How does it feel to be without a home? Like a rolling stone – at least for two local musicians tackling the cost-of-living crisis by house-sitting their way around the region.
“It’s very rewarding financially, but also we get to meet a lot of pets and live in interesting places that we get to explore that you wouldn’t normally,” says Hayley Neal of the acoustic duo Lucy + Hayley.
She and bandmate Lucy Mills gave up their Brisbane rental earlier this year to hit the road in their van, choosing to base themselves around the Illawarra – a region Lucy knew well from years of solo gigs as a singer-songwriter and cover artist.
They perform across the South Coast, Southern Highlands and southern Sydney, offering free house, pet and plant-sitting in exchange for accommodation, all while documenting their journey on YouTube.
It's a lifestlyle that allows the full-time musicians to live lightly, save money and travel while doing what they love.
“The whole 9 to 5, sitting still in one spot for years and years, never really appealed to me,” Lucy says.
“I really enjoy the freedom of it. You can go and explore a place you’ve never been before, and make it work with the gigs – you can find a gig or two anywhere.
“We’re in a job where we can travel and make money, and housesitting allows us to have free accommodation while we do that.
“We save money along the way because we’re not paying rent or a mortgage or electricity.”
The 'do what makes you happy' life
Hayley grew up on the Central Coast, where she learned guitar from her dad. But before music became her profession, she spent 10 years in Brisbane working as an accountant.
“This has been a big change for me,” she says. “It all came about from Lucy’s philosophy of ‘how much do you really need to have a happy life?’
“We saw that a lot of people were getting to that next step where you buy a house and get into debts and I wasn’t sure that I really wanted to go down that road.”
Lucy grew up in Western Sydney before moving to a small town near Mudgee, where she spent her teenage years. Her love of music began after watching the movie Sister Act as a kid.
Inspired by the vocalists, she joined the school band and played trumpet and drums before settling on guitar as her instrument of choice.
She says her dad’s interest in permaculture, living off the grid and tiny homes influenced her attitude towards alternative lifestyles.
“My parents are both very hardworking people. They always said ‘do what makes you happy’,” Lucy says.
“But you also see the exhaustion and struggles they go through, and I’m just aware that life is very short.
“As a kid and a teenager, even then, I started to develop this idea that you’ve really just got to be happy.
“So years ago, I got into camper van living and then housesitting. It’s all about minimalism and learning about that sort of thing – you don’t really need a lot of stuff."
The acousitc duo book regular gigs at pubs and clubs, including Headlands Hotel in Austinmer and Dandaloo Hotel in Dapto.
“Acoustic pop-rock pub covers are our bread and butter – we do the oldies like Wonderwall, a bit of Fleetwood Mac, the sort of classics people like to hear,” Hayley says.
They use platforms such as Aussie House Sitters and Trusted House Sitters to plan their stays in advance.
“It’s kind of similar to the way Airbnb works, where you can review the owners and they can review you as a guest – so there’s this level of safety in it,” Lucy says.
“We go through a process of calling them and visiting them before we actually start staying in their house.”
People can keep up with Lucy + Hayley’s travels on YouTube and catch their gig updates on Facebook.
“We’ve been documenting the journey – talking about the camper van, the housesitting, the whole new way of living,” Lucy says.
“We’d love to develop a real community around the channel and Facebook.
“I’d also love to know what people want to find out about the way we live our lives. Check us out there!”
Follow Lucy and Hayley's journey on YouTube.