Hi,
I’m Elsie, a proud loud Scottish lady who travels with an equally nutty English gentleman. We have been house sitters for over three years now. At first we used it to see some of the interiors of the countries we were visiting while sailing round the Atlantic. Now we are full timers with a little flat as a back up in the south of England.
I love all (well I’m not too keen on snakes and spiders) animals and love this life we have chosen. The animals and people we have met are out of this world. My only concern is as I get older will it be harder to be accepted for the rural sits with energetic animals that we prefer. We walk at least 5 miles a day and eat healthily but sometimes older people are judged by that number that haunts them. …I will hopefully keep going until my body or mind gives up then our plan is to book into a nursing home and cause havoc! Anyone remember the TV series Waiting for God, that’s us.
It is great to connect to other sitters, young and old, and read about their views and experiences. I can definitely say we have been so lucky compared to some of the people on here. I envy the younger members, if only THS had been around 40 years ago. My life would have been so different. But thinking about it, the technology wasn’t there to support work on the move. Can you imagine travelling with the huge towers computers had in those days?
Well I have introduced myself. If anyone fancies a read about our nomadic life on the ocean waves our blog is
Lionelandelsiegosailing.
@ElsieDownie Great to learn more about you, Elsie. I like your outlook on life as it is similar to mine. We’re fortunate to be healthy and fit seniors able to enjoy our lives as house and pet sitters. I enjoy your comments on the Forum.
Hi Elsie what a wonderful introduction and voyage into your life and loves, thank you for sharing, I have read your blog and it is truly inspirational.
On the age question, so far its not been an issue for John and I (and we are both really getting up there) and while it’s true there will be some owners who only see the numbers, which also applies to younger sitters. I do believe our community is open minded enough to accept that if a sitter applies for their sit, providing they have fully outlined their pets needs and their expectations, it’s with the knowledge that it’s the right sit for them …
Hi Elsie, lovely to read your brief bio. Like yourselves we are older (70) and spent the last 15 years on our small sailboat, but had it based in the US east coast. And like you, wished we had known about house sitting many moons ago! We sold our boat last year and had a year’s travel and sitting booked up but Covid hit on the day the boat sale went through! We have been sitting since 2008 but intended to fully concentrate on it , hence selling the boat. Unlike yourselves we do not yet own a home - not ready for that yet
The home purchase was pushed by the severe lockdowns in the UK. We had no where to go.
Wow, we probably sailed past each other. We spent four summers on the east coast and Nova Scotia. The winters were spent in Caribbean and Bahamas. It was such a wonderful life. Ruby Tuesday, our yacht, was sold last August in Annapolis.
Are you like us, there are certain places you would never go back to because of the wonderful memories when you sailed there? Barbados is one such place. I would hate to tarnish the memories of us reaching there after 13 days at sea (short hop across the Atlantic) and the fantastic welcome from such friendly people. It wouldn’t be the same returning. I loved the life but we have moved on.
Fair winds my friend.
Oops, my secret is out.
We did that interview because we perceived the North of Scotland was very slow to catch on to the benefits of pet and home sitters. I think it worked. It was a bit embarrassing and we did get ribbed by family and friends.
