Love your answer! That’s sure my intent to do, when I get my first sits in. I think, of doing yoga at all places, as I do while I am a tour director and you meet likeminded people.
Visiting music bars and other FOC activities to just score a nice chat and some local interaction. Not sure, whether it will all work out, but I am positive that it will.
Thank you for taking the time to write this wonderful post! Lots of great ideas here.
Sara
Hi @Elleann,
I know exactly what you mean! I really struggled with this at first. I’m a writer so the first thing I do when I get to a new sit is google “Literary Events” for the town. I’ve been to some amazing events that wouldn’t have come up otherwise. I have also hired an assistant for sits now so it’s wonderful to have some human company. I also have a lot of friends online all around the world and in real life so I make a big effort to keep in contact with them. One sit was only 90 minutes from home so I made a trip back to say hello to everyone. I hope these suggestions are helpful 
Cheers,
Ada
Hi @Smiley, I’m pretty sure you and I are kindred spirits because I follow Adrienne too and do her yoga most days. Are you currently doing the 30xday program called “Center” ?
Cheers,
Ada
Yes, I’ve started it but not every day.
Hello
Great question! I was wondering the same thing about my nomad life prior to joining Trusted Housesitters. I thought at least with TH I would have animal companionship and be helping dog owners, a bit of purpose. Taking care of and being around animals can be mutually beneficial. I already have 4 sits lined up, so we will see if it’s more meaningful, less, or the same, as traveling alone.
Amy
I have only just completed my first sit, but for me it was a brilliant way to get productive. I write and my home environment is too busy to allow me to really get proactive. I also did a lot of self reflection etc. I’m still feeling the effects of this now. I had quite a few coffees and solo lunches outside too.
Solo full-time sitter here for over two years - so does no one else work? I have online pursuits that take up most of my weekdays. It’s not like working for an employer but I’ve got to keep at it if I want to make money and keep traveling. Plus, while I love sightseeing, I limit my time out of the house due to the pets - they usually prefer it when I’m at home!
We’re all different. I’m retired, have rented out my home which brings in an income and have a reasonable pension. My UK state pension starts soon also. A lot of people work digitally so housesitting is brilliant for that. I also spend a fair amount at home and don’t leave dogs longer than they’re used to, preferring to take them out with me exploring as much as possible.
Hi Sbwade
Great that you mentioned work. I’ve been on leave from my day job but have just started back doing some WFH projects for January - immediately my days feel more structured and purposeful. However I’m planning on retiring from this job mid year and moving to a different way of living - one in which I will definitely be looking at alternate ways of bringing in income. I’ve got some ideas bubbling away, but would be super interested in hearing what kind of online work you pursue, if you are willing to share?
Thanks!
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who contributed thoughts and ideas here. There were some really interesting and novel thoughts included. It was also interesting to see that many of us keep ourselves busy in similar ways.
One person asked if we really need to be productive all the time. A good and timely question - I think I was (like someone else here) sinking into a rut of doing little else but read and watch things on TV/online. While these are good, especially for rest and recuperation, I find that if I have a goal or a project or similar, I feel more engaged, awake, challenged etc and less apathetic and depressed. I read somewhere recently that to be happy, we need to have 1) someone to love; 2) something to do; and 3) something to look forward to. Simple goals but they really do speak to the heart of who we are.
This is a terrific community and I’m so grateful for all the sharing here.
Lin
I keep a travel blog that brings in a very small amount of money but takes up most of my time. But then I’ve been learning to trade in the stock market. I could send you a link if that’s at all interesting. I’m not very good at it yet, but I’m learning! That direction does require some start-up cash. But I’d rather be my own boss if I can make it work.
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We both work and I do agree, it provides a lot of structure to our days. Yes, sometimes I grumble about having to work on a long tour, but ultimately it pays the bills and help us save. And it gives us something to do, in addition to caring for pets and homes.
I am a bookkeeper who works around 20 hours per week, and most of my clients have been with me for many years, so we had time to adjust. Firstly to not being in the office, then later to being ‘somewhere in Australia’ when we did our Australian housesitting tour. And later still ‘somewhere in a new timezone’ while we’re doing our Europe tour. As long as the work gets done, deadlines met, communication upheld, then everything is okay. I did have to give up some of the more challenging clients, as they needed more than I could give at the time. I am so glad I did, as it’s a tremendous relief to have some more free time, as I tend to do all our organising and most of the housework.
My husband has a full-time online job. This makes jumping between housesits a bit hard, so I am the careful planner. Trying to strike a balance between keeping him calm and not uprooting his work days, and trying to minimise moving around during the week. It also means explorations for him are limited to after work or on weekends. I am also frequently reminded that he needs his rest at weekends!
But even with this, I do like to get out and about, walking new routes is my absolute highlight. Food shopping. Planning our gaps. And every now and again, I get inspired and start a new online course, either just a subject, or a qualification. I’ve worn many hats over the course of my career, definitely more of a Jack of all trades.
I thought I’d dm’d you but it didn’t go through so thought I’d make my comment public.
Please be very careful with learning how to trade on the stock market. A good friend, who is very intelligent, got attracted to this and started off trading with small amounts, encouraged initially by the company. As she started earning, she increased her investment which grew again (this is how the company gets you to have confidence in investing more). She decided to invest almost all her savings (at least (£100,000) and lost the lot! Fortunately she knew someone who came to the rescue, and after a lot of work and correspondence with the company they returned her money.
Just be mindful that if it looks too good to be true it probably is. Get out while you can!
Yes, I suppose stock trading is a way to live as a sitter!
I just watched Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Wolf of Wall Street” for the first time, so Smiley’s warning is on my mind.
However, @sbwade: First off, love your profile pet pics! Wow!
I have a relative who’s been able to support his entire family via trading. And not day trading; it’s like a couple hours each morning, predicting longer trends. But he’s very patient. He traded stocks for 14 years before moving to options for 16+ years. He once gave me some advice for starting out, the highlights are:
Also, @sbwade you said:
One interesting thing about stocks is you can get experience and learn without cash. For example, you can fully simulate what you would do if you had more cash, and see how you do. You can also do that in specific and random points in stock-market history. It just takes discipline to treat simulated gains/losses realistically.
I would be remiss without pointing out the tide of AI trading. I have no idea what will happen. But I think most big brokerages now have the ability to have an AI manage your portfolio.
@geoff.hom @Smiley Yep - I’m very, very conservative, have a lot of risk management in place, and have been trading on a simulated account for over a year now until I feel like I can make it work. I definitely wouldn’t recommend it for everyone, but I enjoy it!
Well good luck and hope it works in your favour 
I finally got round to applying to be a volunteer for Oxfam charity shops in the UK. I’ll do my first morning session next week, and I plan to do two sessions per week. The shop where I start is a standard shop (clothing, homewares, plus the usual range of new products that they sell). I hope that I will also be able to volunteer in the separate Oxfam bookstore in the town as well. I’m on a 3+ month cat sit now, and will do at least two other cat sits of 50+ days this year so I will also be able to volunteer during those sits as well
Hi @cat.tails amazing! 
Thank you for sharing and for volunteering, such a wonderful thing to do and a way to make friends and local connections.
Many charities are struggling with a lack of volunteers, particularly pet rescue charities who rely on foster carers, reporting that since COVID restrictions have been lifted and people are once again returning to work, their numbers have dropped drastically.
I volunteered with ARCH a horse rescue centre when I was on a long term sit in Spain, not only did it help the centre but it opened up a whole new community connection opportunity for me, I’m still involved some 6 years later.
It also had another surprising outcome. I left Spain having permanently fostered two Welsh Mountain ponies the centre rescued , they arrived on the second day of my volunteering. Sadly we lost one to colic last year but the other, Hope is now living happily at a rehabilitation centre in Shropshire.
Do keep us updated on your time with Oxfam and thank you once again.