Sunshine and Luxury: how to live in Spain for FREE

Sunshine and Luxury: how to live in Spain for FREE. 

Fancy holidaying on the Costa del Sol (the Sunshine Coast) in Spain for FREE? We stayed there for six weeks and it really does live up to its name. There was sunshine everyday and average temperatures of 35 degrees! 

We lived in a luxury mansion, complete with two swimming pools and located right next to the beach. And we did all this rent & bill free. 

How do we do it?

My fiancé and I are House Sitters, we stay in other people's houses whilst they themselves are away on holiday. 

But, despite what we like to think, we aren't super-special super-lucky people. It's actually really easy to become a House Sitter yourself, and we set up this blog to help you do just that. But first, let me give you a taste of sunshine and luxury in Spain, what's life like as a House Sitter?: 

The house we were looking after was right on the Costa del Sol. It was perfectly located - a short drive East took us to Malaga, full of history, tourists and partying. A short drive West was Marbella, which is extremely fancy and teaming with celebrities! 

Our immediate area still hadn't been discovered by tourists or celebrities, which meant we could have the beach and the sea to ourselves:

We made sure we made the most of it and went swimming everyday, or went out on the boat and tried to spot dolphins and tuna.

And in the afternoons, after our siesta, we liked to head North into the mountains.

Which was where we were able to see the famous Spanish dancers - Flamenco Dancers:

We also spent a lot of time wandering around a town called Fuengirola, enjoying the Spanish markets.

And of course eating freshly caught sea food on the beach. To be honest, a lot of our time was spent eating, so we wrote a whole post about it here: our Five Favourite Foods in Spain. 

The Costa del Sol really does have something for everyone, and if you'd like to read more about it try this page on TripAdvisor.

But what about the house itself? When we first started House Sitting we were only interested in living rent-free - and with high renting fees who wouldn't be interested in that? 

However, we quickly learnt that it wouldn't just be any old free accommodation. More often than not the houses you will House Sit will be jaw-dropping. 

And this House Sit was no exception, yes, this House Sit came with two pools and this was the main one: 

Now, generally with House Sitting, you're expecting to keep the house 'in the way you found it'. This doesn't mean cleaning up the Home Owner's mess (that's called volunteering), it just means hoovering/dusting/moping up after yourself (like you would if you were a guest in a friend's house).  

However, in this particular House Sit, as is often true with fancy houses, we didn't have to clean at all - they continued to employ their cleaner! 

And yes, that meant we (luckily) didn't have to clean the pool either. 

But if we're not cleaning up after ourselves and are spending days in sunny Spain for free, what are we doing in return?

As House Sitters, your title will almost always be stretched to Pet Sitter, i.e. the main reason you are there is for the pets:

In return for looking after some cute pets, you get to stay in the owner's house. Pets are always happier in their own homes than in kennels (not to mention it's a A LOT cheaper), so everyone wins - the House Sitters, the Home Owners, and especially the pets. 

So if you, like us, love animals you will be in heaven. If you Pet Sit dogs, your duties will be to walk the dogs, feed the dogs and cuddle up with the dogs - and if you're a dog person this won't be a chore at all! 

Even if you're not a dog person, don't worry, there are also lots of cat sits out there too. We usually opt for the dog sits though, because we get to go on morning walks that look like this: 

These three dogs (Kenzo, Inca and Jason) loved walking through the beautiful mountains, and they also loved walking on the spectacular beaches:

So, to summarise, we spent six weeks in Spain living rent free in a mansion. Our days were filled with walking cute dogs on the beach or in the mountain, relaxing in the pool and in the house and taking occasional day trips to the big cities. 

All in all our House Sit at the Costa del Sol was amazing and we loved it! 

But as House Sitters do you have the freedom to go sightseeing? Surely you have to stay inside with the dogs all day?

Well firstly, if that had been the case, you've seen the house and pool - would relaxing in that house and pool for six weeks (for free) be the worst thing that's ever happened to you? 

(As digital nomads we do actually tend to voluntarily spend a lot of time at 'home', and we highly recommend House Sitting to other digital nomads or anyone wanting to work on their own business.)

But that aside, in general with most House Sits, it's just like looking after your own dog, as long as your dog has been walked and has water (and preferably other dog company or a toy), s/he can be left alone for a few hours (generally up to 4 hours, but longer if they have a dog flap and shorter if they aren't used to it). Always check with your home owners first. 

The point is, you're not a prisoner to the house, and mostly you'll have more freedom than ever before - with the burden of paying for accommodation lifted, your possibilities are endless! 

So how can you start living in Spain for FREE?

1. Read our Guide on How To Start House Sitting
2. Have a look at our ebook Guide For First Time House Sitters this reveals how we found all our first House Sits in Australia - all of these lessons can be transferred to getting your first House Sit in Spain
3. We found this particular House Sit from Trusted House Sitters and thus we highly recommend them. But no need to take our word for it, viewing their latest sits is free, so click here to see their latest Spanish House Sits. Maybe something will take your fancy!

Don't forget, House Sitting in Spain isn't the only option. So far we've House Sat in 8 European countries and half of Australia. If you'd like to read more about our adventures, try these:

• 5 Reasons to House Sit in Portugal
• The Ultimate House Sit
• What's it like to House Sit in Berlin?
• What's it like to House Sit in Finland?

So what do you think? Would you like to House Sit in Spain? Let us know in the comments below!

And don't forget to connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up to date with the latest House Sitting tips and tricks!

P.S. If you would like a 10% discount for trustedhousesitters.com subscribe to our free mailing list now!

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Disclaimer: All photos have been published with the permission of the home owners - we never publish photos the home owners aren't 100% happy with. We're also lucky that all the home owners we house sat for have been 100% lovely and supportive of our lifestyle and blog. Thank you!