Out of curiosity, is anyone else getting invites from people that live nearby you? Isn’t the point of this app to travel? I found it a little bit odd that I’ve gotten a few request from people that live 10 minutes away from me. LOL I’m not really interested in traveling 10 minutes away from where I live. It gave me a good chuckle. 
Does anyone here accept those requests if they get them? If yes what is your reasoning?
When a host uses the find a sitter search - all the most local sitters come up first and they may have to scroll through hundreds before they can see some who live further away !
OK, I’m new here so maybe I’m not understanding how people use it but wouldn’t it make more sense to just post your listing and then let people who want to visit your area apply for the job?
What you describe is mostly how people find matches. To a much lesser degree, sometimes invitations work, including local ones. That’s because there are all sorts of sitters and they have diverse priorities and preferences.
Personally, yes, I receive unsolicited invitations from near and far. The only unsolicited one I accepted was when I first joined THS and didn’t have any sits planned yet, so my schedule was flexible. Since then, I’ve accepted a few repeat sit requests, but otherwise have done only sits that I’ve applied for via posted listings. That included local sits while I was having my house remodeled, but that was based on my timeline matching posted sits.
BTW, friendly heads up since you’re new: Some sitters hate when hosts call sits “jobs,” because they’re not employer-employee dynamics. These are exchanges based on equality. And many sitters will avoid hosts and listings that treat the exchanges as “jobs.”
Oh ok that makes sense 
Yes , you are correct , that is the best way to find a sitter who is available. However , new host’s that are used to using other pet sitting platforms don’t know that .
THS provides a search for a sitter which comes up at the top of the home page . So naturally some new members who don’t know how THS works will use this function.
For example a host in London searching for a sitter gets this list of 7000 sitters who are in London come up
A few days ago I received an invite from someone that would take me 20 minutes to drive over. Like you, why would I want that. I would guess it is getting near their departure date and they didn’t get a lot of requests for sits and maybe didn’t think the few that did were a good match. They are probably in a panic and just reaching out to people near them that wouldn’t need a plane reservation. That’s the only reason I could think of.
A lot of newer homeowners may be confused about how it works and think it make sense. They may be thinking that sitters are nomadic and just happen to be in the area or they just don’t think about how it works. Also homeowners having trouble finding a sitter may want to reach out and start with people nearby.
I have a combined membership and find there are many local sitters interested in my sit. Often they are fully nomadic going from sit to sit in my area or have a not so great roommate situation. In at least one case, a sitter told me he can rent out his apartment short term and make money by taking a “free” sit.
Depending on how local the sit is, I often accept invites that are 1 hour or less away. I work remotely in an area with geographical diversity, so I often appreciate a chance to spend time near different trails, farm markets, community events, cooler weather, and restaurants. etc. Areas 10-15 minutes south of my home are very different, however, if the location is North of my home, I would need to travel 45 minutes to an hour to enjoy a change of scenery.
I’m new to this and I’m actually wondering if the homeowners I just submitted an app to yesterday are scratching their heads, wondering why a local would want to sit for them!
Ultimately, I’m interested in sitting for people that live near my daughter (NYC) or sister (RI) or a number a friends that live across the globe. I do have a few references but want to get more positive reviews under my belt to increase the comfort level of future home owners.
Most of my sitters have been relatively local (within a couple hours drive). We’ve moved around a bit since joining the site and lived mostly in rural areas outside of large cities, so I think it appeals to people who want a break from the noise and a change of scenery, without having to deal with the airport 
The one time we lived in a more populated area, we had a local sitter who was temporarily staying with relatives before their big move across the country; they were delighted to have a space of their own, and we were delighted to have a great sitter. I imagine those living with roommates could also be interested in local sits, or maybe the traveling homebody type who is attracted to sits because of the house rather than the broader location.
Many different types on this site!
I’m another of those folks who will take ‘local’ sits - either in DC or the Research Triangle of NC. In both places (but especially DC) different parts of town can be very different. And sometimes, the pet is the attraction. There is a trio parrot/trio cat sit about 40 minutes from my hope. It is a country-side sit compared to my urban condo and I really enjoy sitting with parrots.
We do, we often visit family in our home town, because our own home is a holiday cottage nowadays. It’s great for some of us who pet sit full time who want to visit family occasionally.
Also, local sits are great for those that are just starting sitting with THS to get them a few reviews under their belt.
I like people that are proactive, so if anyone in our “home town” reaches out, I’ll happily consider take a look and see if we can help.
@Shamay sometimes it’s as simple as “change is as good as a holiday”
Our closest hometown sit was just five miles away but we got to spend a weekend in a part of the city that had lots of great restaurants and museums that we could walk to.
Our next “hometown” sit will be just a few blocks away. We are having some renovations done and wanted to be nearby.
I think owners who do this must be new to THS. Yes, it’s very annoying but I can understand why they would reach out to local sitters if they haven’t explored the website properly. On the other hand, when I had my home rented (until recently) and sat full time I may well have been happy to sit in or near my home town to connect with it and friends there.
Hey @Shamay,
Welcome to the Trusted Housesitters Forum!
This is such a good question. At first, it can seem strange since travel and new experiences are a huge attraction for many housesitters, but as our fantastic community have mentioned, a local sit can have offer opportunities and be a great place to start.
Is there anywhere in particular that you’d love to sit?
@JCHop and @Alice also make great suggestions of why local sits can be a good option - welcome to you guys too! 
In applying for local sits, I don’t think there is anything wrong with stating that you are new and seeking strong reviews so that you can apply to sits in NY. This emphasizes that the review is important to you, and the owner should realize that you are going to be especially excellent!
Of course, in your application, you also want to focus on the pets and home care, and how you would like to enjoy the pets and make them feel comfortable in the owner’s absence, etc.
We have done many sits in the San Francisco area for the exact reasons that you want to go to NY. It has been so great! Sort of unbelievable, actually.
@Shamay, welcome to THS Forum.
The THS housesitter community is surprisingly diverse in terms of personal situation, housesit preferences, and engagement intensity.
We know some housesitters that actively seek relatively local housesits. They may live in a certain property situation and enjoy a weekend or so in a different property - change of neighbourhood, premium property, etc. Or they enjoy pets but are unable to have one on a full-time basis.
That said, most pet parents that follow such protocols are typically newbies that have not reflected on the THS value proposition from the perspective of a housesitter. Or they do not understand the conventional THS listing process. Or, perhaps following a THS advert, they expect to simply “book” a housesitter of their choice from a list - good luck with that!
When we were travelling full time using my mum as a base and storage, we liked local to her sits as we could catch-up with her and friends, but still give everyone their own space
