Oxford Grad: I couldn’t find a job, so I put pets to avoid paying rent

Say that I was delighted when I graduate of Oxford With mastery is an understatement.

Nestled in the graduation rooms, under segmental frescoes, threaded from head to toe in dramatic black dresses, we happily listened to the categorical speakers told us of the great and successful life that awaited us.

Now, after almost 17 months of unemployment, any hollow ring.

I started my job search three months before finishing my diploma; Like many other foreign students from the United States, I hoped to find a job in London just after obtaining the diploma in order to be able to obtain a work visa.

I arrived at the last series of interviews for several positions, to be refused at the last stadium. When I asked for comments, the answer was almost always the same: “You were great, but there was just someone better.” While the rejection of work has bitten, I was always convinced that the right role was going to work as if by magic; It would just take time.

I had to fall back on the concert economy to reach both ends.

I needed a way to reach both ends in London

I have become more and more stressed to find work. I had essentially exhausted all my savings moving to higher education, and I had very Little to lose in this waiting period. I applied to more and more publications, hoping that my mastery and three years of professional experience would qualify me for a level of entry. For the most part, I heard nothing.

The United Kingdom has experienced a cost of living in recent years, which has increased prices for everything, especially rent. I knew that if I wanted to survive in London, I should think outside the box.

I had heard of people who used the house seated like a way to find accommodation for free, but I didn’t really know where to start. I am a great animal lover and I took care of animals for most of my life. It looked like a perfect exchange: I could avoid paying rent while spending time with cute animals.

Fortunately, I still had a few months left on my student visa, so I decided to take the opportunity.

I became a nomad in London during the house and the sitting

I have downloaded petting applications for pets and joined Facebook groups. I reduced my life and lived a backpack. Every few days, I would do everything I had and I crossed London public transport to my next house. I moved everywhere in the city, from Camden to Croydon to Notting Hill in Newington – and almost anywhere. If a sit fell at the last minute or if I had a few days between the houses, I would crash on the sofas of friends.

Housesitting has pushed the limits of my adaptability: you never really know what you will get. As much as you look at yourself in advance, nothing really prepares you for what awaits behind the front door. On some of my semets, animals and I have become the best friends. We snuggle up on the sofa, watch Netflix and options for frocs at the end of the morning in the park. One of the dogs even joined me at the hinge (he did not vibrate with the guy and peed on his backpack. There was no second date).

On the other hand, some of my sets were among the most eventful experiences of my life. Chaos has become my routine. Between walks and food schedules, I fiercely piraded the applications, even if a needy spanie has constantly pushed his toy grin on my knees.

Even if my days were hectic, I cherished the routine. The dogs took me out of the house and enjoying the green spaces in London. This helped to extend some of the feelings of depression and despair that so often afflict job seekers, if only for a short time.

Although my accommodation was taken care of, I still had other invoices to pay, so I have independent on the side.

Unemployment begins to affect my mental health

Once my student visa ended in the United Kingdom, I continued to compete in Europe, especially Greece. I always do it at home in the United States.

I would lie to say that these long and trained hunting days did not fuel my nihilism. Some days, it is difficult to get out of bed, knowing that I am condemned to repeat the same day, like a creature linked to LinkedIn, cursed to scroll through the work planks constantly and write motivation letters that nobody will never read.

I look around in all my former classmates – these wonderfully brilliant and successful people with fanciful jobs and brilliant future – and I wonder if I fell in a way through the meshes of the net. I fear that, in one way or another, I am an aberrant value.

Despite chaos, the transitional and uncertainty, I am grateful for my pet concerts for pets. Taking care of animals gave me a goal. I became the guardian of these animals; Their routines have become at the heart of mine. Even when things were stuck and hopeless, I could always count on my animal companion to smile.