Good evening. We live in Alaska and are excited and nervous about joining TrustedHouseSitters. We have 3 cats and 2 old little dogs. Can’t wait to hear others experiences.
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Hi @NancyInAlaska a very warm welcome to you and the furry family thank you joining our community forum and TrustedHousesitters … I’m glad the furry family doesn’t include the rather large black bear garden visitor in your listing, we had the same daily visitors in BC Canada, great long distance “friends”
We completely understand your nervousness as new owner members, the first experience can seem a little daunting however you are in the best place for getting help and advice on how to select, arrange and prepare for your sitters. There is also very good articles and advice on the website Blog including …
10 questions to ask before your sitter arrives | TrustedHousesitters.com
You can also add your listing link to your Forum profile that way other members will be able to view your listing, look at those adorable pet pics and “Paddington” in the garden 
Follow the instruction in this link >>
http://forum.trustedhousesitters.com/t/how-to-add-a-listing-or-profile-link-to-your-forum-profile
You will constantly hear that communication is the key to having a successful sit, communication with potential sitters and the sitter you select, it builds relationships and clarifies the expectations and needs of everyone involved, especially those of the pets.
Please explore the many topics on the forum and feel free to ask any questions our community are helpful, knowledgable and supportive, we are here to help and you are not alone.
Angela and the Team
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I can understand your nervousness and have been the first sitter for several home owners. I try, where possible, to meet them in person - but this isn’t always possible. Second best is a video call via FaceTime, WhatsApp or Skype. These should reassure you (and the sitter) somewhat. Have a good read of all the reviews, look at lots of profiles. That first sit will no doubt be daunting but you’ll never look back! Good luck and, as Alaska is on my bucket list, I’d love to sit for you one day! 
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We are hoping to travel to Alaska next year. We put it off this year as it looks as if it’s going to be very busy on the road as no one has travelled there for almost two years. We are going to NS, Newfoundland and Labrador instead. Where are you about in this huge state?
Good luck with you THS experience. There are fantastic people on here and I’m positive you’ll find the sitter of your dreams.
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Ooh, yes, Newfoundland is also on my bucket list!
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Hubby worked(!) there as a lad in the merchant navy. It’s going to be a trip full of nostalgia for him. I just love Canada.
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I hope you’ll post a few pics. Do you plan to housesit there if possible?
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Yes, hopefully but we are in the process of buying a small RV to travel in. Hoping to be this side of the Atlantic for three or four years, dodging between America, Canada and Mexico with some side trips. Found a fantastic exchange site for rvs. You go and live in their rv somewhere and they come and live in yours. The world is your oyster, some may say.
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@NancyInAlaska - we joined as HOs in 2020, after “stalking” the website for a year. Though I wasn’t nervous, my husband had concerns. For us the biggest selling point was that we could find sitters that didn’t leave in the morning to go to work all day. We have been able to find sitters that spend a fair amount of their time with the pets vs leaving all day to do tourist attractions. Our pets were use to us being at home all day and the paid sitters we had for decades all left at the crack of dawn and got home at dinner time. I think there is a good mix of sitters out there that you will find many that meet your expectations. My advice is put lots of pictures on your profile & be detailed in your home & responsiblity description (i.e. number of bedrooms available & size, tv channel options, if pets are on a certain timeline than include it). Our experience with THS as a HO, has been amazing. In the past we fretted about being gone a week but now are 100% comfortable leaving for 2 to 3 weeks at a time. Our cats are happy when we get home and from the picture updates we get I’m not even sure they missed us 
Best of luck, you have a wonderful location and I am sure will get loads of sitters.
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I love Canada too. We used to visit Montreal regularly and then explore other parts. We once drove from Vancouver to Winnipeg. So many places I’d love to revisit. So many more I’ve yet to explore. I’d love to visit the Maritime Provinces some time so will also look forward to seeing your photos in time.
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Welcome NancyinAlaska! I live not too far away - Vancouver and I’ve yet to visit Alaska! Hubby and I definitely need to start travelling closer to home. It’s embarrassing when we meet people in other countries that rave about their holidays in Alaska and are shocked to find out we live so close and have yet to go there!
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Thank you for the advice. We’ll have to update our profile in the coming days.
Travel to Alaska has actually been good. A lot of people that planned on coming in 2020 showed up in 2021. We live in a community just outside of Anchorage and have a view of Denali to the north Mt. Susitna to the west and the other 2 sides are surrounded by the Chugach Mountains. We have to leave every so often to appreciate what we have. Safe travels
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Thank you for your words of confidence in THS. We had a zoom meeting with a sitter this afternoon and it made us much more comfortable. I’m sure that we will still be nervous when it’s time to head out but the experience should make future trips more relaxed.
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It’s quite common to know far-flung places than those closer to home.
Well done! You’re nearly there