I stand by what I said, though, in my own experience of going through the Caretaker Gazette. Many, if not most, jobs did require maintenance experience and many lifetime apartment dwellers like myself just don’t have it. You really do have to know what to do when the water pipes break or freeze over.

Gaining that knowledge takes a bit more than a few months of home maintenance training. That’s why plumbers still make good money. ;-)

I saw very few jobs offered that did not ask for couples in the expectation, I’m sure, that the guy at least would know how to fix things. Yes, I’m sure a single woman would have been accepted or at least considered in many of them if she had that knowledge.

So housesitting can’t really be depended upon as a lifestyle until you’re experienced in home maintenance, home repair, gardening, etc., and have a tad more put by to live between gigs.

That’s the catch.

Oh, and lots of house-sitting jobs require experience taking care of things like maintenance and such. Many ask for couples. I’d imagine single women would have a much harder time.

I love to travel and my most recent experience was to Nashville where I visited the Grand Ole Opry. This is best known for housing the longest-running radio show in America, and a country music institution since 1925.

The venue used to be housed at the Ryman Auditorium (which is a wonderful old building still in the heart of Nashville), until 1974 when it moved to its new location on the east side of downtown Nashville. It now seats over 4000 people.

They brought the original circular oak stage with them in the move and incorporated it into the new stage giving the feel of ‘age’ to this new location. This also means that the current artists appearing at the new venue are actually standing on the very same boards that the early singers such as Patsy Cline, Elvis Presley and many more, stood on. It has a fantastic atmosphere. Modern performers talk of the thrill they get from treading these same boards as their heroes.

The Opry is a very large venue but has a feeling of intimacy with comfortable seating. It is a stage show and a radio show at the same time, hard to image.

Country music just abounds at the Grand Old Opry! I saw the Charlie Daniels Band and Carrie Underwood. It was so exciting; Carrie Underwood was a firm favourite with the crowd. No matter who you see, it is a heart stopping show in the home of Country Music.

When I was staying in Nashville I did some House Sitting for a lovely family. Thanks so much to Trace & Pete, I had the best time and looking after ‘Sam’ was a highlight for me. I really felt like I belonged in the town.

After Nashville, I moved on to a new ‘sit’ position but that is another story!
I can’t wait to get back to Nashville again.