Month: September 2017

Houseitting Pros

Houseitting Cons

A number of people have asked me about housesitting.  This series of three articles is my take.  The first, Pros and Cons, will look at the pluses and minuses of this form of traveling.  The second, Ups and Downs, will discuss how to go about finding housesitting positions.  The third, Back and Forth, will deal with the mechanics of actually doing the job.

What constitutes positive and negative attributes depends on the person, their age, their interests, whether they are part of a couple or a solo traveler, and their personality.  This is not a one-size-fits-all activity.  Spending a month in the country may appeal to some; however, the isolation may drive others around the bend.

The Pros

1. Traveling on the Cheap.   This summer, I spent two months living in Paris and one month living in London.  If – and that is a big if – I could have found lodging for $100 a night, this trip would have cost me $9,000.  Instead, it cost me nothing.
2. Staying Longer.  For long-haul travelers such as myself, this is an attractive benefit of housesitting.  Sure, you can find plenty of week-long gigs, but there are also opportunities to live a significant period of time in some fascinating places, like the ad I saw yesterday for a six-month housesitting position in the Figi Islands.  I strongly prefer to spend time in a place rather than running all over getting my passport punched.  (Been there, done that.)

   Staying longer also allows you to take classes.  This summer, I studied at the Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in Paris and at the London Institute of Photography.  The experience is completely different than dashing like a tourist from one monument to another.

3.  

   Staying in a home versus a cramped hotel room.  I hate hotels, at least the kind of hotels I can afford.  I don´t like living out of a suitcase, and I don´t like eating out every day.  It´s expensive, I´m a cook, and I want to shop in the markets and come home and make dinner.  I like being able to wash my clothes.  Essentially, housesitting works for me because I am a homebody who travels.

4. Seeing how other people live around the world.  This is not a curated experience.  It is the real deal, right down to the plumbing.  Seeing how people live  their lives day-to-day is an amazing experience.
5. Furry Critters.  Traveling can be lonely, expecially for the solo long-haul traveler.  Curling up at night with a purring cat and a dog is a great way to finish any day.

The Cons

1. There´s no free lunch.  Housesitting is a job. There are plants to water, a house to guard and animals to feed.  Sometimes there are a LOT of animals to feed.  For example, I saw an ad last week that was  looking for a pet sitter for two cats, six sheep, a flock of chickens, newly hatched chicks, two geese, ten ducks, pond fish and a partridge in a pear tree. (Just kidding about the partridge)  Another ad I saw wanted a couple to manage an bnb property in Costa Rica, including greeting guests, cleaning the rooms, making breakfast and preparing dinner if guests desired.   This was an unpaid position billed as a vacation in paradise.  More like slave labor.
2. You will be traveling against the weather.  Housesitting positions in cold climates are plentiful in the winter, when owners like to leave.  In hot climates, housesitting gigs are plentiful in July and August.  My first housesitting job was in Tuscon, Arizona, in July and August.  In the Caribbean, housesitting positions open up about three weeks before the start of the hurrican season in June.  Three weeks ago, I saw an ad for a housesitter in Puerto Rico.  I can assure you that there were housesitters in the Virgin Islands when Harvey hit.
3. Many positions are in isolated locations. Owners do not provide cars.  Shopping for groceries can be a test of stamina.  Renting a car is one solution, but it is expensive, $1000 per month or more in some countries.  Long periods of isolation can destroy relationships.  (Remember The Shining?)   Very few solo travelers are interested in these types of positions.
4. Houses may be in disrepair.  Boy, is this an understatement.  When this happens, the housesitter may find themselves arranging for repairs in a foreign language and carrying the cost until the owner returns.  I have had this happen on more than one occasion.  Once, I had several major appliances go on the blink within a short time, including a water pump, dishwasher, dryer, washer, toilet, sink  and dryer.
5. Critters.  Pets are both assets and liabilities for the housesitter.  They run away. (Ever lose a snake and find it slithering out from under the sofa cushion you are sitting on?)  They shit on your pillow (Yes, this happened to me.)  They get sick and almost die when you are in the middle of nowhere without a car.  (Last year in Equador, one of the dogs was too sick to move, so I took a video and caught a bus to the vet two hours away.  He prescribed meds.  I picked them up and took the bus back to discover that thieves had broken into the compound while I was gone.)

Housesitting can be a positive experience AND quite challenging.  It is worth it to understand the pros and the cons before taking a gig.  In the next article, we will talk about how to find housesitting jobs and what makes a good housesitter.