Is house sitting a good way to travel?

House sitting is a good way to travel because it allows you to stay in amazing places for free. You do not have to pay a penny for rent, using energy, wifi or TV subscriptions. You have the comfort of staying in a great homely place and can travel around the world doing it.

If you are a long-term traveller and are retired or can work remotely, house sitting is the perfect way to sustain this. Since accommodation costs can really wrack up, if you are travelling around to different places and don’t have restrictions, then house sitting can enable you to travel for as long as you want.

House sitting can be great for people who love animals and don’t mind having them around when they are travelling. It can be especially ideal for people who are solo travelling, as pets can be such good company. 

What is house sitting?

Housesitting is where you stay in someone else’s house and take care of their pets while they are away. In return for free accommodation, you are expected to maintain the home and ensure that the pets are happy.

House sitting is not for everyone as you are often asked to do a few chores while you are there and when you are dealing with animals, anything can go wrong.

What are the disadvantages of house sitting?

Whilst house sitting seems great and a few positives have been mentioned in this post, it is a good idea to think about whether house sitting is right for you or not before you start doing it. 

If you don’t like animals or you would find them a burden to take care of, then doing house sitting may ruin your travels.

You cannot guarantee that you will get a well-behaved animal to look after, it can be hit and miss. If you pet sit for a pet that is very naughty or very old, for instance, you may find that you have to do extra chores like cleaning up mess. 

Similarly, if you are looking after a dog that cannot be left alone for long periods of time, then it may disrupt your plans because you will have to make arrangements around the animals.

Also, if you are caring for animals that live in flats, realistically, they need to be taken out to the toilet frequently which can mean that you are not able to plan full days out.

On top of this, if you are someone who likes staying in hostels because you like the social aspect of travelling, then house sitting may not be ideal for you because you are less likely to meet new people or fellow travellers.

How can you start house sitting?

You can start house sitting by using a house sitting platform such as TrustedHousesitters or MindMyHouse to find house sitting jobs. 

All you need to do is set up a profile and find house-sitting opportunities. To apply for house sitting jobs, you need to send the homeowner a message and coordinate the house sit. 

You can pick and choose where you want to go and apply for house sits according to your preferences. 

Step 1: Find a house-sitting platform that you want to use.

Step 2: Register and create a profile with references, photos and information about you.

Step 3: Find house-sitting jobs you like the look of and apply for them.

Step 4: Arrange a video call or a meeting to discuss the details of the house sit.

Step 5: Organise getting to the house sit and enjoy.