Hi everyone,
I am new here and just wanted to introduce myself.
My name is Moe and I recently joined TrustedHousesitters because I love both travel and animals,it feels like the perfect match.
I am really looking forward to learning from experienced sitters and pet owners, getting advice and hopefully sharing my own experiences as I go. I am especially interested in pet care.
If you have any tips for someone just starting out on this journey, I do be grateful. Looking forward to being part of this awesome community.
Thanks in advance for any input.
10 Likes
Hi Moe and welcome to this fabulous community.
For tips your best bet would be to have a good read of the blogs on the website and this forum. You’ll find that most of the questions you may have will have been asked before. Use the spy glass to search for your questions.
The advice normally given to new sitters is to take a few short sits near where you live in order to start getting reviews, then branch out further afield. Make sure you write an interesting profile, not too long, and include pics of you with any animals you’ve looked after.
Good luck!
8 Likes
Welcome!! I’ve been a full-time THSer since the fall, and it’s been a blast!
great tips from @Smiley
in addition to helping you build a track record, doing a few short-term sits will help you start to learn what you do/don’t care about in a sit and how to vet out the sits that aren’t a good fit for you.
in getting started, you’ll get a hang for the general process of finding and applying to sits, but if you run into any questions, feel free to pop them in here any time!
1 Like
Welcome to forum @moe313 !
There is a lot to learn from forum, so using some time reading blogs and topics is well invested - forum is also a great place to ask for advice from fellow members.
It is all about a good match, so remember that you can and should have critera for what is a good match for you. The general advice for all, hosts and sitters, is to trust your gut, and go forward (only) if you have a good gut feeling.
Welcome!
4 Likes
Welcome! We have lots of experienced sitters here who can provide great advice. My tip is to ask what day and time the hosts are departing and the arriving at the house and then what day and time they are expecting the sitter to arrive and depart from the house. Do this before you confirm the sit. Trust me on this, if you don’t get this info upfront, you’ll be back here with a stressful post.
3 Likes
Thank you all so much for the warm welcome and helpful advice, I really appreciate it.
Everyone who chimed in, those are great tips. I will definitely take the time to read through the blogs and explore the forum more deeply — there is so much valuable info here already.
Starting with local sits to build experience and reviews sounds like a solid plan and I am already working on polishing up my profile and adding some pet photos. I especially liked the reminder to trust your gut and make sure the sit is a good match — that is great advice for any kind of travel or commitment.
Thanks again for being such a supportive and generous community. Looking forward to learning more and hopefully sharing my own experiences soon
3 Likes
Hi Moe! I’m also new to the forum, but me and my partner have been house sitting for a year full time, so thought it was time to connect with other house sitters. Good luck on your journey! I think the main advice I could give you as a newbie is to have fun! Why would you do it otherwise, especially as I can hear you love travel and animals, so it’s clearly a passion already. To have fun, I think the previous advice of knowing what you’re looking for is good, as if you go to a sit that doesn’t work for you, it’s going to be a flop, for both you and the owner, but ultimately that comes down to your gut (another great piece of advice). Enjoy 
3 Likes