My Portable Paradise: Transform Your Life Through House Sitting

By Abdiel LeRoy

A New Way of Life in a Restless Age

Tired of burning bitter hours in a toxic job? Tired of the same old routine? Tired of the stress and hassle of paying rent? Then house sitting may be for you!

As old work structures break down, and people long for an easier and simpler life, a veteran house sitter and author welcomes you to share in the joys and blessings he has received. From a beach house in Costa Rica, he describes what house sitting is, its pleasures and pitfalls, and how best to prepare.

Whether you're a "digital nomad" looking for adventure, a student contemplating life choices ahead, or retired and seeking a change of scenery, you'll find gentle guidance in this book.

And... it might just change your life!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Unparagoned
• Release date: Nov 29, 2019

Book preview

My Portable Paradise

My Portable Paradise

Transform Your Life Through House Sitting

Abdiel Le Roy

Unparagoned

Copyright 2019 Abdiel LeRoy

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License Notes

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This book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, resold, licensed, or publicly performed except as permitted in writing by the author. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text is an infringement of the author's rights. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.

Contents

Get the Audiobook

My Portable Paradise

Introduction

What is House Sitting?

The Perks, the Pleasures

The Pitfalls

The House Sitter's Mindset

Getting Organized

The Kit and Caboodle

An Economy of Love

Concluding Remarks

Dueling the Dragon (Sample)

Introduction

Dispatches From Chengdu

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

From the Author

Other Resources

Books by A. LeRoy

Epic Poems

Fiction

Poetry Collections

Non-Fiction

Notes

Get the Audiobook

Hear a sample from the author’s audiobook narration, and find purchase links, at geni.us/HouseSit.

My Portable Paradise

Transform Your Life Through House Sitting

Introduction

I begin this book sitting in a beach house in Costa Rica. The sea's deep rumble underlies birdsong, accompanied by the occasional percussion of a ripe mango or coconut thudding to the ground. In the garden, juicy pineapples await, while hummingbirds flit from bloom to bloom.

I will remain here several months as I house sit for a couple visiting family in the US. Meanwhile, I am enjoying the company of their friends and neighbours here. More nearby house sits await as I make friends with the local gringos.

Best of all is swimming in the sea, where I may behold—to quote Shakespeare (as I often do)—the morning sun turn into yellow gold Neptune’s salt-green streams, losing myself in the hypnotic gleam of sparkling bubbles as my hands enter the water.

When not thus exercising, feeding plantains to the local iguanas, or going to a nearby gathering, I spend my days crafting books I love (including this one) and, with my portable voicebooth, turning many of those books into audiobooks (and yes, this one too).

Lucky bastard! you may be thinking, and you’d have a point. Certainly, I infer a Divine Hand guiding my course as a house sitter, but I also take credit for creating this life by thorough planning and consistent execution of my responsibilities.

So how did I get here? How did I, a homeless drifter and exile from all that is considered normal and stable, create this Portable Paradise?

Part of the answer lies, of course, in the technological changes of the last decade or so that give creators international reach. The answer also lies in making a virtue out of necessity, my necessity being that