Fran Cassaniti from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Marco Ilagan from Chicago, Illinois, are passionate travelers and long-distance friends. Instead of relying on FaceTime calls like many long-distance couples, they spend days in different places around the world, meeting in places like India, Thailand and Brazil to spend time together.
Their journey began in 2016 when they first met and realized their passion for traveling the world. After a year of dating and another year of careful planning and saving money, they made the decision to leave their jobs in the company, leave their rented house and in January 2018 they started their journey together.
Fran Cassaniti and Marco Ilagan started their journey by flying to Marco Ilagan’s hometown in the Philippines, and then went to Hawaii six months later. However, they soon realized that their frequent hotel stays every five days did not match their goals of making a living shopping while living on the road. Fran said they were looking for a way to continue traveling but with more stability and a safe place to live.
During that time, they saw a couple of digital nomads on Instagram who had been keeping the house for two years, which inspired them to try it. Fran Cassaniti and Marco Ilagan created an account on TrustedHousesitters.com and were thrilled to be accepted for a house sitter in Anchorage, Alaska in just 15 days.
Their responsibility at home is to take care of a dog and a free-flying cockatiel named Tweetie. Despite the initial nerves, the owners and their adorable pets made the experience enjoyable. The owners left a car, two ATVs and hiking gear for Fran and Marco to explore and enjoy the beautiful Alaskan landscape. Cassaniti fondly remembers that during breakfast, Tweetie would sit impatiently at her breakfast bar, eagerly waiting for her peanut butter cookies to bake.
Once Fran and Marco tried housekeeping, they bonded and it became their favorite way of life and travel. They only use TrustedHoussitters to book their homes because of the wide selection of international opportunities and the convenience of having all their research in one place.
An unforgettable experience was a four-month stay at a beach retreat in Grenada, where they took care of two stranded German shepherds while the retired owners went sailing in the winter. Marco remembers it as their dream house, with a terrace that offers a spectacular view of the sunset over the ocean. Fruit trees abound in the garden, providing them with an endless supply of mangoes and avocados for months. It was an unforgettable moment for the couple.
