'House sitting saved us during the global pandemic' | Fran & Marco's story

“Stay home” was the order to everyone during the COVID-19 global pandemic, but for nomads like us, it has a very different meaning and it’s not that easy because we don’t have a specific place we call home. "Home", for us, is not a place where we were born or a physical structure or a house. "Home" is a place wherever we are in the world, where we can be together, continue to grow, and do what we love. “Stay home” for us really meant more “stay in a house” or “stay in someone’s house to quarantine”, which house sitting via TrustedHousesitters gave us during this pandemic.

We arrived in Chicago, USA, in March of 2020, ready for another house sit but then two days after we arrived, the USA closed its borders and so did most of the other countries due to the unprecedented global pandemic. All travel plans were cancelled and unfortunately, all our house sitting opportunities in Chicago also got cancelled! Everybody was forced to “stay home” but for us, nomads, “staying home” was not an option because we don’t have a home. We are full-time travellers and this would be the first time in three years that we were forced to stay in one location indefinitely. We needed to decide if we were going to leave or stay in the USA, figure out immigration legalities and visa extensions, look for accommodation options, check on our safety and health insurance, plus, we had to pause our online business and lifestyle because travel came to a halt. 

Suddenly, it felt like the whole sky was the colour grey and our world turned upside down. It was like we were starting from zero again and we needed to figure out many things. We never lost hope and we kept on searching for opportunities on TrustedHousesitters. We focused on looking for local house sitting opportunities here in the USA that are long-term (at least 1 month) and within reasonable driving distance from Chicago. We were on the TrustedHousesitters app twice a day, every day looking for a home and luckily we found Jane, Bob, Brodie, and Barney in Florida. We rented a car and drove 16 hours to The Villages, Florida, in April 2020 and stayed there for two months.

They were our angels during this pandemic and we will never forget them. They didn’t just give us a home during this pandemic, they gave us lots of love, joy, and positive energy to keep moving forward. Waking up early and walking with Bordie and Barney gave us a lot of energy and motivation. We were able to focus more on our online business and found new ways to continue our projects. Plus, it was our first time in The Villages, Florida, also known as “The Disney World for Adults” so it made us feel like we were still travelling. Suddenly the sky is all blue and sunny and our life is back on track, that's why for us it’s true that Florida is “The Sunshine State”. We cannot express in words how grateful and how happy we were to have found this amazing housesit. Thank you so much to our hosts, Jane and Bob, to Brodie and Barney, and to TrustedHousesitters and its amazing community for giving us a home during this global pandemic.

We are currently still in Florida and still house sitting. Now, we are taking care of an old cat named Pookabella and we’ll be with her for two months. We’ll continue to find local house sitting opportunities until it’s safe to travel again. COVID-19 may have changed how we travel but it never stopped us from having amazing and memorable experiences and moving forward with our nomad lifestyle. This global pandemic gave us some new challenges but opened new opportunities as well. We hope our story inspires and empowers you to keep moving forward and to never stop building your dream lifestyle. 

Fran and Marco
Founders of Map The Unknown

Related article: Why house sitting is perfect for remote workers - Marco and Fran's story

To find out more about Fran & Marco and their travels, check out their Instagram, Facebook, or visit their website.