How house sitters are staying flexible

Collaboration post

It's not easy being a full time house sitter at the moment as uncertainty follows like a dark shadow, threatening to change plans and keep us permanently on our toes.

But it's made us much stronger too. More resilient, creative, able to quickly adapt, and where possible make the most of what is presented to us. Often these offers come as acts of kindness or recommendation from other sitters or home owners. The house sitting family has supported so many through these times and it's certainly made us appreciate the strength of our community.

Here are four stories of how sitters have survived the first wave of Covid and how they are adapting to deal with the future.

OUR VERSION OF STABILITY

by Carol-Ann Itel

You can find Carol-Ann on Facebook

House sitting is all about connections... to self, to homeowners, to community. My husband and I have been blessed to live this wonderful lifestyle for 10 years with the last four of those years, full time.

We were in San Carlos, Mexico and had the next year of sits all organized, including skiing in Kelowna BC, Rural Alberta, Phoenix and Mexico. Then CV-19 hit and our one year plan changed due to cancellations, border closures, and no Covid travel insurance coverage.

This lifestyle is about flexibility – that's for sure. Short term sits get exhausting and longer term sits are challenging to find. It's always uncertain where and when our next sit will be. Covid or no, it is imperative that we continue working our connections to find gigs at all times. And to be willing to PIVOT when things change.

When we had to leave Mexico early due to CV-19, an amazing client gifted us the use of their Lake home in Ontario. With the borders closed, it meant a 5 day drive in the winter through Northern Ontario. Unexpected BUT Beautiful.

This lifestyle asks us to shift our thinking of what “stability” looks like. Stability for me is not about a “place”. It is about staying connected to people important to me. This keeps me grounded. It is about being able to share this adventure with my husband of 35 years.

This lifestyle is also about the adventure of life. Exploring new areas and experiences. CV-19 has also changed this for us. In the beginning much was closed altogether and the weather was not great, so doing a drive or hike was about it for fun. Now, other exploring is open to us, but the “vibe” is different. And we often have to ask ourselves if it is worth the risk. Many things are, but some are not.

For me, it really comes down to it being about CONNECTION. Meeting new people and then sharing time with them exploring or socializing. I have found that the people we have met along this journey have been AMAZING. Our usual way to meet people is through pickleball, where we have found people to be exceptionally inviting.

This stay has been different. I am sure people here are friendly (we are Canadian after all), but CV-19 has changed how we interact with one another. The first few months there was no play, and now it is mostly played in “bubbles” with only minor open play. People are friendly during play but for the first time in all our travels, we have not been invited to socialize. Thank goodness we have family just three hours away, so at least we get some social.

So... back to self-connection. During this rather unique and trying time, we are offered an opportunity to reflect on what is important to us. To decide if this “lifestyle” still suits us and what we are prepared to do to maintain it. To decide if this non-traditional “journey” still inspires us. To ask ourselves the BIG QUESTIONS...

HIDDEN GEMS THAT MAINTAIN OUR LIFE ADVENTURES

by Chris & Suze

chrisandsuzegowalkies.co.uk

When the UK went into lockdown we were fortunate enough to have arrived at a remote twoweek workaway in Norfolk a few days earlier, where we volunteered to help out a family on their small-holding. As a result of the pandemic we were invited to stay for three months!

Then we moved into a family member’s home, taking a break from house sitting until late July, when we took on our first house sit since lockdown. It was one we’d completed several times before, so we felt safe doing so. We’d built up a friendship with the homeowners, knew they had been sensible during lockdown, and we were able to socially distance from them when we arrived.

We’ve completed a handful of house sits over the past few months and have had super positive experiences at each one! We’ve socially distanced from owners upon arrival, arranged to leave each sit before the owners return, and have executed a deep clean on our departure as they have done for us before our arrival.

We’re yet to have any sits cancelled, but this may be because we’re having to book them quite last minute. With fewer homeowners travelling and a wealth of sitters looking for stays, the competition is fiercer than ever! There have been more rejections that usual purely because of the sheer number of applicants applying for the sits.

Although we’ve now set up alerts on the house sitting websites to notify us when our available dates have new sits, so we can be one of the first applicants, that is sometimes still not enough! We feel very fortunate when we do confirm a sit, and right now we’ve got just one sit planned next month to care for a parrot, which will be a new experience for us.

As full-time house sitters we have had to make alternative arrangements in between bookings, but this has given us the opportunity to explore activities we just hadn’t got round to during our pre-Covid travels!

Now we’ve been camping, apple-picking, wild swimming, and kayaking. We’ve even booked a van to explore Scotland and wild camp, with stays booked on an alpaca farm as well as in a shepherd’s hut!

We don’t book these things lightly and we thoroughly check the company’s Covid procedures before we commit, but it’s really given us the opportunity to slow down and consider what we’d like our next adventure to be!

At the beginning of 2020 we had many plans to explore Europe and take our UK house sitting international. While we were initially disappointed to have to put those plans on hold, we feel we’ve made the most of a bad situation and still been able to experience incredible new opportunities on home soil!

2021 may be more of the same, but we’re determined to continue finding hidden gems to make our full time travel life the most exciting adventure it can be!

MAKING THE BEST OF IT, ANYWAY WE CAN

by Els Mahieu

myfeetaremeanttoroam.com

The date was marked in big bold red letters in our diary - 10th of April 2020.

It was the day we were going to start our full-time house sitting adventure, looking after doggies, cats and chickens alike all across Europe. Notices were handed in, the apartment was rented out and the countdown had started months in advance. Yes, we had it all figured out and were very eager for our new life to start.

Our first sit was going to be in the French Alps, and from there on we planned on travelling further south into Spain. We had sits lined up all the way till the end of September - 2020 was going to be our year!

In February news started spreading that a new virus was on its way. It had reached Italy by then, but surely this wouldn’t impact our new life. Or so we thought…

By mid-March our first house-sit got cancelled, the home owners were taking a trip to the USA and Trump had decided to close all borders. They didn’t really have a plan B and neither did we.

We had given up renting and the new tenant was ready to move in beginning April. On top of that, more and more European countries were starting to randomly close their borders, flights were being cancelled and getting out of Northern Ireland seemed trickier by the day.

It looked more and more like we were going to be not only stuck… but homeless.

Our luck changed when Northern Ireland went into lockdown. The new tenant wasn’t allowed to move in and we could stay, as long as we needed! Phew!

So, it was going to take a bit more time, but surely by mid-May we were going to be on our way, we thought. Wrong. Turned out this virus was more serious than anybody expected. Borders stayed closed, house sits got cancelled, people stayed at home. And so did we.

At least it gave us the opportunity to get stuck into our online jobs. A few months earlier, I started working as a freelance content writer and translator and Trevor began teaching online, our ways to finance our new house sitting lifestyle.

April and May went by and by mid-June, there was hope, a light at the end of the Covid-tunnel. Countries started reopening and house sits were re-advertised. By then, all our previously arranged house sits had been cancelled, so we had to start again from square one.

A lot of determination and plenty of applications later, plan B was ready! Following the news anxiously, we couldn’t believe it when finally, mid-July we were on a plane to Spain, ready for our first house sit! By the end of September we were on our 4th house sit in Spain, ready to move towards France by mid-October.

All our house sits have gone ahead and, following the adventures from fellow house sitters, we realize that we’ve been extremely lucky! We don’t know what the future holds, but we do know that we’re going to make the utter best of it, anyway we can!

SUPPORT AND KINDNESS DURING COVID

by Francesca Baker

andsoshethinks.co.uk

I’m not sure I would call myself a digital nomad, but I’ve certainly pitched up with my laptop and worked all around the world, from London to New York, Utrecht to Melbourne, and everywhere in between.

The benefit of being a freelance writer and marketer means that I can work from anywhere –including in any flat or home requiring a house or pet sitter. I think it’s one of the things that makes me attractive as a house sitter. I can keep myself occupied at the same time as always being there for the cat and flat. Coffee break becomes “play with kitty break”, or time away from the screen to think becomes a perfect opportunity to water the garden.

It also means that coronavirus has not had a big impact on my working day. It’s pretty much the same as usual. But I have seen a decrease in demand for house sitters, which has been sad. I’m on four of the major house sitting platforms and all have had far fewer listings than usual.

I love exploring new places and spending time with new pets, and obviously opportunities for travel have been limited for us all. I have a regular London gig to hang out with Sasha and Hashbrown in a lovely flat near Marble Arch, but my home owner (who has now become a friend), just can’t get away on holiday like she used to.

She recommended me to a pal in Notting Hill, who has also had her travel curtailed. Arthur in Fulham was fun to play with, but his owner’s second trip got cancelled. And other home and cat owners in Utrecht were also unable to get away.

But when I have been able to house sit, I have been so grateful for the support and kindness that home owners have shown. Everyone has been flexible, in case I need to cancel due to illness or virus. They have cleaned their house thoroughly before I arrive, so I feel comfortable in their space. It helps that because of my work, I can be flexible, and respond to last minute requests or date changes.

I don’t charge for my services. I know I do a good job, and have all the credentials, including a DBS check and good references. But making a profit isn’t why I do this. I’m not saying it is entirely altruistic. I love the opportunity to be in a new place, and see a different few walls, and enjoy being with different pets. But I am also glad that I am able to allow other people to get away, especially after a difficult few months, and know that their home and pets are being looked after. It feels a small offer of support in what are incredibly challenging times. But it’s something.