Housesitting – an idea for animal and travel lovers

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My life on the road has recently taken a more stationary form. I'm staying longer here, and there, I am exploring the surroundings, I meet people and even work a little. This is really cool. When I tell others, that I live somewhere on the basis of housesitting many people do not know what's it about. So I decided to write, what is housesitting anyway (petsitting, dogsitting, catsitting) and describe my experiences with this form of staying in someone's home and services. I will describe how to go about getting similar offers. It is known – we value practical tips the most. (update 12/2023).

There is no good Polish equivalent of the English word "house-sitting", therefore, although I am against unnecessary borrowings from foreign languages, here I will use this term in the text. In both of them, the English word "sitting" comes from the word "sit" which might suggest, that it is a static job, but that is not necessarily the case!

What is housesitting?

Housesitting / petsitting is taking care of the house and pets in the house of their owner in their absence (Housesitting / petsitting is taking care of the house and pets in the house of their owner in their absence)

Housesitting / petsitting is taking care of the house and pets in the house of their owner in their absence, but there are also others - e.g.. chickens, goats, donkey.. Housekeeping can also include watering flowers, weeding the garden, turning devices on/off, organizing space.

Remark. Stay “and housesittingu” it should not involve any heavy work, as it happens on the so-called. volunteering, e.g.. Workaway (you work a few hours a day in exchange for food and housing, often these are farms). It should also not be called housesitting, dealing with renting apartments, e.g.. z AirBnB (that is, receiving guests, cleaning of rented apartments) – watch out for ads of this type, because they happen more and more often! Here, our work and occupation are primarily animals and home..

I've never had pets of my own (I travel too much), but my friends have them, and I know, that there is often a problem when you need to leave your home – what to do with them, who could take care of them? It's good, when we have a friend, neighbor, someone from the family, who will either take our favorites, or will look at them, or he will live in our house. What to do, like we don't have such a person? or he will live in our house, or he will live in our house. well , or he will live in our house, or he will live in our house. or he will live in our house, or he will live in our house, to stay with us and take care of the animals and the house.

There are portals, agencies and groups on social media, connecting both sides, but more on that later.

Ps. or he will live in our house, but much less often. In many places housesitters are looked for for the sake of home or flat insurance (or he will live in our house) – for example,. or he will live in our house.

Basic principles of housesitting

or he will live in our house or he will live in our house, Housesitting / petsitting is taking care of the house and pets in the house of their owner in their absence Housesitting / petsitting is taking care of the house and pets in the house of their owner in their absence barter is a free servicea. The owner makes his apartment or house available to others (it can be one person, couple and even family), who will live in it and look after the animals. Make time for them – that's probably the most important thing. The owner must specify, what kind of care does his pet require - e.g.. specific food and its quantity, taking walks, sometimes it is the administration of drugs. The owner pays the housesitter's living expenses, such as electricity and water consumption, heating, Provision of access to the Internet has become almost a standard. What it does not provide? For example, food, travel tickets (though it can do it) - this is the cost of the sitter. There is also no payment for the service (as is the case with, when a stranger comes home to feed and take the animal for a walk). I've noticed, that there are paid offers with housing, especially in the UK and the US. However, such offers cannot be found on most housesitting portals.

What an advantage for the owner?

The animal stays in its own, familiar to him and he is not experiencing the stress of relocation. She is not alone, she is well looked after, because house owners are usually animal lovers. We can leave without worrying, that you have a cat or a dog will experience stress and the chickens will starve, the flowers will wither, the septic tank will collapse and no one will take care of it in time.

How's the advantage for housesitter? 

He has the opportunity to live somewhere for free, often in a rather attractive location. City, village, studio apartment, judgment, Poland, abroad - depends on preferences.

The main difficulty, for some it is impossible to jump over, the fact itself makes its space available to someone else. Here comes the question, what to do with personal belongings, documents (I think it's worth hiding them). It doesn't suit everyone either, że “someone's gonna drink my cup”. Well, something for something.

Well, let's move on to the practical part, i.e. my way to housesitting and most of all – experiences.

How my adventure with housesitting began?

I heard about housesitting for the first time when I started traveling the world. I was meeting people, who used to be somewhere "at housesitting" and praised the idea very much.

I decided to implement this idea in winter 2018/2019 year. who used to be somewhere "at housesitting" and praised the idea very much, who used to be somewhere "at housesitting" and praised the idea very much. who used to be somewhere "at housesitting" and praised the idea very much, because I was thinking about writing a book. I flew to Cyprus and from there I moved to the south of Turkey. The Turkish coast was a great option, who used to be somewhere "at housesitting" and praised the idea very much, who used to be somewhere "at housesitting" and praised the idea very much. I stayed there in January and February and a hotel room on the seafront cost from 8 to 10$ per night with breakfast. I was able to live there in beautiful circumstances of nature and do what I wanted. I recommend Turkey for budget travel, I wrote about my stay in Turkey in winter here. However, after less than two months, I came to a conclusion, however, that the money spent on the hotel could be left in my pocket and then I started to explore the topic of housesitting. It is not difficult to find this password online, there is a lot of information, especially in English.

How to start your adventure with housesitting? My experiences

– the first is portal selection – platforms - These are basically homeowners and housesitters classifieds kits. Their quite important advantage is the fact, that both the owner and housesitter undergo verification to enroll in them (documents, Phone number). And here's maybe some bad news for some of you – Unfortunately, I do not know anything about such platforms in Polish, while many are English-speaking. There too, though rarely, Housesitting / petsitting is taking care of the house and pets in the house of their owner in their absence

These portals-platforms are usually paid. You should invest from 20 to over 100 euro or dollars for the annual use of the portal. These more expensive portals usually have many more offers, they also have more services (for example,. housesitting cancellation insurance). I did not want to invest a large amount right away. At the beginning I decided to try one of them and in fact I'm in it today - that is MindMyHouse.com. Another worth recommending is Nomador, Trustedhousesitters (the most advertisements, but quite expensive), Housecarers. There is also a Polish group on facebook recently Housesitting i Houseswapping Polska. I also use similar groups in several other countries. Sometimes they work well, sometimes no one approves the ad by 2 months..

–  after choosing a portal you should be on it create your profile

It needs to be rethought. In addition to posting relevant photos, describe any experiences, which may be important in the other party's choice process - especially, that at the beginning we don't have any references yet. We describe ourselves, your experience in caring for animals (if it is), knowledge of foreign languages (not always required, but some knowledge of the local language is useful) your preferences (my cats) and possible restrictions (in my case, no driving license). However, I do highlight, that I travel everywhere by bike and I can do it, usually that's enough. It's not worth coloring, let's be honest with ourselves and others.

Sometimes good intentions are not enough, it's good to strengthen your profile with something else with some experience that may affect our credibility. You have to start somewhere. I have already taken care of my friends' animals in several places around the world. During my bike tour through winter Europe in 2016 In the year I stayed with my friend in Athens. Marzena was going to go away for a month and offered me to stay at her house with her cat. It was very convenient for me - I love Greece and cats. I had photos, I gave the opportunity to contact my friends.

What else? I decided to post screenshots (screenshots) opinions posted about me on hosting sites such as Warmshowers and Couchsurfing. I have good opinions there, sometimes describing my behavior in detail. I also added a fact to my description, that I am the owner of the apartment myself, which I quite often rent and as a landlord, I know how important it is to treat the place properly, where you are and it does not belong to us. And besides, I have a blog and a page on Facebook, you can see who started.

As you can guess, It's much easier to get offers when you already have some experience and, above all, reviews/references - opinions from people, visited or from sitters.

Well, there is already a profile and what's next?

–  we begin browse the offers and send your applications.  It works both ways, apartment owners can view housesitter profiles. I would advise you not to send your offers on a "copy-paste" basis. Be sure to read the offer, think it over and personalize the answer. Of course, certain words and descriptions are sure to repeat themselves, but we must be sure, that the place is right for us, that we will be able to take care of these animals (sometimes they are demanding), that we will be able to arrive on time and meet the deadline. Best, if there are already any opinions about the landlord of the landlord and the pet owner. What could be the problems? For example, I've heard of cases, when solo housegers couldn't cope with loneliness at all, being alone for a long time in a secluded place (I succeeded for almost 5 months, not bad).

Well. We have sent the application / several applications and we are waiting. I know from my experience, that if you don't get an answer within a few days, it's unlikely you will be there anymore. After placing the advertisement, the owners receive applications and view them for the first few days, choose and contact the most appropriate people.

– the next step is online conversation, while you can get to know each other and ask for details – if we are invited to it, it means that we passed the first selection. After that, the process of exchanging inquiries continues for a long time, but I think, an online meeting is necessary.

Can i find housesitting as a couple, or even family? Sure, that yes. Owner preferences vary. Some people prefer, that single people would come, sometimes they prefer men, sometimes they prefer women, sometimes they prefer couples (it should be indicated in the advertisement). Sometimes they don't mind, that the whole family would come, but usually such announcements are much less frequent.

And what was it like after sending the applications to me after creating the profile? I started going through the classifieds in countries, which interested me and to which I knew, that I can get there in a short time. I also signed up for the newsletter,  which informs about new announcements in a given country. I sent a few applications and ... quite unexpectedly, I received the first and probably the only response from the owners of the house in Italian Tuscany, którzy potrzebowali opieki nad swoimi kotami. Termin zaczynał się za miesiąc. Z tego, co później się dowiedziałam, moje zgłoszenie było bardzo pozytywnie przyjęte, bo bardzo szczerze napisałam o moim stosunku do kotów 🙂 – co tu dużo ukrywać, jestem kociarą i zaczepiam niemal każdego napotkanego kota… jakoś bardzo to się spodobało moim przyszłym hostem, którzy też są oczywiście kociarzami. Umówiliśmy się na spotkanie online, porozmawialiśmy, po czym dostałam pozytywną odpowiedź i zaproszenie! Musiałam jednak jeszcze zorientować się, czy na pewno będę w stanie dojechać na czas (i że nie pochłonie to mnóstwa pieniędzy). It took me a day or two and I was ready to confirm my arrival.

I think, that I was very lucky. I have arrived at an amazingly beautiful place, almost heaven on earth. I was given a separate cottage, where I could live (hence I am writing this text during my third stay here).  The number of charges changes - from 3 to 5 cats, extremely beautiful and cuddly. The neighborhood is the same center of Tuscany, south of Siena. My first housesitting lasted less than a month, but it was enough for that, to invite me back for another six months. We were in touch during the pandemic and now I have received an invitation to 3 months (wyszło prawie pięć).

 A co dalej? When I was in Italy, I was looking for more offers, I also responded to an advertisement for cat care in southern France. The owners cared about this, that someone should arrive as urgent. The time and place suited me because it is relatively close from the north of Italy to the south of France - so I went by bike a bit, a little bit by trains and thanks to that I experienced the next one 3 weeks in a beautiful place in Provence, France.

That's how I got it first two positive reviews/ referencje na portalu. This helps a lot in finding the next job.

On my way to housesitting in Italy, I visited my friends– although friends, it was too much said at the time - a couple, which I met once during my bike trip around Laos. We talked for maybe an hour then, but I remembered, that they live in a given town through which I was supposed to pass. They invited me to stay overnight, and after a few weeks I got an invitation from them to housesitting at their house. They never opened the door to anyone and never entrusted animals, but they trusted me. Rok wcześniej jak wyjeżdżali zawieźli kota od swoich przyjaciól, ale niestety sobie gdzieś powędrował i nigdy się nie znalazł, tym razem nie chcieli ryzykować. Time was right for me again, So from France, I returned to central Italy again to spend a month with two dogs and a cat of my friends.

My adventure with foreign houses fitting has necessarily been frozen during the pandemic – as we know it is not / it was not a favorable time for travel. However, three times I stayed with my friends with quite a large group of cats in Warsaw during their leave for vacation. In the meantime, also my friends Ola and Paweł from the blog 8 foot set up a Facebook group on housesitting and houseswapping (housing exchange) in Poland. Thanks to her, I got an offer of care and a little accommodation in Gdańsk last summer. Byłam też w kilku innych miejscach w Polsce – w Pszczynie, Namysłowie, Górze – najczęściej zresztą wracam w miejsca, w których byłam.

Now I don't just travel by bike, ale pracuję trochę zdalnie i naprawdę nie ma znaczenia, z którego miejsca się łączę. Chwileczkę – ma ogromne znaczenie! Lubię słońce 🙂

A co po zakończeniu housesittingu? The homeowner and housesitter should get their own opinions, that is The homeowner and housesitter should get their own opinions. The homeowner and housesitter should get their own opinions The homeowner and housesitter should get their own opinions The homeowner and housesitter should get their own opinions. Of course, The homeowner and housesitter should get their own opinions, The homeowner and housesitter should get their own opinions, The homeowner and housesitter should get their own opinions, The homeowner and housesitter should get their own opinions.

Where I already lived as part of housesitting?

*Update grudzień 2023 – od czasu napisania tekstu byłam w kilkunastu miejscach – to moja trzecia zima we włoskiej Apulii (w okresie Bożego Narodzenia naprawdę łatwo znaleźć ofertę) – to pobyty od miesiąca do czterech. Toskania to moja stała miejscówka, byłam tam 5-krotnie, najdłuższy pobyt to prawie 5 months (it just happened). In the summer I returned to Poland, where I had many opportunities thanks to invitations from the FB group. Kilkakrotnie Francja, w tym Nicea na Lazurowym Wybrzeżu, northern Italy – Lake Garda, Piemont. Szwajcaria – Genewa. W planach była Hiszpania, ale musiałam odwołać ze względów zdrowotnych – grafik ma tendencje do zmian.

To get to know what it is like from the owner's side, I dared to entrust my apartment to a stranger. To get to know what it is like from the owner's side, I dared to entrust my apartment to a stranger 3 To get to know what it is like from the owner's side, I dared to entrust my apartment to a stranger, To get to know what it is like from the owner's side, I dared to entrust my apartment to a stranger. To get to know what it is like from the owner's side, I dared to entrust my apartment to a stranger.

What problems may arise?

Yes, problems may arise, these are just some of them:

– To get to know what it is like from the owner's side, I dared to entrust my apartment to a stranger, To get to know what it is like from the owner's side, I dared to entrust my apartment to a stranger. Disease, The homeowner and housesitter should get their own opinions, The homeowner and housesitter should get their own opinions. To get to know what it is like from the owner's side, I dared to entrust my apartment to a stranger, To get to know what it is like from the owner's side, I dared to entrust my apartment to a stranger, To get to know what it is like from the owner's side, I dared to entrust my apartment to a stranger, To get to know what it is like from the owner's side, I dared to entrust my apartment to a stranger. To get to know what it is like from the owner's side, I dared to entrust my apartment to a stranger. To get to know what it is like from the owner's side, I dared to entrust my apartment to a stranger.

– To get to know what it is like from the owner's side, I dared to entrust my apartment to a stranger, To get to know what it is like from the owner's side, I dared to entrust my apartment to a stranger. The owner is usually available by phone and leaves us with a vet contact information, so you have to act, that's what we're there for.

– Something can go wrong in your home. You have to get along with the owner, on whose side is the cost of the repair. Again - there were no big things for me. During my last housesittig I ran out of gas and I felt, that the owner is careful, I'm using it too much. So far I don't know, whether it was a fault, or not.

 – animals can be difficult / obnoxious and / or longs for their owners. This manifests itself in different behaviors – on my second housesitting in France, one of the cats missed the owner so much, that off (because it's hard to call it meowing) for several hours a day, especially in the afternoons, when I wanted to work. The homeowner and housesitter should get their own opinions – I had to keep the room locked up, and so he found his way to another room, in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed. Besides, he was extremely sweet and intelligent, but sometimes I was fed up.

– in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed – in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed, in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed, in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed, in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed, in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed. in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed – in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed. in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed. in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed, in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed, in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed, in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed 100% in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed. in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed – in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed, in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed 1,5 in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed, in which he also made a mess in the middle of the bed. Throughout 3 I tried for days and it was a torment for both of us. I tried for days and it was a torment for both of us, I tried for days and it was a torment for both of us! I tried for days and it was a torment for both of us. I tried for days and it was a torment for both of us, I tried for days and it was a torment for both of us, I tried for days and it was a torment for both of us

During my last house sitting in the south of Italy, I was taking care of a dog and two cats.  The problem was the dog – otherwise an unusual cutie, wzię™y ze schroniska. He was traumatized,  he was likely tortured and had separation anxiety. Let's ignore the fact, that the dog by first 3 days at me he was barking non-stop because he didn't know what I was doing in his house, but then he started to treat me as his owner and caretaker. Separation anxiety manifested itself in this, that the dog was absolutely unable and refused to be left alone 3 minutes alone, for example, in the backyard or in the other room. He was given a bowl outside and immediately stood at the door, to let him in. He banged on the door, he was shaking with fear. Whenever, when I left the house I thought about it, how can he take it. He was destroying the things left in the yard. He also started looking for a way out and, unfortunately, ran away one evening – luckily it was right behind the fence, but what a stress it is! I was already starting to imagine, what will I tell the owner. I found out that , that he had picked a hole in the net and came out through it - luckily he was right behind the net and came running, when I called him. I have to say, that this month was both beautiful, but also quite stressful.

I will end with this, that inviting someone into your home requires openness and trust, but it's worth a try. For more information, I invite you to a great study on u Kasi i Viktora and to the site Housesitting Polska

if you think, that this text can zainteach your friendsplease forward it.

I wrote it with others in mind. How about buying a coffe?

And if you want to know, what's squeaking in housesitting and life on a bike (hopefully not a bicycle!) I invite you to FB page and Instagram Ewcyna.