Greetings! My name is Teresa. I am currently in Texas in the USA.
I have been a full-time sitter for two years now and am curious to hear from other full-timers… how has this past year been for you? What adapatations/changes have you had to make? Any wonderful workable solutions that have come your way? Any new ideas/lifestyle adjustments that have served you this year?
Would love to hear!
Welcome Teresa and thank you for joining our community forum you’ve asked a great questions and I’m sure you will get some equally great responses.
Enjoy the conversations and connecting with other TrustedHousesitters members … we cannot wait to get to know you better.
Angela and the Team
Hi Teresa,
Like everyone else’s our lives have changed beyond recognition. We combined house-sitting with independent travel but we no longer own a home or have a base anywhere. We arrived back from Vietnam, as Holland went into lockdown. At first we stayed with friends, then stayed in Airbnbs and when we could leave Holland, we came to Normandy in France, where we had the great good luck to be able to stay in the holiday home of friends. We’re in our 9th month here now - the longest we’ve been anywhere since we became nomadic over 10 years ago.
Before all this happened I often used to think I’d like to travel slower. We do travel slow, often staying for months in one place, but I still felt busy. Lockdown has been a forced stop and there have been so many things about it that I love. Small things. Taking time to meditate, cook, paint. It’s a chance to press the reset button. All of this I would now like to combine with our old life. Still being on the move, but being on the move slower. Michael Palin said it well ‘travel better, travel slower’. I think we’ll be looking for longer term housesits, and staying in Europe for the next year or so.
How has your last year been, and have you got any plans for going forward?
I have closely followed the covid19 news and left countries before they got too bad. Conversely I have also taken on longer sits and accidentally (oops) got stuck in nice places due to increased restrictions.
Welcome Theresa 
Welcome wakey
Thankyou…
Hi @saritrace welcome and thank you for joining our community forum and sharing your experiences.
This past year has allowed many to take stock, gather thoughts and look at life from a different perspective, it’s amazing how similar the stories are. Enjoy being here, the conversations and making connections with other members.
Thank you for being part of our amazing community.
Angela & The Team
Hi @saritrace,
Thanks for your reply! I can wholeheartedly relate to your response! My experience has been in some ways different from yours… Staying with my mom for three months at the onset of it all when all my sits were cancelled. Going with the flow and picking up a few month sits here and there… filling in sometimes weeks, sometimes months… with airbnb stays. Honestly it’s been jarring and unsettling for me. There have been some highlights with my time in Hawaii which really resonated for me.
So now I am in an interim at an airbnb and considering everything. I agree so much with you and feel like moving forward I would like things to be slower and different. I am not sure yet what that will look like for me… a base? Longer housesits if/when available? other options?
That is the heart of my curiousity to start this conversation and share with others.
Thanks so much for writing!
Hi Wakey, glad the places you were stuck were nice places!!
We (mom + 2 teens) have been full-time sitting for 4.5 years. When COVID hit last year we were in Vietnam on a month break from sitting, scheduled for one in Singapore (we are from Canada). The sit was cancelled and we came home. We rented an apartment for 3 months and then we started housesitting again - somewhat locally…between 2 provinces. We did a number of sits last Summer 1-2 weeks and then we were able to secure a 3 month sit in the fall and then a 6 month sit that takes us through to July. We are ready to go again. There are not as many sits available (though we have been 80% booked through COVID) but we will head out to possibly Mexico. It will depend on the situation in 3 months as it is fluid.
Hi @dlwalsh2 that is great that you currently have a 6 month sit! Certainly understand the situation is fluid. And agreed that there are fewer sits available. That has been my experience as well.
Thanks for writing!
Teresa, I understand how it’s been so jarring for you. I hope you eventually figure out what you need/want to do, and that it will happen for you. It’s a process. It’s taken me a year to get to the point I just related! Before that I was just stuck in the mode of ‘what now, ,what next, what if’… Trust is the thing I guess. And I think as housesitters/nomads we’re good at trusting and being flexible.
Hi @dlwalsh2 Welcome! Thank you for sharing your intro and your COVID journey, so many stories are coming out of 2020 from our members … we will always remember the year and where we were. I’m also Canadian and Canada is an amazing place to discover through pet and housesitting, a slow way to connect with pets, people and places.
Thank you for being a part of our community and for joining us today, enjoy the conversations and connecting with our global members.
Angela & The Team
I totally agree with @saritrace , slow travel is working perfectly for us. We are now 3 months into a 4 month sit. It takes away the worries of having to find a new “home” every so many weeks, not to mention the costs for tests & transport.
We are scheduled for a 3 months sit in France over summer. Fingers crossed!
I will keep my fingers crossed for you! Where will you be?
In the Dordogne
Beautiful!