Hello everyone!
You might remember that we shared a Member Spotlight from our hashtag hero @Cuttlefish - and we’re back this month with another great Member Spotlight.
A round of applause please, for the lovely @Nagy26 who I’m sure you’ll agree has shared some fantastic tips and advice on the Forum, including some that were so good that we made them into a blog!
Here we go!
“How did you get into house sitting?”
It’s a bit of a long story! My fiancé and I were both expats in our early 20’s in London, and that’s how we met. It wasn’t long after we met that both Brexit and COVID happened, and neither of us could continue living & working in the UK anymore. We weren’t sure what to do to continue living together, as we are from opposite sides of the planet, and neither of us wanted to move back home again.
That’s when we discovered we actually both share a passion for travel and wanted to see many of the same places in Europe. So we decided to put our career goals on hold for a while, and travel with rent free exchanges.
We started off with au pairing, and did this for 2 years. During this time, my fiancé studied digital marketing online. Once he started working in the field, we were able to start travelling with more flexibility via unpaid exchanges.
So we tried ‘Workaway,’ and through this site discovered pet sitting and various housesitting sites. As big pet lovers, this really took our fancy! We’ve been travelling exclusively with pet sitting for 3 years now, and really love it.
Eventually, we plan to settle down in my home country (Australia), and get married (my mum never stops asking!). But we’re still saving for this, plus the (not so easy!) partnership visa that we will need to live in Australia together, so in the meantime we’re just enjoying our travel and pet sitting experiences!
“Tell us about your favourite house sit so far."
Hmm hard to pick, there’s been so many! We both really loved a 3 week sit we did in Newquay, Cornwall in the summer of last year. It was a really nice home with 1 cuddly cat, and super lovely hosts that we connected with straight away. We were also able to see locations that had been on the top of our bucket list for ages, such as Port Isaac and Padstow.
“What’s your favourite book?”
Mine: ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ by Tracy Chevalier.
His: ‘The Daily Stoic’ by Ryan Holiday & Stephen Hanselman.
“What’s one key thing you have learned since house-sitting?”
Great communication between sitters and owners from the very start is key to success and will often determine how well a sit will go. Always ask each other a bunch of questions during video calls, and be sure to disclose any and all information that might be helpful or relevant to the sit. Don’t hesitate to reach out to each other if you’re unsure about something or need to share an update! If you’re sitting for or hosting a newbie who isn’t sure of the process, be sure to help them out and point them to
tips, blogs or information that might benefit them, often found here on the forum or in the many blogs THS has available.
“What’s your favourite animal?”
Mine: Old English Sheepdogs and munchkin cats!
His: Golden Retrievers
“What’s your favourite song?”
Mine: ‘Flicks’ by Frou Frou.
His: ‘Black as Night’ by Nahko and Medicine for the People.
“Where in the world would your dream housesit be?”
Rome or Iceland!
“Please share a photo of yourself.”
One of @Nagy26’s recent pet-sitting charges! 
A HUGE thank you to Josie and fiance for sharing a little bit about themselves with us!
Feel free to chat in the replies, and let us know what you think of this month’s Spotlight! 
If you’re interested in taking the spotlight in future, please drop @Jenny or @Carla a line… we’ve got some great ones to come! 
Take care,
Jenny
No better place in the entire world to settle than the Gold Coast, I’m a Brissie girl 
It is super SUPER expensive on the Goldie now and definitely out of my price range, but oh it’s heaven on earth.
Unfortunately neither of us surf (my partner didn’t grow up anywhere near water, and is actually learning to swim!) But it’s definitely a great place to learn - I remember seeing plenty of surf schools & clubs there. 
so cool your husband is learning to swim now, kuddos to him, never too late.