Retirement, a whole new adventure - Gary and Candy Spaid

Gary and Candy spent most of their vacation time and their money traveling the world during their working life.  Gary decided to sell his registered investment adviser business and retire in 2010. The couple got the idea to have a career as property caretakers from The Caretaker Gazette which they had subscribed to for several years before retiring. They want to see the world before old age embraces them. Before retirement, the longest trip they could take was three weeks. Now they accept assignments up to three months. They explain, “It is so much more fun to immerse yourself in the country by shopping locally, eating the local food, and learning how to communicate when your foreign language skills are limited. (Tip: Be sure to check how long you may stay in a country before you take the job)."

Their present assignment is taking care of two cats (Bela and Sassy) in Bangkok, Thailand in the Silom district.  Everything they could possible need is within walking distance. The street food is so good there is no need to cook. Gary's bread pan (which he carries around the world) will stay in storage in the luggage until they get to New Zealand, their next assignment. People typically ask Candy and Gary how they can live out of two suitcases. They reply, “It's actually very easy. One suitcase is for winter clothes and the other is for summer. The Czech Republic assignment was below freezing and Bangkok is in the 90's.” They carry only two pairs of shoes: hiking boots and walking shoes. In order to simplify their life, Gary and Candy sold their six bedroom McMansion and have no regrets. They say, “Sure, we miss our wine cellar, movie theater, and gourmet kitchen, but our life is so much richer now that we are caretakers. As our quote infers, each day has its challenges but that is what makes life interesting.”

Here is their hint for responding to Caretaker Gazette requests: Be brutally honest on what you can do. Gary and Candy admit, “While we can take care of most horses, we have no experience with draft animals. Also, Gary is too old for thoroughbreds.” Stating that upfront saves both sides a lot of time, “We accepted an assignment in New Zealand for a place that runs on solar. We admitted we have no experience with solar. The owner knew we usually arrive a few days early to learn the ropes and said he would teach us everything we needed to know.” They try to respond to assignments that take them heading east around the world. However, they have backtracked many times and never regretted seeing areas that were not on their list. For Gary and Candy, it's all about being flexible. For example, they backtracked to Lugano, Switzerland to care for a dog and two cats for two weeks, “We really did not know much about the area and were delighted to take the dog on numerous hikes and do general sightseeing. As we are avid Geocachers, we found many hidden treasures in the Lugano area.”

Candy and Gary use the internet extensively to keep up with their next assignments. They also book all travel arrangements online. Both Skype and their Skype phone number have really helped their nomadic lifestyle. Prospective employers and family can easily stay in touch. They have only had one caretaking assignment that was cancelled. A German family had to reschedule their vacation due to problems at work.  Fortunately, the Spaids were able to stay in an off-season ski chalet for a really low price. Transportation is their biggest hurdle. Gary doesn't like driving a car, (especially on the left side of the road), so driving on foreign roads is something they try to avoid. That means taking local transportation. They research public transportation options and obtain information from the locals. They carry a laptop, "an invaluable tool", with them everywhere they go. They are not party-goers. They copied all of their DVDs to a removable hard drive and watch a movie each night. Candy explains, “That is important if all of the TV stations are in an incomprehensible language. TV is not a big draw for us. We prefer more intelligent choices. We also listen to books on the computer. I sew while Gary cooks. It's a great arrangement.”

 What's next for the Spaids? “When our job after New Zealand and Australia ends we will be scouring The Caretaker Gazette for other short term jobs in Australia until our 90 days are up. Our best guess is that we will be in South America from December until April as we have not done much traveling there and we are really looking forward to those countries and improving our Spanish. After that, who knows? Most folks do not like to kennel their pets so we will always have places to live. We may end up back in the U.S. in a year to see the states we haven't visited yet or stay in the states that we love.”