I’m a homeowner and many of my sitters have been from NZ. My sits wouldn’t suit a sitter who’s primarily travel-focused, unless they wanted to wind down for a while. They’re long sits - we’re usually going to visit family overseas - with senior cats who need more attentive care than younger pets. More suitable for a work-from-home person. People do housesitting for a variety of reasons, not just travel. Some are having work done on their own homes, and some are saving for a house down-payment or other major expenditure.
Hi Shamay. I hear what u r saying, but being new to this site just 4 months ago, I found the “local” offers that started to pop up were my launching pad for a 12month+ road trip here in Aus and were perfect for my needs. I was retiring, moving out of my apt, selling all my stuff and trying to juggle all the jobs needing my presence here. It also gave me the chance to ease into it, and could meet the owners and my first furry client, and could even drive owners to the airport on the first day and really connect.
I have now been 4 weeks into my first dream sit (with a giant Maine Coon cat and 7 chooks) and the process has been perfect. Also , while I’m now booked up for sits all over the country, coming back to sleepy Canberra for occasional bookings gives me the chance to connect with friends every few months. It works for me.
I receive a lot of people who want free services. I had a woman I sat for 2x’s, she got so used to not having to pay i told her she’s going to have to board her kitties. I told her how much I charge on my own site, which is less than a kennel. She never called back.
well no I would actually say the reason you are a member of trustedhousesitters is to look after the pets and maybe as second travel, NOT the other way around. I do local and regional sits and sometimes also travel abroad but i joined THS to look after pets.
For me, there’s no reason to participate in THS without traveling. Otherwise, if someone wanted to take care of pets, why not get their own or stay home and take care of the ones they already have? Or volunteer at a local pet shelter? Or take care of their neighbors’ pets? Or charge local strangers for sitting? Why spend time, effort and money to travel just so you can take care of pets? There are plenty of pets locally.
When I was new to the site, I’d invite local sitters who maybe were also pretty new. That way, we could get to know each other easily and we’d both get much needed first reviews.
I don’t know exactly what I was thinking when I subscribed to THS, because I don’t have extra money for traveling, but I am trying to make money by doing housesitting so I thought if I do some on here, I’ll get experience, and I was thinking it might result in a paid sit. When I realized exactly what the site was like, I tried to unsubscribe, but because I had applied, even though I withdrew the applications, I couldn’t cancel it.
Another reason for someone local is because some sitters have pets of their own and would have to have them cared for and plants watered if far from home,
So are you suggesting that some sitters are essentially splitting their attention between their own pet(s) and home and sit pet(s) and a sit home? That sounds like neither end gets enough attention — that would be like doing overlapping sits the whole time.
Personally, if I couldn’t get someone to take care of my dog while I’m sitting, I’d not be sitting at all.
I enjoy local sits. It’s fun to explore other neighborhoods and stay in nice places and have the company of a sweet pet. I’ve always rented, so don’t have pets of my own.
I find it more strange when a HO invites me to a st that is thousands of miles away.
When we first joined THS moving over from other HS sites, we only applied for local sits, we had commitments with the Children locally, however they desperately wanted a “Puppy” because such and such had got a new Puppy and “everyone” else had a Puppy/Dog, we living in a “Tiny Home” and it was a good way for them to get a real feel of the responsibility involved in a Dog let alone a Puppy, we have done so many local sits some only a 5min drive away, no walk actually, anyway, it was great for them to experience all breeds, ages, rescue dogs, reactive dogs, Puppies (which they know really understand, it’s not all snuggles on the sofa and insta pics) there’s training, walking, feeding, grooming and poop, they then thought maybe a Cat we were already doing lots of sits that had a Cat/s plus Dogs, however we did some just Kittie sits and then Kittens while again they loved the experience they realised they are not ready for the responsibility of Pets and that the Pet see’s their owner as basically their whole World, they can’t just up and go out to the park with their doggie friends by themselves etc. We still get lots of invites from local sits, I always have a phone call at the minimum before either commits to the sit, because the HO needs to feel comfortable that we are right for them, I too ask lots of questions that might not have been listed or are in previous sitters feedback etc, so I too want to be sure we can meet the needs of the Pet’s, first and foremost.
If a local applies, and they don’t already have in their application or bio why they want to local sit, have a look at their feedback from HO’s (if you think they could work, however you are thinking “you are local though” and see if they have feedback from other HO’s locally) if not ask, tbh if they have nothing to hide they won’t have a problem with a phone call or video call to put your mind at ease.
Nearly all of our local sits we are still in touch with, they DM to see if we are available before they list their sits, we like to hear how life is, without being intrusive. We are not sitting full time due to life/work changes, however still do when we can.
Nice conversation, @Shamay it’s so nice seeing things from different angles, and you suggested a new and interesting one for me.
Similarly to @desiderata , I don’t have any pets of my own, and I find local sitting a nice way to connect with the pet world and get some positive energy from my new pet friend.
I have no problem offering my Sitting services to locals here in Dallas, Texas. In fact, I’ve done it our last 5 Sits. It’s about helping out local folks that would otherwise have to rely on “non-locals”. It’s all about Texans helping Texans! That having been said, my wife and I will be leaving next Sunday for 3 weeks outside of the U.S.. After posting our need for a Sitter on THS, we were contacted by a long-time member of THS within 18 hours of our request. We contacted him via this site, invited him to speak with us via Skype to see if we all jived. Then, rather than Skype, he offers to meet in person and proceeded to WALK to our place, indicating that he lived TWO BLOCKS OVER. Again, Texans helping Texans.
@Mandawhat a fabulous experience for your kids! One of the most exciting aspects for us of house sitting, has been the ability to “try on” different lifestyles - we’ve been cattle farmers, horse agisters, beach shack dwellers, longboat live aboards, multi-level penthouse residents, part of a retirement village community, and the list goes on …
I’ve been using THS for years, and sometimes look for a local sitter, especially if there isn’t a lot of lead time for planning flights and such. Plus, our house is pretty fabulous, and a lot of people like to have a getaway to a fabulous home with one loveable dog, even if they live nearby. If our home beats theirs, why not?
We plan to eventually housesit outside of our home area, but we are currently trying to sell our home. Local sits allow us to leave our home staged for showings to potential buyers, get experience and good reviews, and still be near our city for appointments and social events. It’s also part of a requirement for collecting unemployment benefits, since I was laid off a few months ago (which is the reason we are selling our house) and must submit my job search activities each week, including a verification that I was in my home area. Doing local sits also allows us to pop home if we forgot something.
Wow, your sits sound amazing! It has been good for them to see everyone lives different and different houses, down to Cookers, Shower temp and controls etc, we started doing mostly rural sits, we like being able to walk from the Door in any direction. They said they didn’t really like sits in built up areas and they really like the rural sits too, they don’t remember the huge house we lived in when they were little, they only remember/know “tiny home” living, so when we get to a big house in a rural area it’s great for them to be able to spread out, usually with their own bathrooms and a family room, a snug, a formal lounge room so they hardly see each other until it’s time for Pet Duties or Meals, lol. Happy Sitting
it’s so nice seeing things from different angles, and you suggested a new and interesting one for me.
