Like @ExploreDreamDiscover I get a lot of invitations from HOs who live close to me (one is less than a mile). one who I began saying “not available for those dates” and eventually saying something like “this is too close to my home” and still they carried on inviting me. I wonder if they want a free pet carer who won’t stay in their home? But there may be a time soon when I do want to be close to home as I’ll be having the kitchen replaced and eventually the bathroom too.
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Another reason for sitting close to your own home:
If you’re a home-worker who gets easily distracted by domestic tasks and trivia when at home..
I find that I work far more efficiently when in someone else’s house. So if I really need to focus on a project, I will take a sit in my own area.
After all, not comparing myself, but JK Rowling famously stayed in a hotel while writing at least the final sections of the Harry Potter series..
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I did a paid sit 40 minutes away. It was like being in a different environment completely. It was country on a gorgeous lake and beautiful trees and vegetation. Amazing wildlife up close that I saw from the safe lanai. Beautiful sunsets. If 40 minutes away is a completely different environment you would enjoy, I can see the appeal of applying on THS. If it’s just like your neighborhood I would pass on a non paid sit.
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Another reason
We rent out our property and sometimes it’s good to be close to do small jobs between guests.
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I live in a capital city. Sometimes I have theatre shows booked so cannot take a sit further afield for an entire week, and don’t want to miss out on being with animals , but this way I can sit locally, and still attend my shows. I also attend regular pub quizzes, and this way I have been able to take a local (ish) dog along to a few quizzes with me. He loves the attention he gets from the other quizzers in the pub.
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This is funny to me because I keep getting requests from HOs in my small local area asking me to sit. When I tell them, thanks for asking but I sit in places I want to travel to, they have responded with some version of “But you sound great and this would work so well for me!” And also tell me how great their property is. And so I say, thanks but I also have a nice home and have to take care of it, too.
also, I’ve had the experience of many times seeing listings where the HO specifies that they only want a local sitter so they can meet in person beforehand for screening.
And finally, when I was going to England anyway (travel booked), I applied for some sits but was told by several HOs that they didn’t feel comfortable using someone traveling from elsewhere (even though I had excellent reviews on my profile, etc).
So it’s funny to me that people have had the opposite problem of HOs almost demanding that someone “be from away”!
But I agree with everyone who said it’s natural for HOs to ask why the sitter wants to be in their area. I always volunteer this information in my initial email with the application. I also always tell HOs to ask me any questions they like. I’m happy to answer them. They’re trusting me with their home and beloved pets, after all!
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I’m a writer and I have both rented places and also done sits to work on writing projects. I have a nice home conducive to writing, but it’s just like you say — it’s less distracting to be somewhere else. And I know I’m there for a purpose and a limited timeframe which helps me focus.
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I have been offered sits a few times just based on my written app and profile. I always insist on having a FaceTime, Zoom or at least a phone call first before I commit. I frame it for the HO’s benefit, too, because I think it is.
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Additional reasons someone may sit locally:
- They are new to the site and want to build up their reviews before traveling nationally or internationally.
- They live with roomates and enjoy having their own quiet space for a bit.
- These days a lot of young adults live with their parents so this gives them a chance to have a quiet space.
- Maybe they love sitting for certain breeds of dogs or cats so local sits would be fine. I have a list in my mind of dogs and cats I want to sit for so I assume some others may do that as well.
- The 4th one pertains to me but may also fit for others. I lived in Santa Barbara, CA for 23 years but in 2001 bought a home in Ventura (27 miles away). The highway between our towns is pretty crowded at times and it’s the only thoroughfare so I don’t go up and visit my friends as often as I’d like. I discovered that there are a lot of TH HO’s there and I’ve gotten to know the ones that will accept my little dog to come along (she’s very friendly and respectful of all dogs/ages). So now I petsit in S.B. Few times per year. I always offer to bring my dog to be introduced to their dog ahead of time. It’s a win for the pets-they get a friend too, I don’t have any “touristy” needs to be gone for hours, I get to meet up with my friends for a walk, lunch or dinner. AND I get to hang out in Santa Barbara, one of my favorite towns.
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I have only once had a sitter who lived locally, and I would never consider doing so again. They were doing renovations and the time frame matched, they knew the area, seemed nice, and I got the impression they genuinely liked my dogs.
However, they were both working, overseeing the renovations, visiting friends and family, and continuing their interests and hobbies. They were out all day, and most nights and golfed all weekend. My dogs were lucky that they took a few minutes a day to sling them some kibble.
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Please tell me that I’m misunderstanding your comment :
Please tell me that you would not “get rid of” your cat because you’re having difficulty travelling while she is part of your life.
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Depends on the sitter(s) and maybe on how you screen them.
My local hosts — where I sat while having renovations done — have all given me rave reviews and invited me back.
The hosts with a dog even wrote in their review that other hosts would be lucky to get me and they should be prepared to have their dog be disappointed on their return, because I took their dog on more adventures than they normally did.
As with all sitters and hosts, generalizing doesn’t make sense.
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Full-time nomad here. Last year I went “home” to my family base city for a few reasons–admin stuff, health stuff, seeing family, etc. The responsible thing to do was stay for a couple of months before my next required travel.
Of course the options were to crash with my family members in their homes, but after a few weeks of that I really needed a break. I’m a grown adult and needed solo time and space! It didn’t really make sense to rent an apartment for such a short time, plus admittedly I was on a budget and didn’t want to move all of my stuff. So I did short sits in my “home” town and it was a wonderful reprieve. Sometimes it’s just nice to get a refresher in a new space and meet new cute animals. ALONE! 
It’s always interesting to see other cozy homes and it does give you a sense of the real estate market and ideas on interior design, lol.
It’s also a good way to get sit experience and build up solid ratings. And some of these HOs and I became friends, too
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It is relatively easy to find a THS cat sitter for yourself for times when you take on a sit.
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I’ve been a professional cat-sitter (as well as using THS) for seven years. So I know cats quite well. And I’ve met very, very few who were genuinely content to be moved from place to place on a regular - or irregular - basis. Their humans were convinced the cats just “loved” it, because the poor things kept eating and didn’t act out in any obvious way, but the small signs of big stress were there.
Please consider getting a sitter for your own cat while you’re away from home (hey, there’s this great organisation called Trusted House Sitters, which… 
) or if you’re really set on travelling a lot, consider re-homing her. I know it’s sad, but it’s better than causing her repeated stress and discomfort.
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Thanks for your advice. I should have rethought the idea of getting a pet in the first place. I think there are much better options around my are for her.
I don’t really want to find my cat a new home, but I think it might be best for her! I will find her a nice farm to live on, where she will be happy.
I frequently sit in the area we used to live in for just this reason. I see old friends and maybe revisit some familiar and favorite places. The HOs love it because they know I’m not going to be out touristing all day, but only gone for a few hours at a time, and that I know all about the area and how to navigate its unique upsides and downsides (including fire evacuation) so they don’t have to explain anything to me.
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Thank you, @bauhausfrau , and everyone who joined this conversation.
This thread really shows how important communication and clarity of intentions are for building a successful sitting experience for both sides. It will remain a great reference whenever we want to see this question from a different angle.
A perfect example of community in action! 