We are two retired (59) females that housesit together and we both are filled with lots of love sometimes this is demonstrated through people and other times through animals, but regardless it always ends up as “friends for life”.  We both spend time outside and enjoy fresh air.   

We both like to  walk and try to do so 4 miles a day whenever possible (goal) and Patti is writing a book so we like to break the monotomy and do different things.  The other thing that happened after working 50-60 hours a week was the lack of adrenaline Patti felt she had to get up and about each day.  Nothing exciting to do.  She missed the excitement (if you want to call it that) of working on a project or with people.   Work is definitely underrated as far as that goes.  You wake up each day looking ahead:  What should you wear, do you have deadlines, do you have meetings, and occasionally you may even check your horoscope, but definitely the weather.  Adrenaline gets you going!  Patti missed that but now traveling gives her that chance to do something and look forward to.  Also gets her into a new place to write about the places we  have been in the book.

Patti is from the Boston area and Leslie is from Oregon and we are both registered sitters on this site (Trustedhousesitters.com as well as a few more).  We pay a annual fee and build our profiles-Very simple!..  Make your cover letters beforehand and be ready because there is tons of competition for the really nice jobs.  So be ready to apply.   We make no mistake about it this is work and in the application and work we are always treating it as such.  We have reference letters and we are on time, reliable and of course dutiful.  Leslie has had many dogs and we cannot ignore her 2 great danes! We both balance out the communication with the homeowner and take care of the expectations from the owners.  We have international drivers licenses that we both got from AAA and of course we have all our shots taken care off.  Look up travel clinics in your area for these.  We both have had prominent career’s and are responsible to homeowners, dealing with respect for their energy costs, pets and home.  We also do gardening, painting, minor repairs, and organizing if needed. We typically schedule a Skype date to meet the owner, animal and see the home before we leave to be sure it is not a scam.  We do not get paid (some people charge daily rates) nor do we pay for their bills (housekeeping, utilities) while there, we do pay for our flights and sightseeing unless they have connections we can use and of course our food.  Some people (Vegans may only want Vegans sitting).  Most do not want smokers or drinkers.  So ask a lot of questions.  Arrange firm times/dates before you book flights.  This is not going to make you rich financially in fact just the opposite but this is a form of retirement just earlier than later.  I gave up my car and apartment saving me thousands every month.