We are a small family of 3 - and as a couple we housesat for over 10 years both local and international and absolutely loved every second of it. The last sit was just prior moving into our home and birth of our child in 2012. We are introducing our now almost 11 yr old to housesitting early to teach some valuable life skills and social and cultural experiences. I am so excited that we have secured 4 sits now in the USA, Canada, UK and looking to explore Europe and parts of Asia next year. We are planning ahead so we’re applying for sits past December 2023. There’s not a lot, but there’s enough to work with! I suspect the smart homeowners get in early to ensure they get the best sitters! Which is what we experienced in the depth of our sitting years - we were frequently booked up 18 months in advance and rarely any cancellations! a great feeling! It doesn’t seem to have changed much since we started again this year still the same which is nice because I appreciate the familiarity.
How absolutely wonderful for you and your family.
Great adventures just ahead.
All the very best.
Hi @DOGDOC welcome back and as a family.
As @Amparo says you have a …
We have a number of sitter families on the forum @Debbie I’m sure will connect and share her great experiences. When families come to the forum and share their hopes and dreams all of which are so achievable, one family in particular comes to mind … Jessica & William Swenson .. here is their story, well a very small part of it and at the beginning of what has really been an incredible journey and is continuing …
We are so excited for you, do take us along on your new journey … where to first?
Good luck and safe travels.
Hi @DOGDOC and welcome back!
We have been housesitting in our school holidays since 2019. I have 2 boys who were 10 and 8 years old when we did our first housesit. They are now just about to turn 14 and 12. we had looked after our friends dog since before the children were born, and when she died, we wanted to find a way to keep pets in all of our lives.
As I work in a school, I have the same holidays as the boys, and considerably more than my husband, so we sometimes sit as a family of 4 and sometimes as a threesome. The boys are great at helping with all aspects of pet care. The younger one even plumps up and arranges all the cushion on the sofas on departure day when we are cleaning and tidying.
So far all our sits have been in the UK where we live. We did sits in England, Scotland and Wales last year. We would like to do some housesits in Europe soon, especially with the boys learning languages at school. I’d like to think that in the future we could spend a summer housesitting around Europe or further afield.
We have cared for cats, dogs, chickens, ducks, geese and rabbits. More pairs of hands means more dogs can be walked, pets used to busy family households do well with a family of house sitters.
We have a weeks school holiday in a weeks time, and the boys and I will be doing 2 different housesits - our first time doing back to back sits.
I look forward to hearing about your travels as a family.
Seattle, then Monroe - Washington State and Kelowna BC, Canada in August this year to get our feet wet.
Then December is the bigger duration back to Canada, USA, Monroe, New York for NYE and Washington DC then a quick visit to Florida for our old houseowners from 10 years ago, then off to Europe and UK.
Hello @DOGDOC and welcome back as a family
Your travel plans sound so exciting, please share some photos from your adventures, we would love to see!