Hi,
I am wondering if it possible to find sitters who live close to Providence RI where I live, so I can meet them in person?
HI @caracheryl
A big welcome to the forum.
There is an existing thread on the forum that does discuss local sitters, whereby you may find the answer to your questions.
There are various scenarios to consider:
If a sitter is local, I am sure they would be more than happy to meet in person.
Alternately, if you do have a good connection with sitters via Video call, they can often come a day before to really get to know your pets and the routine.
There may also be sitters close by on another sit who are happy to pop through to see you.
You can certainly approach local sitters, and I would also like to suggest that you put up your listing with your desired dates and see who is available and applies.
If your dates go out publicly, any sitter can apply from anywhere, but there’s a good chance that some may be living or sitting nearby. You can also use the search feature to search for sitters in Providence with your dates available who sit for you type of pet and then you can reach out to them by inviting them to apply privately – that kind of hit or miss. If you’re looking for someone local so you can do a key exchange and a meet and greet before you leave, that can happen. I live in NYC, and I’ve been able to (mostly) use local sitters and have them do that. However, I’ve always accepted the application based on the profiles, reviews, references, video chat. I haven’t done any kind of in person interview even with local sitters before accepting them. So if it’s just: Can I find someone local who can pick up the keys and meet my pets the day before? The answer is probably if someone local wants to sit for you. But if you want to interview someone in person to determine whether or not you want to accept them, that’s going to be unlikely.
Thank you!!
Hi @caracheryl - you will have more of a chance to find a local sitter if you are looking for a very short time period. The concept of THS is a fair exchange. Sitters will care for your pets at no cost in exchange for you allowing them to stay in your home.
Local sitters, especially new ones may come, ususaaly for short sits, to help themselves get some reviews.
The reason many/most sitters do this is to enable them to visit a new area. If a local sitter comes to sit for you - you are getting free pet care but you have to ask yourself what is the sitter getting from the deal?
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Very true, thanks for the insight!!!
There are many reasons why some sitters prefer local sits. It has been discussed in this thread: