Hi @Mary-Kay this is such great advice and we encourage owners to look at new sitters after all every sitter member regardless of having 8 or 80 reviews all started at the same place …
From your story of success as a new sitter are there any tips you would you give other new sitters starting out?
With all of the wonderful Christmas sitting opportunities coming to the site this could just be the perfect time to connect owners and sitters for a festive win, win, win.
I hope you are enjoying your London sit, fab fall pics from your walk yesterday thank you for sharing.
@MichaelinVA02. Hi. At first glance, your zip code suggestion seems practical and logical. However, THS is a global company and, as such, many suggestions are not workable for everyone and therefore creates inequalities (background checks is a good example of that). My equivalent of zip codes in Canada is postal codes. I am not a homeowner on this site, but if I were and had to provide my postal code, it would allow someone to specifically know the building where I live. That would create a security/privacy issue. The more I read suggestions on the forum, the more aware I am of how complex the decision-making must be for THS.
And the more I travel, I realise how complex each countries systems are. What may work in Europe would never work in US and vice versa.
The word we all have to remember is trust. Yes, there will always be a few rotten apples but I’m sure we can weed them out. But never lose touch of what this site is all about. Some of the problems seem to be lack of knowledge of rules and regulations. I have found with good communication this can be overcome. This forum is helping a lot. I would call myself a seasoned sitter (I think the official word is classic) and I have rethought a lot about what I do and how I do it after hearing others points of views and ideas.
The main thing is to keep/feel safe. If you are wary, walk away. It’s not for you and there’s always something better round the corner.
I have found the map and location searches do not take into account distances and labels applicable to the US. And the map itself is very jumpy. I will put in Philadelphia over Pennsylvania, say, and then zoom out to capture the DC area and NYC, but the system doesn’t do that smoothly.
Yes, I notice this as well. I would love to see more East Coast US sits listed. I’m not ready to fly yet, because of covid, and I would love more sits I can drive to, as I’m in Virginia. The letter from the CEO indicated there will be more of an emphasis on California. I do hope the East Coast client base will also warrant more attention.
We travel full time, internationally, could stay in airbnbs or rent cottages worldwide. But since our elderly pets left this world, we really miss animals.
We housesit to enjoy them, to live like locals and get asked back to every single one, with homeowners actually making their holiday plans around our availability.
Whoever made this comment about sitters who have no set base, is very wrong and maybe dissing others to enhance themselves. Sad state of affairs…
@Mary-Kay - thanks for the message. I guess I missed the email from THS that I had a message in the forum. I’ll have to recheck my settings as I’ve received emails in the past about new messages in the forum.
And yes, I do live in the Northern Virginia area. I’m actually born and raised here and have never lived outside VA.
And regarding your comment:
I think what has really surprised me is I’ve found no beach jobs in the Duck, Nags Head, Outer Banks, or Hatteras Island area in the 2+ years I’ve been with THS. I have seen a number of jobs further South in the Wilmington, NC, area near the beach but that’s a 360+ mile drive from Northern VA, and I haven’t yet applied for any of those jobs. I did finally see an interesting sit in West Ocean City, MD, but the dates of this job ran into a professional job I had already taken with 1 of my Northern VA clients.
And regarding your suggestion and regarding the clients that I sit for professionally, I do have a reference from my oldest client (July 2009) on my THS profile.
@Snowbird - thanks for the message. As I mentioned to Mary-Kay, I guess I missed the email from THS that I had new messages in the forum. I’ll have to recheck my settings as I’ve received emails in the past about new messages in the forum.
When I contacted THS about the zip code issue, I didn’t realize how it would affect people in other countries. Obviously using zip codes in other countries wouldn’t work as you have pointed out with your zip code. I wonder if down the road THS could make some tweaks to their system in the U.S. to possibly use zip codes to make their maps more accurate.
As I’m not a homeowner on THS and haven’t posted a sit, I’m not sure if the problem lies with the homeowner or the THS website.
When I took 2 THS sits in Virginia Beach, VA, the maps indicated the sits were at the beach, but it wasn’t until after I accepted the sits that I learned I would be about 20+ minutes from the beach. Then I saw a THS sit where the map indicated it was on Long Island, NY, but the job was actually over 250 miles away in central N.Y. State. After seeing this extreme and hopefully rare circumstance, combined with the issues I have had is why I contacted THS to suggest using zip codes to make their maps more accurate.
The response I received back from THS seemed to suggest homeowners have the option to make the maps more accurate.
While I would love to find a sit directly on the beach as I so LOVE it, I never wanted the homeowners to think the beach was the only reason I was applying for the job (as it wasn’t), so I never addressed the issue of where they were located prior to me accepting the sit. Thus, I was hoping to find a way to make the maps more accurate and to help everyone know exactly where they will be staying if they accept a sit.
Before accepting you can ask the HO for their cross streets. With this information you can also check the safety profile of the area if you are not familiar with it.
I would love to ask you some questions about this lifestyle. Mostly my questions are for a US citizen. I really almost have the circumstances to make more regular long term housesitting work if I can find a good fully remote job that pays enough. I’m browsing the forum looking for ideas.
Thanks so much! Where is home? I don’t mean tell me where you actually live, but how do you have a physical home residence for official documents, jobs, banks, etc. Some places just will not accept a PO box. Also, I would really be interested in trying out the nomad life, at least for 6 months of the year or so. I am looking to find remote work at a decent pay, but a lot of the better paying jobs require degrees or lots of experience in related fields. Any hints? I find the idea of a travel blog both fascinating and repugnant. fascinating because part of me is a storyteller, repugnant because privacy is one of my core values. I am sure there has to be something I am a fit for. Just starting the search these last couple months. I need a career change.
I have over a decade’s experience in the medical field. I am a phlebotomist/lab assistant. I have also done medical billing briefly, retail (clerk/stocking), drafting with CAD, caregiving, day care, janitorial, housecleaning. I speak English well and previously volunteered as a teacher’s assistant at a local community college ESL class. I speak rudimentary Spanish. I read extensively, hobbies include cycling, opportunistic photography, and an interest in psychology. And of course, house sitting/ pet sitting!
Yes, I found it difficult to deal with the “no home base” issue as it relates to taxation, getting mail, etc.
As a freelancer for three years, clients were sending me 1099s, so no one cared where I was at any given time, as long as I was available when needed.
As a full-time employee, however, I have to work from my home and with a home-office all set up and secure. If I spend a few weeks elsewhere, I need to get permission.
My employer is not demanding that people return to the office full-time. They are demanding that people stay in the United States except for short stints. There are tax and business registration issues that a US-based employer would face otherwise.
I use my mom’s address. For remote work, tech is probably the best for income levels, but writing, online marketing, teaching english, etc. are all options. I am a project manager who moved into tech. But I fall under teh lots of experience category. I would not bank on making enough from a blog to fund yourself without a LOT of work and really impressive writing and photography skills OR some kind of twist to your travels that fills a void in a niche market. Travel blogs are a dime a dozen.
Medical billing should be able to translate to remote, as should CAD drafting. Physical jobs aren’t possible internationally but maybe you could do the traveling nurse thing in the US? do they have that for Phlebotomists?
I absolutely disagree with whoever told you that! We have been doing this for 8 years and we have no home and have never used it as an accommodation finder and to say that about people on this site is a shame! If we are not housesitting for whatever reason we will make other plans.
if anything people without a home are more flexible!
We do it because we love pets love travelling and getting to know (and make great friends with) lots of people.
