@lifephasenext , you’re house sitting page is wonderful. It’s a great way to show a the timeline of all the pets you’ve cared for. You must occasionally go back and just look through it for memory’s sake 
When we talk about our house sits on our website, we always find it nearly impossible to convey the experience well. Every sit is unique and full of moments that are endearing, loving, hilarious, etc. But no matter how we try to write it, it never quite comes across fully.
Ain’t that the truth! 
Hey Ed!
My wife and I have been sitting and traveling full time since 2015 - sold our house and car and much of our stuff and set out from Minneapolis.
It IS tough being homeless during a pandemic. We came back to the US in March with the notion of settling down, but have been getting more and more house sits here in the States.
We have no homebase, just where our carry-on is.
We do yoga online and try to volunteer when we are on longer sits.
We both still work and that helps us stay connected to things. 
Hi all, found this thread and thought I would share my story. I made the leap and decided to rent out my house and left my stressful corporate job last December, I haven’t looked back. At first, I stayed with family and friends. My mom lives in Europe, and with the pandemic has been unable to travel safely, so I spent 3 months with her on a tourist visa. After that, I started pet sitting for some friends in Florida. A few months ago, I discovered THS while researching pet sitting on line and am beyond happy and lucky to have found this wonderful community of pet owners and sitters. I’m inspired by the feedback here from sitters who have been successfully doing this for years. Looking forward to many future sits!
Hi Ed
Thanks so much for asking this question. I have wondered myself how many people do long term house sitting. I found reading these folks replies so inspirational. We too are house sitters but have not done anything for maybe 3 years. We have not been able to leave Australia for 18 months but are hopeful the country may open up by end of the year early 2022. It has been very thought provoking for me reading the replies as I/we hope to head off for a couple years. I had thought it would be easier for us to stay in our own tiny flat in London, yes it would cost us as no one else to pay the mortgage but easier. I am now wondering if we could embrace house sitting for that time instead. Not sure as like most people I wondered about time without sits and the cost of that hence the idea of staying in our flat. Thank you to all who responded. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about how you managed your travels. Your positivity shone through.
We’ve found we don’t need to pay out for accommodation very often, and sometimes we’ve been happy to do this, we call it a holiday from our holidays. Lock-downs greatly complicated things and last year we couldn’t visit friends (that’s still a bit restricted). We had thought we might camp but apart from camping 2 nights in a friends garden (they’re strict about social distancing) we haven’t camped at all. As we’ve got more references it’s easier getting sits, and being a mature couple helps. Accommodation is expensive in the UK (compared to Australia for example) but I think you’d be spending a lot more keeping up a flat in London. We’ve adjusted our spending in other ways due to not having a home. Although we buy all our main meals we seldom have to buy cleaning products, toilet rolls, condiments, etc (we replace them if they run out but they seldom do on shorter sits). We don’t buy anything that can’t fit in our car and don’t collect things. I used to spend a lot on books and a bit on CDs. Now I read Kindle books or buy second-hand. I get most of my clothes from charity shops now (which I’d never done before). I haven’t found any of this in any way difficult and am more aware of how wasteful modern life is and happy to be less of a consumer.
Not counting lock-downs we’ve paid for accommodation 12 nights in the past year, but some of that was by choice.
There’s been mostly short-sits since Covid and more competition, plus we’ve been restricted to the UK, and had a lot of cancellations due to the virus. I’m expecting it to get a lot easier when there are longer sits available and we can go abroad.
Though I don’t expect we’ll still be able to live this life-style in another 10 years (when we’ll be closer to 80) I’m really not looking forward to having to settle down (and we’ve no idea where we want to live).
@snowbob I have seen long-term sits listed and some have looked very interesting. I just think its worth saying that while it could be a great thing especially for somebody who has been on the road for awhile and needs to slow the pace or where there is alot to see and do in the area, it could end up being not such a great sit for any number of reasons and then you are committed to it! In taking on a long sit it would be especially important to have that video chat, be sure you can manage the animals you are taking on; eg a strong dog that pulls on the lead, barks at everything, won’t travel in the car, on the bus or walk without getting anxious etc etc might be bearable for a week but for six months? . What if you find after a couple of weeks that the HOs are not communicating with you as needed? What if the person they nominated as back-up moves away? Without labouring the point and certainly not wanting to put anybody off, I would be careful taking on a long-sit though if I had done a shorter sit previously for those HOs and it ticked the boxes, I would certainly consider a long-term sit. Good luck with whatever you decide.
So true. We have looked after some difficult animals and yes the thought of weeks at a time would be challenging. Thanks for reply
Hi, I have been sitting full time for several years not and have done a few long-ish sits, six or seven weeks. Only one was not so great, not bad but there were several small issues that I had to deal with.
For me, staying in one place for 6 weeks or longer just makes me antsy to be on my way! The little things, like distance to a store or neighbors that like to party, don’t bother me for maybe two weeks but start to get to me after all that time. Since I have been at it for quite a while and have a lot of 5 star reviews, I can be a little more selective in choosing my sits now. I like to hike and calm water kayak so I apply for sits that have those opportunities near by.
As for the pets, I have had a few that are not so easy but most have been a lot of fun! I have found that most people are very open and honest about their pets’ quirks/behaviors. Since a lot of my sits are in the same basic part of California, I can often meet the people and pets in person before I commit to a sit and that is a wonderful perk!
@btee yes I totally agree and ‘antsy’ is the right word…too many great places to see in this world without staying to long in one place and as you say a few weeks of noisy neighbours…treks to get food in etc is doable but it wears abit thin after awhile. I aim to lock sits in around hikes and also canoeing …here is Clyde on a 12 day canoe camping trip on the Upper Thames (UK) a great travelling mate!
Looks like fun!
@btee yes but poor old Clyde was pretty cold when this was taken shortly after canoeing through Windsor on the Thames where we we bruised and battered by hailstones as big as golf balls! As you can see from the photo he is already into the Scotch!
Wow! That is scary! We don’t really get much of that here! Are you taking care of Clyde or are you his person? Are you on a sit or just traveling for the sake of traveling?
@btee Clyde is my nephews dog and we have been able to line up a few trips working around sits that i have been doing…a lovely gentle dog…yes the hailstones were fierce and we were very glad to make camp that day!
Lucky you! Clyde is adorable and looks like a great travel buddy!
Today was another one of those days full of gratitude and delight. I have already mentioned in a couple of other posts today, that I had a meet up with a fellow long time sitter and I am so very glad I did.
Sometimes it can feel a bit odd being in the minority in a world of full of well majority, the mainstream.
It was my first time meeting a fellow sitter and I am so very glad I did. Aside that it was a beautiful day to go out and our lunch was exceptionally and surprisingly delicious, (just a little corner in the lower level of an office building but real home cooked food) the company was also surprisingly and exceptionally gratifying.
We discovered that we had so many other things in common and we shared stories of course but we shared ideas, dreams and strategies that make this life even more exciting and rewarding.
it was refreshing, stimulating and validating. I really enjoy this lifestyle and I am looking forward to the future with gusto.
Hope to see more of you out there. I’ll be here in Minnesota another 3 weeks and then a week in Charlottesville, Virginia 19th November to 29th and then Columbia, South Carolina till mid January.
Happy travels
Right here. On the forum like you and me.
It was way cool. Really way cool.
It IS really way cool!
I just do it every now and then, but reading these posts inspire me so much to do it more often… 
