I’ve lived in all three — D.C., Maryland and Virginia — and it was used commonly. I edited news coverage, spoke to reporters, photographers and such daily, some who’d lived there for decades or their families were in the area for generations. My most recently living in the area was six months ago.
I dunno. I never heard it. I lived there for about 5 years @ 20 years ago and had friends ranging from transplants to born and bred.
I first lived there more than 20 years ago and have moved back and forth across country. The funniest thing was when West Virginia became a suburb, with people busing in before dawn about two decades ago. Then it became even more noted between Beltway vs. non. We talked about it all the time, because we covered news across the entire region. And I’ve been heavily into real estate for decades, so I always talk to real estate agents and such. I like to track the market. Thinking of a pied-de-terre in D.C. now, but it’s hard to unload a one-bedroom once you buy — they sit for ages. In the Beltway is always pricier, of course, because the traffic sucks.
Wonder if it’s also maybe something used more by certain communities. Like I can’t think of a single journalist or realtor I met in DC. My friends were all govt/non profit/tech/consulting. So maybe jobs that cover a broader area - like the news/real estate - were more likely to use it.
We had lawyers on staff at the Post, whom we worked with. News outlets also sell advertising, have business and finance people, designers, engineers, product folks, printers, etc. All sorts of jobs.
I would say that I avoided politicians and their ilk like the plague. I loathe politics. Happily, I never had to deal with them directly — reporters did.
Some of my neighbors were Beltway Bandits, but we kept things at a surface level.
I think folks in D.C. or close in would tend to think of the Beltway less, not surprisingly. Like Manhattanites think of their part of the world as the center of the universe.
Yeah, I think most of my contacts just didn’t really interact much with anything further than 3-4 metro stops outside the borders so it just wasn’t a term that was used.
I agree.
Making generalisations based on age is no better than making assumptions based on gender, race, sexuality etc. I would hate to think I’d be ruled out of a potential sit simply because I am in my thirties, when I have built up many years of experience and trust with home owners. What the OP has described is a very unique and disturbing experience with an individual who took advantage of the situation in every way possible. It has absolutely nothing to do with his age.
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This does not come entirely unexpected for me.
I have quite often seen sitters here in this forum complaining about owners that want to see some kind of ID, with the argument that THS had already checked that. Some are even indignant about the lack of trust. But the THS check does not help the owners when they want to seek reimbursement for damages etc.
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I didn’t say anything about younger sitters That was someone else. My sitter was in his 30s. Lives outside of DC but in the region. Was a former professional soccer player, flexologist, and swim instructor. Came across as great. Sadly not the case. A real abuser. I just hope he didn’t commit any crimes inside the house or with my car. I learned after the fact from a neighbor that he had a puppy in the house as well. Without my permission.
He sat before and I thought I could trust him. My previous sitter pulled out last minute and I needed to find someone for a 10 day period on short notice. He seemed to care about dogs and be respectful. He was totally the opposite. He had parties at my house, drank my booze, despite the fact I asked him not to and left him several bottles of wine for his own consumption as a thank you. Wasn’t upright about breaking our faucet. And well you know about the car.
Since I am a senior, a guy in his 30s would be younger. Just saying from feedback from sits I am getting. Works for me. I am getting sits out of it.
I find it a real shame that some home owners would rule out people based on age, whether they rule out younger or older sitters. As mentioned above, this is no better than discrimination based on other variables, such as gender or sexuality. It is making assumptions about people based on limited information, that are often far from the truth.
Reading the original post, I am aghast. I am of a similar age to the sitter in question and would never dream of behaving in such a manner. I pride myself in looking after the properties in which I stay and honour the trust that is bestowed upon me by home owners. I would consider that the foundation of being a good sitter, regardless of age.
In saying that, I have never had a problem getting sits and, aside from a couple of gaps, am booked through summer 2026, so my age doesn’t appear to be an impediment nor would I want to sit for someone who would assume a more senior sitter would be a more competent one, based on nothing but age. It is as much of a ‘chance’ for home owners to take on older people than it is on younger people. I have heard horror stories on both sides.
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HOs discriminate based on gender regularly. I’ve had guy sitter friends turned away because the HOs really wanted a nurturing woman who would want to cuddle their cats - as if men can’t be nurturing and cuddly. I was declined once because they’d be way too nervous leaving a woman alone by herself - as if I haven’t spent over a decade traveling alone all over the world. Yes, I’m sure rural Hampshire is going to be the danger spot. People project their own insecurities and assumptions on to others all the time.
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Hello everyone!
I’m just popping on with a very gentle reminder that our Community Guidelines don’t allow for negative comments on characteristics like age.
I’ve had a quick read through the discussion and I understand the context in which age has come up, and although I haven’t noticed anyone break that particular guideline, I just wanted to make sure we keep it that way as the discussion continues 
Thanks for understanding!
Jenny
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Ultimately hosts choose sitters they feel comfortable with, and that can unfortunately include discriminatory behavior.
I started getting sits right off the bat, even without including any references when I started sitting via THS. I figured it was because I sit solo as an older woman and telecommute from all of my sits. It also helps to have owned and cared for homes over decades and to have had my own reactive rescue dog.
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So very true. I think it’s dreadful that anyone should be discriminated against for any reason; gender, age or otherwise. I can appreciate that some home owners may have preferences if, for example, their dog is aggressive towards men, but making assumptions as to an individual’s capabilities based on arbitrary variables - not okay in my book. You’re right that it’s pure projection.
Yeah. I totally get HOs who make decisions for logical reasons - even if I don’t agree with them. But I have no respect for people who project their issues onto others so it’s best I don’t sit for them anyway.
I also, as a solo middle aged woman, rarely have issues getting sits but when I do it’s always tied to them being afraid of me being alone. I’ve run into a couple flavors of that, both because I’m a woman and because I’m solo in general.
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Now all I can think about @CreatureCuddler is growing up in rural Hampshire & the most dangerous thing being the risk of falling into stinging nettles on the walk home from the pub…
#dangerdanger #peopleareodd
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Right? Or stepping in a cow pie if you don’t watch where you’re walking while cutting through a field. The TERROR!
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Do hosts usually tell you why they’ve not chosen you? I rarely hear the reason (and don’t actually care). The few times I’ve heard the reason, it’s been that they chose a local sitter. Once they said they wanted a couple. Another time, we were set to video chat and they had a previous sitter say they’d do the sit.