W: spending three months in sicily O: money, job, appartment

[tatiana]

Dear fellow-wishers,

first of all I am sorry to be so late with my post but I just returned from a business trip...

My wish would be to spend a summer at Taormina, Sicily - first of all because I want to improve my Italian but also because I love that place so very much.

The obstacles are not hard to guess: I will have to convince my boss (in my case it's my brother and father and believe me, I have no idea if that makes it easier or harder...) to let me go for three months. Then there is the money-issue: I will have to pay for my appartment here as well as accomodation, language school and expenses in Sicily.

I have made some contacts in Sicily. There is one that I could probably ask to let me work at his restaurant and I am even quite sure that he would say yes but.... I like him. Very much!! But (yes there is one more) he is engaged so it might not be the best idea to ask just him...

[mango]

I try to tell everyone who will listen about the Caretaker Gazette:

http://www.caretaker.org

It's $29.95 for a year of membership online (they also have 'regular mail,' and other options).
They publish their listings every 2 months (I think), plus send regular email updates as people want to advertise between publications.

You can look for house-sitting/care taking jobs, or post your own 'Situation Wanted' ad (there is a charge for posting an ad).

I hope this helps!

[cshore knitter]

Is your current job the type of job you could still do while you were away? Can you telecommute?

Marlaine

[tatiana]

Thank you so much Agnes and Marlaine,

no, I don't think, it will be possible to work for example online. If I do the job I have to be there. There is also a lot of filing involved. And the boys do need someone who is right there...

[pattyn]

Where are your home and job? Maybe someone else is just dying to be there for 3 months while you're away.

[Elaine Glimme]

My friend used to go to Sweden for about three months at a time. He traded his house with a family that wanted to spend three months in America. I don't know the details, but it's done all the time.

[Alexia]

Re accommodation in Taormina, I wouldn't go to the trouble and expense of finding an apartment. You don't need it for just three months, and you probably wouldn't find one anyway. I don't know Taormina, but I do know that in other cities around the Mediterranean owners always want a year's contract for an apartment. You'd do better asking for a room. The Tourist Office there might be able to help, and as you walk around the streets you may see cards in windows offering "Rooms to let."

You could also try the Hostelbookers website. Many hostels these days have single rooms and facilities such as cafes, bars, laundry room, WiFi etc. And most of them no longer have a curfew. Church guesthouses may also be a possibility ?

Alexia.

[dvschuetz]

For housesitting you can also look at www[dot]mindmyhouse[dot]com

For cheap or free accomodation you might become a member in hopitalityclub[dot]org and couchsurfing[dot]org - some people would let you stay longer than just a few days. Although you might have to move several times, but at least you are in or near Taormina.

You might contact a Language or Culture Institute in or near Taormina to offer a kind of language or communication service, like teaching your own language as a native speaker (British Council, Goethe Institute, ...) - they will help you with accomodation

Good Luck, Dietmar

[dvschuetz]

More ideas:
- rent your flat at home to somebody else (put you own stuff in a friends' cellar)
- start saving money - at least 5$ every day - starting TODAY
- get a different job with better payment in your home town as soon as possible (within the 3-6 months "test" period not only the boss can say goodbye, you also can! You SUDDENLY got the idea to move to Sicily....

[resumeconfidence]

This is an old post but for anyone reading it for ideas on how to feasibly live abroad, I highly recommend the housecarers website (google it, this board won't let me post the url) I wrote in depth about it on another post, about living in Paris (so you can maybe search here on the board for that one, too for more resources), but the basics are this:

--The housecarers site is great (about $50/year -- less than one night's hotel fee!)

--I have used it several times with much success, and write about house/pet sitting more on my own website (listed in my signature below), including a few articles of tips on how to write an appealing, interesting housesitter profile. I am a professional resume writer, and discovered that the general strategies for writing a compelling cover letter work really well in crafting a great housesitter profile, too! There's a page to find those articles on my site.

-- I also really like the site & Facebook page of The Professional Hobo for all things related to this type of travel. Google her to find her extensive info & resource lists.

Hope this helps someone down the line!


Shannon