A short post today and it’s about house sitting. The Housesitmatch company has been our go to agency for pet sitting services for the past few years. We have used them exclusively for at least three years. We continue to use them because the level of care has been excellent. This post is not sponsored :-).
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How we find great pet sitters:
What is house sitting and pet sitting?
Wikipedia describes house sitting:
“House sitting is the practice whereby a person leaving their house for a period of time entrusts it to one or more “house sitters”, who by a mutual agreement are permitted to live or stay in the property temporarily, in exchange for assuming any combination of responsibilities.”
Having pet sitters take care of our dogs when we travel has been a godsend. My reasons for using Housesitmatch handle my sits include:
- Ease of use. It is amazingly easy to communicate with the owner and having my needs addressed in record time.
- Sitters that have gone through an extensive background check, giving me peace of mind.
- The fact that the dogs never need to be away from their natural surrounding, so their routine is not interrupted.
- Getting to know like minded travelers and digital nomads.
I recently did a twitter online chat with Housesitmatch and l am sharing the link for those who are interested in learning more about this really cool way of living and traveling. There is also a YouTube video where l dive into even more details.
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How we find great pet sitters by using Housesitmatch:
There are different platforms to find house sitters. Some are free and some cost money. Housesitmatch is one of the companies that charge a fee, both to the home owners and to the sitters.
I actually prefer this because l find that when both sides have skin in the game, people are more responsible and hold up their end of the bargain. The yearly fee is so reasonable and completely worth it.
House sitting is an exchange between home owners and the sitters. One side gets amazing care of their pets while they travel and the other side gets to discover new places and have free accommodation. There is no exchange of money.
If you’ve been contemplating having sitters sit for you and want to dip your toes in, check out Housesitmatch and see how they can accommodate your needs. Lamia, the owner is an amazing person to deal with. The personal touch which l found missing from other companies I’d dealt with prior to them has been simply superb.
I can sometimes get air headed and forget our travel arrangements, but she is hands on and l just love the fact that l can get ahold of her quickly. The dogs have loved the many, many sitters that we have had sitting for us from her company. We have become solid friends with some of them too.
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My advise to anyone who is interested in this lifestyle is to check out people who have been house sitting or pet sitting for a while, people like Terry and her husband who l had interviewed a while back, and are now retired in Portugal. They found their retirement destination during their years of pet sitting all over the world.
House sitting is not for everyone:
The only thing l would caution people about is to consider pet sitting only if you absolutely love animals. This is not about finding free accommodation. It is, and will always be about the pets!. Look for house sitting gigs as an alternative.
Have you considered house or pet sitting as a way to travel the world?
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House sitting is something that we always considered, but never really gave a try. I mean… the fact that you can live somewhere without paying rent saves you a ton of money. The same goes about pet sitting, which is basically the same thing, but with the added bonus of having one or more furry companions around. It’s a win-win situation: for hosts, because traveling with pets is really difficult; for sitters, because they get free accommodation.
Now, the main reason why I haven’t tried this is that I had some dog-related problems in the past and I am scared nowadays even by chihuahuas…. but things have gotten somewhat better in the past few years, so maybe soon I’ll be able to stay close to a friendly dog without constantly fearing that they will bite my hand off 🙂 I know that when I met your kind and queen of the castle, I even petted them a bit and it was all good: they’re the nicest dogs I ever came close to 🙂
I think house sitting is a great way to travel around the world for cheaper. We have yet to try it because we would have to find someone to sit for our dogs. We have tried house exchange before and that worked out okay once, but it’s hard for us still with two dogs to be cared for. Fore pet lovers, yep, it’s a win win situation for them to be able to travel and keep pets happy.
In your case of course, house sitting would be a better option, sometimes l see like Thailand (someplace l know that interest you :-)) sit for like 3 months and even longer in some places like Mexico for instance. You should consider it. Yeah, I think l would be very choosy if l sat for pets. I love dogs, but not cats unlike Federico who loves every single kind of pet. Haha! I remember you were apprehensive about meeting our two dogs and you did very well with them. They sniff you for a few minutes and then forget about you until you have food. Eric and Alina had no problems :-).
I remember also the first sitters we had with HouseSitMatch was an Australian couple with two kids, 4 and 9 and they were great with the dogs. We still keep in touch on FB with them :-). They also found their “home” in Panama after sitting there and have since moved to that country. It’s a great way to suss out where you want to settle in.
We will consider it in the future for sure :-).
It is so great when you find people you can trust to take good care of your pets. Certainly a fantastic idea, it is a win win situation for both parties.
It really is great and takes so much pressure off, enabling you to enjoy your holiday more. Both sides totally benefits. No money exchange also means that you don’t have to worry about breaking any rules as far working visas etc.
Thanks for sharing – I will share this with others I know who have pets.
I have loved working with them and definitely recommend them. I actually “met” you through a former house sitter too :-).