I have a friend who is thinking of joining, but she isn’t sure if she can attract sitters to a suburb which is 30 minutes outside of Washington DC and requires a car to get around. She has a large home and a swimming pool and two cats. Does this sound like something that can work for catsitters?
I had to talk my closest friend with a cat into joining a couple of years ago. I live in Vancouver and she lives in Kamloops, three hours North of me. She didn’t think anyone would be interested in going there, especially in the Winter as it’s quite cold. Also a city where a car is needed. She did join and had no problem attracting sitters and has had four wonderful ones since joining. As others have said - there’s a sit for everyone - I don’t think your friend will have any problem.
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It sounds like a sit I would jump at. I love cats and swimming. I take my car to sits across the US. 30 minutes driving is nothing. Haven’t been to DC since a teen and many museums I want to visit. Coming back to two cats would be delightful. There is always someone who would be interested as we all are looking for different locations and different types of experiences.
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Great! Maybe I could connect the two of you. She is looking for two weeks in June.
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My husband and I are full-time sitters originally from NJ and we do a lot of sitting on the east coast. We have actually done a number of sits in suburban Maryland and like it a lot. We have our own vehicle and when in the US we lean towards more rural or suburban locations–being in more ‘touristic’ areas isn’t as important to us when we are sitting domestically, and we don’t spend much time in urban areas. Though that she is near a popular tourist spot is helpful and that will probably add to the appeal of her listing.
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There typically are a good number of listings in the D.C. suburbs in Maryland and Virginia and they seem to get applicants just fine.
Having lived in the area twice over the years (most recently, moved away last year), I’d suggest that your friend choose sitters who understand that traffic can be terrible in the region and to make sure they know that going sightseeing can be limited by that and needing to get back to feed, play with, etc.
Personally, I love D.C., but won’t sit there, preferring to pay for a centrally located hotel during visits. That’s so I can spend time at museums and such without any responsibilities, given the traffic. I recently did a sit in Philadelphia, then rented a car and drove to D.C. and stayed at a hotel for a few days of museum visits, for instance. (I was going to take the train, but rental cars happened to be inexpensive at the time.)
If this was directed towards me I am not available in June. If she does join I’m sure I will favorite it as I was thinking about DC later this year. I travel with TH only a few times a year. There is someone on here in the US with 8 cats and they are getting applicants. Your fiend will have no problem especially with a pool in summer months.
There are proably enough sitters interested especially as cats are easy. Personally, however, if I were looking for a sit near DC, I’d want a sit within walking distance or a quick bus ride to the metro. There are enough sits like that, that I probably wouldn’t be interested as I wouldn’t drive to DC for a sit. However, the pool might attract some people during the summer. Also if it is a nice size house and the host is open to families that might work. Other options could include sweetening the pot with car to use, or a leaving some $ for uber reimbursement to the metro.
Not every sitter is after a tourist destination. While we don’t sit in the US (others can help on that front), we have our own car for a lot of our sits, and most of our sits are based within an hour or two travelling time of where our various family members live… and that means, rain, snow, or sunshine doesn’t come into the equation.