Full Time Sitting for a few months

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
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Hello,

I can see quite a lot of you do House/Pet sitting pretty much full time, so obviously I’m not alone in considering this.. but truth is.. I’m just looking for some SUPPORT to jump in and get started.. is the truth of my post.

It just feels like a such a BIG move :¬/ It probably isn’t, but that’s how it feels.

I’m 65, living in the UK, 9 months away from retirement, have been renting a flat in the Lancashire area, a new owner bought the flat, there was a massive rent increase, cant afford it, and I’m now hundreds of pounds short of meeting my living expenses every month.

Just want and need to throw off all the pressure and stress of trying to ‘survive’, until I can find my retirement option.. which I’m not quite ready for yet.

I LOVE ALL Animals.. dogs, cats etc, Wildlife, Nature.. my least favourite species are Human Beings.. I’m sure most of you will understand why that is! So getting to spend time with the Pets of others.. would be an absolute JOY!!!

I DO have a longer term plan.. but in the short term, for a 3/6 months period.. from those who have been jumping from one sit to another.. is it doable to just Freewheel at this point in my life? Any advice? Any tips?

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I am a sitter, older than you but not a nomad. Are you planning to do sits in the general area where you have friends and relatives that may house you when you are in between sits? You may have laps of a few days after each sit. If not try to figure out what type of accommodations you will stay in during these periods and how much it will cost you. If you stay in hotels or even hostels, you will have eating out expenses that can be more than if you cooked at a sit. You said you are still working. Do you work from home? If not, how many hours will you be out of the house. Some homeowners have a limit they are comfortable with you gone each day. I would try a few sits while you still have your home and see if this even is for you. If you have figured out your finances and enjoy the trial sits then go for it.

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Thx for replying. I dont work from home, and do need to go out to work 3 days per week, at least until next year, but am focusing on Cat sitting mostly for now, to accommodate this. Initially, I’m just focusing on sits within my region. I do have a couple of short term sits I’ve arranged, and will see how that feels before embarking further. I do have places I can stay in between sits, but I would rather just keep the house sits rolling seamlessly if possible. This is all new to me, so I dont know if that’s doable.

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A side note as support- take a look at the YT channel called frugalgranny navigating pension/retirement housing etc

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Ok, I’m going to be brutal.

You will be saving on rent definitely however unforeseen things happen. It’s good to have a safety net to tide you over in hotels or airbnbs in case there is no sits around. It sounds as if you are concentrating on one particular place if you have to get to work three days a week and only want to sit cats because of this as well. I commend you on that. That limits our choice of sits and you are more likely to accept a less than ideal one which can cause major issues.

My advice (I’m looking for a wall to hide behind now) is find a flat mate. Continue your pet sitting but please don’t rely on having somewhere to stay 100% of the time. Full time sitters need a substantial float of money to survive. Remember we don’t get paid. It’s an exchange. Maybe enroll in a site where you do get paid or have a look at the Facebook groups. Some are really good for sits.

Good luck whatever you decide to do. Let us know. Hugs.

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Welcome @Julie30460. I’m with @ElsieDownie. On the forum, you always read the need for a Plan B, because things go wrong - sits get cancelled, or don’t work out, or are curtailed. In general, Plan B effectively means ‘money in your pocket’ to pay for nights in hotels/hostels, or family on whom you can rely to house you it if things go pear shaped.

Your situation is a bit difficult, as you’ll be tied down to ‘easy’ cats only, and in a certain area only, which limit your options. So you will definitely need a car to hold your things as you move from sit to sit. And/or you’ll probably rent a storage locker - that will cost money too. It’s hard to go directly to nomadding, it takes practise. Not impossible, but over the years we have whittled down our things to make moving between sits/countries easier.

My advice is always to first see if you like housesitting, before you jump in full-time. It’s not for everyone, living in someone else’s home. But if you like it, and you get more practised, it can be great fun and a way to save some money. Just always, always make sure you have emergency funds readily available.

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Hi @Julie30460

Full time sitting is easier the more flexible you can be and at the moment I think your situation is not quite ready for it. You are tied to your area and tied to cats only because of your work commitments.

I would agree with @ElsieDownie , if you have space, take in a lodger for a while to help with the bills. If you live in a touristy area, maybe Airbnb a spare room? You can earn £7500 tax-free with any of these options.

If you haven’t got the room, keep your flat as a base, but keep an eye out for some longer sits. By doing that, you will still have to pay your rent, but you will have somewhere to stay in between sits while cutting down on your utility bills - especially useful during the winter months.

Good Luck!

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Hi Julie

It sounds like you are not looking to do this indefinitely but for a shorter-term period, and it is certainly doable given the number of sits in the UK.

I have been sitting in the UK since mid-March and will be here until the beginning of September and my husband and I have only had to pay for one night in a hotel. And this is with being limited to sits that don’t require a vehicle.

You said that you have somewhere to stay if you have gaps in sits so that is a huge advantage and can take some of the pressure off–when people feel really reliant on housesitting for financial reasons, and their only option in between sits is paid accommodation, it can create a lot of pressure and many may feel that they cannot be as discerning in their selection process.

I suspect this mentality of ‘take anything you can get’ is at the root of many ‘bad sit’ stories. So that this element may not play into your situation so much makes a big difference.

The main issue is that if you are looking for cat-only sits in a specific area, that can narrow options. The more criteria a sit must meet, the fewer there will be to pick from.

Right now, there are over 3,400 sits listed in the UK but when you filter to just cats, it goes down to a little over 400–a really significant drop. But that is still a pretty decent amount–most housesitting sites probably don’t have that many listings total.

If you are open to sitting dogs, you may find hosts that would be willing to have someone come walk them/let them out while you are gone if necessary–this would probably be most likely for sits that aren’t in particularly high demand areas where hosts are not getting a lot of applicants. For a more popular area they can probably easily find someone where it would not be necessary to do this.

The UK is definitely one of the best places to pull off full-time sitting with minimal gaps, but if you are limiting the area and the types of pets, that will shrink the pool.

That you are looking to do more local sits because of work means that you could offer to meet hosts in person before confirming –this is not customary but it can be an advantage and might be worth the effort.

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The first year we lined up back to back sits and found it to be fun but stressful. Two hosts canceled and one changed their dates. You definitely need backup plans just in case hosts change their plans. Searching for only catsits will limit the listings.

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I think its very brave to look at this option considering all your dedication to one place, I believe that is why this app is here for not only the people wanting a service provided by dedicated animal lovers, but also mainly for people like us to have more protection, security and support from others. How ever you decide have faith in your leap and the rest will follow with ease, all the best blessings in your new life, Its going to be wonderful. cheers my new friend.

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Welcome! There are loads of UK sits but as others have said, your restriction to just cats and within travel distance from the office makes it harder. It will be tricky with the 3 days commitment on site at work, different if you could work remotely. A lot of HOs won’t like it that you’re away from their pets all day, even if they are cats. @colin’s idea of a lodger or Airbnb-ing a spare room good ones to help cashflow. Or doing paid sits on the days you don’t work in the office and then you create another income stream (you can’t do that on THS but there are FB groups). It would also build your potential references & pics and experience for THS for later too so a win-win. #bestoflucktoyou

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We’re in our 50’s & 60’s, and we sit in North Yorkshire A LOT, so not far away. We only started out to sit occasionally, but within 3 months of starting we were sitting full time with very little gaps in our calendar.

The best tactic we found (that we still use) is to book your sits in date order (obviously that goes out the window when there’s sits you are really drawn too), but by booking them in date order it means there’s less to think about, because you know the exact start date you need next.

It just simplifies everything that way, but also it means you have less gaps in your calendar, so less random days where a hotel/b&b is needed.

Also, returning to the same places to sit is brilliant, given you’re trying to stay in the one area. So if you want to do that, let the homeowners you sit for know you REALLY want to return, because it’s way easier for them to have someone who already knows their pets and place, but also they don’t need to ‘sell’ their town to you, so it’s less hassle for them. And that way (& if they like you), you’ll know about any sits before anyone else does, because they’ll ask you if you’re free, or even book their holiday around your diary.

I know it feels like a big move, and for us this life happened by accident, we just wanted a little time with pets, but as soon as we started it felt like the best decision we’d ever made. It’s a brilliant way of life.

Plus the people we have sat for don’t feel like strangers, because you’re naturally bonding over their pets and their place, and you’re local to the area, so everything will feel very familiar as you get going.

Limiting yourself to cats will be harder though. In North Yorks, Co Durham, & Northumberland, it’s mainly dogs, but I’ve no idea about Lancs.

The longer sits are your best bet, we’ve done quite a few that are 3-6 wks as it saves the hassle of moving around, and also saves money because over the year there’s even less gaps in our diary, so less hotels/fuel. Plus you don’t need as many longer sits to fill your diary.

Hope that helps :blush:

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Hello there Julie. My gosh! Here’s a long answer, but I want u to know u r not alone. You r at present where I was about 3 months ago, and I can speak honestly from very personal first-hand experience.
I left a prosperous career abruptly and was sort of rushed into retirement after a corporate restructure saw everyone over 65 as pre-historic. I’m well over 65, and so I commenced application for my aged pension. But that was going to take months to jump thru hoops and qualify, and I saw the prospect of my savings being fast eaten up.

Like you I am renting, and while I’m in Australia, the market has gone nuts. I had to do some serious calculations and re-think my longer term plans. I made a strategic decision to begin selling everything I own, give 3 months notice to my landlord, and go off to SE Asia to live for a couple of years to stretch my finances.

Then I took a deep breath and thought I shouldn’t jump too soon. I decided to register as a pet sitter and remain in Aus, keep my car and just go where the life took me. Like u, I adore all creatures great and small. I’m house-proud, self reliant and enjoy good health, so I registered on the TrustedHousesitters site. Honestly I didn’t think I’d have much hope of getting any sits- being new and untried-but guess what. I put up my profile, and within days I had a local couple in Canberra where I live agree to meet me. We hit it off, and their gorgeous Maine Coon cat is soon to be my first sit. This booking is for 7 weeks, and immediately I was contacted for another terrific sit in another state. Long story short, I’m booked up now for 7 sits over 8 months, and with just a few days between each .
I have been very careful to only take sits where I have chatted a couple of times with the owners, We r clear about expectations, and I can arrive before their departure and have a full handover. They in turn have usually offered me an extra night or 2 sharing with them when they get home to save me needing to use hotels, B&B, etc. But honestly, I’m cutting my outgoing expenses by about $A3000 (rent, utilities, NBN, streaming services). So if I spend a bit on a nice hotel occasionally, I’m still looking good. I signed up for membership with the big hotel chains, & can get some free night stays/ upgrades/ breakfast offers when qualified. The only increased cost I will have is petrol costs.
I’ve been reaching out to each owner every few weeks to let them know I’m on track and will be there when I’m expected, as I think it gives both them and me confidence that this is a very important commitment and we have mutual trust.

The thing that has been such a big revelation to me is that suddenly being an older woman who is happy to be a stay-at-home is in demand. Who knew? Julie, it is scary at first, and the UK may be a different environment, but go for it.

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From a fellow, over 65, Aussie, female sitter, well done @Agooddane on biting the bullet. Look where it has got you! You have looked into pet sitting and your financial situation carefully and are building relationships with your owners, especially those where you won’t meet for a number of months. So happy for you. Enjoy your new lifestyle.

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