything were were locked down. And spring in Scotland is rather beautiful. Sometimes you wouldn't think about it. But I was quite surprised. I'd been there in the winter. I was in there in the summer and twenty twelve with my church. But I was there this spring and the flowers blooming and the trees turning green, the leaves coming back. And they have so many parks in Edinburgh, Edinborough, that's a Edinborough. So as so many parks, it was wonderful to be able to go out and walk. And of course everyone wore their masks there and that helped. So it was it was very good. I enjoyed that. But here where I am now, Italy, this part, we're in the mountains a little bit and it's almost it's almost Scottish weather here. No snow and but it's rained quite a bit. And it's been. Not unseasonably cold, but the cold is just continuous, it's every day when I say cold, you know, upper 30s at night and upper forties during the day, which is not really bad. But I know my first time here housesitting after I left, I went to Scotland and it was January and that was twenty nineteen. And they sent me of a video message from here and they had all this snow and we had no snow in Scotland, but they had it all here in Italy. This part of Italy,
Dawn Fleming: [00:29:59] Obviously if you're moving around doing the house sitting, you don't have your your social network. Right. That you typically have if you stay in one place. So it sounds like from what you said, that you've met lots of people. So I know covid it's been a little bit different, but for the most part, free covid. Did you find yourself just going out and meeting people or how do you kind of stay connected?
George White: [00:30:26] Well, where I am now, it's a little more remote than the other places I've been. So I started in Nova Scotia, in Sydney, Nova Scotia, which is a small port, and the cruise ships go in there. And I had been there in 2012 on a cruise from New York to Quebec to see the changing of the leaves in the fall of twenty thirteen. And when we came in to Sydney, Nova Scotia. And the cruise ship, we got off and everyone was in kilts and I thought I had just gotten my kilt the year before in Scotland, so I had it with me. So I went back on the cruise ship and put on my kilt. And I spent the whole time in Nova Scotia. Three days we were there and walking around and doing all the touristy things, but wearing my guilt. And I thought if I ever come back to Sydney, I will don my kilt and go to the cruise ship port every day that the cruise ships are in and welcome the tourists while I'm wearing my kilts. So lo and behold, my first housesit that I looked at was Sydney, Nova Scotia, some five years later. And when I saw that, I thought, I'm going to apply and this will be the house where I make my first venture into housesitting. This will be the time. So I applied and I explained to the people. Who had run the advertisement in the website for Housesitting that they wanted someone to watch their home while they went on vacation with their two young girls and they were going on a vacation to go to the wife's parents somewhere else in Canada. So I said, yes, I'd be glad to do that. And that I was this was my first time to do a house set and that's it. And that I decided to select this home because it was in Sydney and I'd been there before. And I told them about wearing the kilt and going to the fruit site and that when I was finished with the housesit, my plan was to go from Nova Scotia, which is New Scotland to Old Scotland. And because this was summer and I thought this would be perfect and I'll be in Scotland by the end of August, and what a great little thing to go from New Scotland to Old Scotland. So I think they were excited about that idea. How I had five years before visiting Sydney said, you know, to myself, if I ever come back here again, I'll come back wearing Michael. So they like that idea. And they said they would like to have me be their house sitter. So we talked eventually. We just emailed it first through the website. And that's another thing that we should mention. If somebody is looking, sometimes people are hesitant at reaching out or signing up for something is websites. I don't know if have you used Airbnb signed up?
Dawn Fleming: [00:34:02] We actually we have a vacation villa that we advertise on.
George White: [00:34:07] Well, they they instruct people to make all their contacts through the website because then you're assured of someone not misusing your information and so forth. But once you get to know the people, then you can give them your personal phone number or your personal email or something. But prior to that, you want to just keep everything through the Airbnb site and most of the house sitting websites, they suggest the same thing. So when you're emailing back and forth to the homeowner and when the homeowner is sending things out to the perspective house sitters, they should always do everything through the website, through the plan, through the flatboat. So and I was real concerned with that because I thought this was my first venture on this show. So we did everything through the website and and then we did emails back and forth to after they said, yes, we'd like for you to be the person. I said, OK, then I will look at the flights and I'll let you know. And it worked out fine. It was really, really wonderful. But I, I didn't do it the way I wanted. It changed later. So I did the website. I did the excuse me the house did in Nova Scotia and I was there a month, I would say just about a month. Because I got there on the twenty second of July, but I didn't get to go to old Scotland, I things changed. I talked to my brother and he was he lives in Pennsylvania. He was going on a cruise. He said, I'm going on a cruise. He calls me. And when he called, he said, well, how are things in California? I said, oh, I left California, Nova Scotia. He said, I don't even know where that is. I said, well, I'll tell you. He says, I know it's on the East Coast. So we're finally in the same time zone. I said all no, Nova Scotia is in a completely different time. Stoate he said it can't be. It's on the East Coast. I said no. It extends so far out beyond New York, it's in its own time zone.
Dawn Fleming: [00:36:35] Right
George White: [00:36:35] So I said I'm actually an hour ahead of you instead of three hours behind you. So anyway, he said, well, what are you doing there? I said I'm I'm house sitting. And he said, Oh, well, I'm going to travel. And he said, You are? He said, yes. I said, So you're driving to Pennsylvania, to Florida to see your youngest daughter. He said, well, I am going to Florida, but I'm taking all my daughters and their husbands and the children and grandchildren and we are all going on a cruise. So I thought, I'm going to put myself on the cruise, too. So I called his daughter in Florida from Nova Scotia, and I said, I'm thinking about surprising your dad on that cruise the end of September. And she said, Uncle George. Don't ever believe my dad. I never believe him. She said, we are back by the end of September. I said all she said, we're leaving on the 21st of September to go on the cruise. And I said, well, I want to surprise him. I said, so don't tell him. Tell your mother. I said, because wives need to know. So tell your mother. She said, Uncle George, she'll be glad you're going. I said, I know, but the wives need to know everything. So you tell your mother that I'm coming. And I said, I'll call the cruise line. So rather than go online, I thought, I'll just call them because I'm inside almost of the last 30 days of before the cruise goes. So I called them and they were excited because I was going to surprise my brother. And so they really gave me a good deal. I had to buy the whole room because I didn't have someone to go with me. So they so they they worked out a deal for me. They gave me some extra beverage credit and a couple of excursions. So it all worked fine and I was able to surprise my brother. So that delayed me from going to Scotland.
Dawn Fleming: [00:38:42] But in order to delay, it was to see where he was.
George White: [00:38:48] And we had him surprised until I came to Florida and she picked me up at the airport, his daughter, and then took me back to her house and he said, What are you doing here? I thought you were in Canada. I said, No, I'm going on a cruise. He said, Oh, I am, too. I know I'm going on the same one with you. And so originally I was going to surprise him on the cruise ship, but then we thought, no, that might not be a good idea because sometimes people get too excited. And so I thought, oh, I don't want him to be, you know, upset or have a heart attack or something, because so it's this way. You can have the heart attack at home before right before we go. So but that delayed my my plan. And then so in order to make all of it work, I had to get another housesit and I got another housesit in Canada for that last of twenty five thirty days that I needed before I went to Florida. So then after and we went to Aruba from Florida on the cruise. So and I've never been to Aruba. I'd been down to South America. I've been to a what is that where Panama is and where you are there. Cancun, Cozumel, Costa, Maya. But I had never been over to Aruba. And so we it ended up being a great trip. I'm glad I did it, but that delayed me. And then when I got back from that, then I went to Italy for the live and Invest Overseas conference in Pesquera, all about living in Italy. So then I did I went to Sorento, which is my favorite place in Italy. I've been there several times. And and then from Sorento, I went to a conference on geneology in Norway. So that's another thing that's helped me with my traveling in that I'm finding my ancestors and relatives. And I found relatives in Italy, my mother's relatives. I found first cousins in a coomalie which was destroyed by an earthquake a couple of years ago. But there are some people still living in that area in government housing. And I found a cousin there and another cousin in Rome. So it's been a real adventure for me to be able to do this. So and I've been able to save money by using the house sits. And when you can't get them to match up to where you have a gap in between house sits, that's when I use Airbnb. And also I have found that most of the people who the homeowners, they will allow you to come early a couple of days if you need to, or stay a couple of days longer in order to make your next connection. I haven't had anyone say no when I've asked them if I could, and I've had several offered that right up front. They they understand. The homeowners do that, people are using house sitting not only as a way to offset their expenses when traveling, but when you say, for instance, I used a house that once in the in Scotland, so I was already going to go to Scotland and I was just going to plan on being there. The whole summer, which I did for festival time in Scotland is absolutely wonderful. It lasts the whole month of August and a little bit before and a little bit afterwards, too. So it's at least a five, six week event, the festival season. I had planned to be there for the whole summer, but I saw a house that was actually the first week that I was going to go anyway. So like I said, I'm coming to Edinburgh, I'm in Italy, I'm coming to Edinburgh. And I would like to be your house sitter. Don't worry about me having to travel because I'm coming from the United States, I'm coming from Italy. And so it's not going to be a major expense, which most people would not want you to do if you're only going to be there a week. And you should what? You shouldn't want to make that trip yourself if you're only going to be there a week. So they they said, well, you know, you could stay longer and use our house as a. Sort of a central location to do your genealogy and ancestry research in the area around, I said, oh, I appreciate that, but I already have housing plans made up for my trip. So and I've had other homeowners offer that, too. They actually will put that in their ad that if you like, you could stay a few days afterwards to tour the area and go to the museums and things that you aren't able to go to while you're here, or they also will tell you that they're there. Cats don't need to be walked. So you're just watching cats so you can go out during the day and and they will sometimes give you an outline of museums and places to go and see while you're there. So they understand that you're coming to this area to house it. But you also may like to do some some, you know, vacationing yourself, sort of. And it's also a good way. For instance, if someone was wanting to go say to Portugal or come down to Mexico or a good if you could do a house, sit there and then stay a little longer or while you were watching the house, check out the area to see if it's a place you really want to go. And so that way it's it works out and it's an advantage. So I have found it to be an expense saver. And I will say that both my personal account and my business account in the last two years have have more than doubled because I'm not spending a lot of money for four car. I found most places I can walk around or take the bus once in a while and take a taxi, if I dare. But I found it to be really a money saver.
Dawn Fleming: [00:45:52] So I same question I got to ask you, what's your professional background in business?
George White: [00:46:01] You know, I think that's one of the things that's helped me. As you can see, I enjoy talking. And I've been very blessed to do what's something that I've always wanted to do. I started it when I was in high school. I've been I've been in broadcasting all my life in some form or another. I spent twenty five years on radio and a little TV and then from so from nineteen sixty six to nineteen eighty one. I was on radio in the Pittsburgh area and then in Florida. So Pittsburgh was about 15 years. I actually started in, in Newport, Vermont, right below the Canadian border in nineteen sixty six, nineteen ninety eight. I started my own business as a freelance voiceover person and I've managed to make a living doing that. So I, enjoy meeting people. I've been very strong in my church in Florida Presbyterian Church that I joined there in eighty eight. So I've been an elder there for I think thirty, thirty two years will be thirty three years this year. And the minister, it's been there thirty five years. He's going into his thirty sixth year as the minister and we're a Presbyterian church, part of the Central Florida Presbytery. And so I spent most of my time in Edinburgh, Scotland at the Presbyterian Church there, which is the mother church of Presbyterianism in Scotland. And basically that's how we got our form of government in the United States from those Presbyterians that came over from Scotland to Ireland. And then the Ulster Scots came from Ireland, Ulster, Ireland to Pennsylvania and then and part of the Carolinas and some came into Massachusetts. So it has been a wonderful adventure for me to put the housekeeping house sitting excuse me, my ancestry research and genealogy, my ability to talk and meet with people that I enjoy so much. And then to be also my belief for is my belief of Jesus Christ is our lord and savior and being able to travel and learn more about history and religion and politics. So I've been blessed and I love telling that story that I'm a person who is having a good time at I'll be seventy three and I'm having a wonderful time in my life and and the house sitting and meeting people like yourself and hearing their stories. And I just I am really enjoying life I believe.
Dawn Fleming: [00:49:15] Yes you are. Wow. What a great story. Thank you so much for sharing it. I really appreciate it.
George White: [00:49:22] I hope I've really good,
Dawn Fleming: [00:49:25] good pearls of wisdom. And I know that that people are going to be really I think a lot of people are going to seriously consider doing something like that. It's a the world has changed and yes, all kinds of options out there. It's it's the old ways of doing things don't have to continue. You can do something else, you know, and with.
George White: [00:49:47] I don't know how people and people have, of course, done this many years ago. I don't know how they did it because now it's so easy with the computer and the Internet. You know, we can all I can do my recordings. I still do recordings for clients in Florida and the Carolinas and so forth. And they go, all right, where are you now, George? And I said, well, I'm in Sorrento, Italy, looking at Mount Vesuvius across the Bay of Napoli. And I said, and I'm doing your recording there. And they go, We want to be like you when we grow up. So it it's it has been a blessing. I hope I have. You're going to be able to edit this and make welcome.
Commercial: [00:50:36] You are listening to the. Overseas Life redesigned podcast, where you'll hear fine, relaxed and inspirational interviews with people who are really living the dream. I'm Don Lemon. An attorney turned activist and your host for the show coming to you from the tropical island paradise of these communities, Mexico. Listen to conversations with courageous souls who stepped out of their comfort zone and designed a new way of life. They'll share their experiences, wisdom and offer practical steps you can take to redesign your life overseas. Listen. And you'll believe if you can dream it, you can achieve it.
George White: [00:51:15] Make some sense out of it
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