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No doubt by now you have heard about housesitting and how it can save you hundreds, if not thousands, in accommodations costs. I am here to tell you a little more about this phenomenon sweeping the travel world by storm.
My husband and I absolutely LOVE housesitting and to be honest, I think it's the best way to travel long term. We call our selves 'nomads' but we are never homeless really. We just to live in other people's homes instead of our own, and we don't pay a cent for it!
If housesitting seems like something you might be interested in, below is some information on how you can get started in housesitting and travel with free accommodation!
Finding house sits is really quite simple. There are a many ways to find house sits but the best way is through housesitting sites.
That's right - There are websites that find house sits for you!
If you just Google 'housesitting' you will see how many there are. Some of them concentrate on a particular location (i.e USA), while others offer sits all over the world.
If you're really eager (or want to travel permanently like we do) you can join multiple house sit sites. By joining a site it means is you have access to their database of home owners who are looking for house sitters.
Many of the websites send you daily emails so every day you can see the new sit listings and apply straight away.
They all have a small fee to join but what you save in accommodation costs far outweighs the initial expense. The membership fees start from $10 and go up to about $60, depending on the site and length of membership.
After you have paid your members fee you can then search the home owners "wanted" ads. Then you apply for the housesit that tickles your fancy.
However, you do need to have your own profile on the site before you can apply for a sit. This is so the owners can get to know a little bit about you and what skills and experience you have to offer.
There are many of these sites and just by Googling "housesitting" you will see just how many there are. Here are the ones we use:
www.trustedhousesitters.com
www.mindmyhouse.com
www.housecarers.com
www.housesittersamerica.com
Of course, there are others to choose from.
Once you find the website which suits your needs you simple pay your fee and start applying!
The home owner will place a "wanted" ad which will include photos of the house and pets. They will also give a little information on what "chores" are required from the sitter (such as mowing the lawns, cleaning the pool). The advert will also have the dates they require the sitter and of course the location.
If everything sounds good in the advert, you simply apply. This entails you sending your information to the home owner and then its up to them if they want to meet with you (in person or via Skype) to get to know each other.
Some of the house sitting sites all have very similar functions; There is a database of house sitters so home owners can search for the perfect sitter; and a database of homes that need a sitter. If you have your own profile on the website you might even find home owners contacting you out of the blue asking if you are available to sit for them.
House sitting makes travel, especially long term travel, affordable. In recent years house sitting has grown very quickly and will continue to grow as more travelers discover the benefits of housesitting and the free accommodation that comes with it. So why wait - Check out the house sitting websites and start applying for sits today and reap the benefits such as free accommodation and living like a local, something that is much harder to do in a hotel room.
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