Do any of you single sitters feel lonely? I am a near-full time sitter, and as much as I love the lifestyle, I do get lonely.
I chat with friends online, call/visit my parents etc, but not having a fixed home base makes meeting people and making friends very difficult.
Do any of you feel similar? Any tips?
I do keep my eye on the meet ups, and hopefully one will match with my location at some point.
I would suggest starting a meetup group on meetup.com. They are in many different countries. You can title it something like, Solo Travelers Wanting To Meetup. Do a short bio how you travel doing house pet sits in different places and want to meet up with other travelers. With meetup you would need to then post events on your group page. So you can say coffee meetup in (name area) at blank coffee house at blank time. People then click to join and you see their name and picture. You can also say those not able to make that date, please contact me so we can meetup another time. You can also have co hosts. So you allow anyone traveling to post where they are and also offer a meetup. You must create an event on meetup. You would be creating a needed community which is pretty cool!
I sit usually with my husband, but I often travel alone for longer periods for business stuff. The older I get, the more introverted I become. I hate small talk and I hate it when random people ask me about my personal life, so Iām quite happy just to wave and smile (and walk past quicklyā¦).
@Rhe, my spouse and I housesit together (mostly) on a full-time basis (for now). We empathize with your sense of loneliness.
To address this, we strive to find a four-way balance ā¦ housesits with dog(s); housesits with cat(s); housesit with no pets; and non-housesit (family, paid, ā¦). For example, we completed a 3-month housesit earlier this year with no pet - we had more time so experimented with multiple activities and became frankly social!
We also have taken increasingly proactive steps to keep in touch with people ā¦ some historic friends but also some like-minded people that weāve come to meet since housesitting.
Housesit fatigue is a real thing. THS does not publish any data on number of full-time housesitters. But we suspect that your feelings are common, as it makes psychological sense.
We donāt see any single āsolutionā to the āproblemā.
But the first step seems identification and awareness of the problem - which you clearly have done.
Thereafter there seem a range of possible tactics that probably depend on your situation, preferences, location, etc. Could be friends, sports, hobbies, family, all sorts. Suggest experiment with multiple potential tactic. If one tactic doesnāt work out then no matter. But perhaps youāll find one or more tactics that bring you joy. 
Yes, Iāve been solo traveling and I do feel lonely at times. Sometimes itās nice to just have someone near you but my friends are in different cities. I call them but miss there physical presence
Hi
Im a solo sitter, currently doing a month long one in Uk.
Yes, i sometimes feel like the days can drag on a bit, especially not talking to people etc
Im also thinking up ways to try to connect with locals, or other sitters so this is why ive joined this forum, so im also interested in other ideas.
@Rhe Have a look at the FB-group āGo with Lessā They are a bunch of full-time travellers and petsitters.
Every Sunday there is a thread to see where everyone is, divided into continents.
You can add your own location or reply to others who are in the area. Great way to meet up with like-minded people.
Hi @Rhe,
Have you seen this thread? Would anyone like to join an online Meetup Group for Solo Housesitters?
Hello,
Every Sunday evening at 7.00pm UK time, I will be hosting a Zoom Meetup for Solo Sitters. You are welcome to drop in whenever you are free.
Please message me here with your email address and name, and I will send you the zoom link.
Hope to see you there.
Vanessa
Iām a solo sitter, and I do suffer from loneliness. I have found that Iāve always felt lonely my entire life though, no matter where I am, whether it be around people or by myself. It plagues me constantly!
I recommend staying at a hostel when you travel. If you go to an adventurous place like Hawaii during the summertime, there are people at the hostels who absolutely want to socialize. Itās mostly young people (early 20ās) if that is your ideal crowd. But there are specialty hostels as well, such as ones for women specifically, or others which cater to people of certain cultures (asian pacific islander, as one example).
But if youāre looking for solutions during your petsits, then try dating/friend apps. They arenāt perfect by any means but sometimes you strike gold and make a wonderful long-lasting connection, especially if you open your mind and lean into it. Iāve had some success using dating apps in bigger cities. I also only petsit in large cities for this reason. My goal for travel is to meet fun, awesome people, and this is just one way I go about doing that.
yes, this is common among full-time travellers (not just sitters). in addition to staying connected virtually (which is important/helpful!), here are a few ways Iāve found to meet people locally:
none of this is the same as maintaining a continuous, deep relationship with people over time who are always physically close to you. there are a lot of goodbyes and constant new meetings. but over time, you can build out a network of friends with whom youāll cross paths again at unexpected moments!
Iām on a facebook group called Host a sisterā¦Iām on the 50+ group. Ladies from all over the world are on there and they post for meetups in the area they may be traveling to or at, etc. Iāve met a number of ladies that way.
Hello,
I was feeling a bit lonely too, so I started hosting a Meetup for Solo Sitters every Sunday at 7.00 pm UK time, which is open for Sitters with a profile onTrusted Housesitters.
If you would like to join us, any Sunday, please send a direct message to me, with your name and email address, and I will send you the zoom link.
I hope to see you soon.
All the best,
Vanessa
Hi Vanessa,
I am a sollo sitter and may be interested as based in the uk. Not sure how to send a direct message though other than replying here?
As well as doing pet sits, Iām also a geocacher. Apart from it being a great activity to combine with travel and dog walking, there is also a social side to it with regular local meet ups in most countries. Itās an international hobby. You can do a little for free but it is well worth the small expense for a membership.
I also do repeat sits and have made some very good friends amongst the pet owners I sit for. As someone else has said, itās about finding the right balance for what works for you.
Im really glad you brought this subject up. Iām liking all of the comments on some ideas up for myself. I to am a solo sitter.