Hello and welcome! Thanks for checking out our RU-vid channel. Roadtrip with Nik is a lifestyle channel about photography, adventure, housesitting, and financial independence. Come along for the ride!
Thank you for putting these websites available for us especially based from your personal experience! It’s always a concern to see which websites are reliable for both house sitter and home owner. 🏡💗☺️
Tip #1 Get your foot in the door (literally 😆) by applying for a couple of sits that are less desirable; i.e. very short &/or in an unpopular location, possibly at an unpopular time of year climate-wise, and most likely with pets, especially dogs. Farms in obscure areas, looking after some farm animals, are a good bet. Tip #2 Make these sits exemplary, to get some 5 star reviews. Then you're off! But expect to still have to work your way up the ladder a bit; i.e. the 6 month sit, with no animals, in the dry season of a tropical coastal city... is probably still a bit of an ask. 😉 Tip #3 Have a few bookings lined up at any one time. This makes you look in demand and validated by others. Tip #4 Try to post photos of yourself with pets... which look natural and comfortable. NOT where you're holding the animal captive and it clearly isn't interested in your photo-op affections. 😒 Get a tripod for your phone and record video, then extract the shots you want.
So this summer I’m going to Europe which has been a life long dream! I have heard about house sitting and how it can make traveling a lot cheaper so I paid for trusted house sitters membership but did not know you had to be 21 to be a house sitter through their program . So would you know of any sites that allow 18 year olds to join? I have been looking and can’t seem to find any and don’t want to keep on making the mistake of paying and then not being able to use the site.
I drove to and from Alaska lots of times the 1st time I went to Alaska from New York I hitchhiked now I am the Traveling Gas can Man. I am going to get into house sitting
Very Helpful. But additionally, I would have liked a copy of your list of questions you ask each homeowner. I like the idea of asking for photos of the living space. Thx.
Hmmm, we'd be cautious with those. Seems scammy to us. Unless you know the person or they're a mutual friend, we'd recommend using an actual housesitting site (we link to our favorite in the description of this video) to find a gig.
Hey, Jed! We actually didn't charge for our services when we traveled since we were living at each house sit for longer periods of time. Homeowners cover their usual home costs (internet, pet, trash, electricity, etc.) and we simply care for their pet in exchange for a rent-free home.
Hey, Xavier! We actually didn't charge for our services when we traveled since we were living at each house sit for longer periods of time. Homeowners cover their usual home costs (internet, pet, trash, electricity, etc.) and we simply care for their pet in exchange for a rent-free home.
Good question. Age can go either way or not even be a factor. There are sits where they require the sitter to be 55+ because they live in a 55+ community. There are other times where they have a very active dog that needs an hour or two of walking daily and want to make sure the sitter can handle it. Ultimately, it all depends on what the needs are of the homeowner and pet.
Lionel and Wendy urgently looking for house sitting job sober habits none smokers good with animals and children wife is a good cook and I am good with driving cleaning like to live in
I did drive to Alaska many years ago amazing views and something you dont want to be rushed doing you would want to make it part of your trip and take all the time it needs to get there many great photo ops on the way at leat when I did it
Ya but trusted Housesitters, you DON’T GET PAID.??? What about the others sites? I want to do this as a job. How the heck do you survive sitting without money?
Hey, Cookie Monster! Great question and maybe we should do a video on this very topic. There are some sites that allow you to charge for your services. We both work remotely and make money via our freelance gigs. There are multiple ways to make money while housesitting which will allow you to be more flexible and take on both paid and unpaid sits. If you haven't already, start building your housesitting experience locally (as a paid gig) to better present yourself as an expert. Secondly, perhaps consider looking into a side hustle for additional income. We're firm believers in creating the life you want, but you gotta put in the work to build it. We wish you massive success and lots of cookies in your endeavors!
I’m interested in home exchange, but we have two cats. Does home exchange still work if we have pets that need to be looked after while they are in our home? Thx!
Hi Lorrie! Great question. The answer is that it depends on who is also looking to exchange. You may find another homeowner that also has pets and is willing to care for them if you care for theirs. Give it a try and see what happens! Good luck!
Hey! thanks for all the clear information, I watched your video to prepare myself for a videointerview I was going to make with other house sitters (they also use the TrustedHousesitters website). And now I posted that video on my channel, it would so be awesome if you could check it out and give me your thoughts about it! :D Thanks a lot and I wish you the very best!
THE DRIVE TO ALASKA IS AMAZINGGGG. I work a summer seasonal job in Alaska and then hit up random ski resorts around the US every winter. I always always drive to and from Alaska. I LOVE the drive. Ya’ll gotta do it once(:
great video! I would like to know some demographics (or where to find them). I'm a single man in my sixties, retired and wonder if most home owners prefer couples, or women rather than just a man. Any ideas?
Thanks, Chaz! Here's what we've seen from our experience: If a homeowner wants someone specific they will clearly state it. Sometimes it's not about the homeowner but about the pet or location. We've seen requests for a young sitter because their dog needs a lot of running. We've also seen requests for someone 55+ because they live in a community that doesn't allow anyone younger. A few things that might be helpful: Make sure your profile has multiple photos of you with and without pets. Have an excellent bio about your experience and why you'd make a great sitter. Have excellent references from previous sits. When you apply for the sit, keep it brief but impactful so that they want to have a phone call or video chat with you to learn more. Good luck!!
Oh my! What a loooooong trip that was. The only good part about experiences like those is that it makes any road trip after it seem like a walk in the park. 😂
Nice video! We are thinking of trying our first housesitting, however on our trip we were thinking of bringing our dog along. Do you know if any of the sites allow you to include that in your arrangement with the householder? Thanks!
Thanks, Bryan! We're excited for you to start housesitting. Some homeowners are okay with you bringing along your own pet. Most of the time they will include information in their sit description if they do not want you to bring your own pet. However, if they don't mention anything in their description, reach out and ask. It's important to note that it is easier to pick up sits without a pet or kids, but it is possible! Best of luck to you!
Hi there! From what we know, you can pretty much house sit anywhere you'd like. Of course, you'll need to figure out the Visitor Visa rules. For our house sit in Costa Rica, we were allowed to stay in the country for up to 90 days without a visa. Ultimately, know your travel rules and communicate with your homeowners. Enjoy!
@@neil4182, perhaps you look to line up a few in the same country. Or, start with focusing on the countries that are the most generous on tourism for you. Good luck!
Just found you two and this video. I've been thinking about doing this for years, I've just never made it past the thoughts, . . . until today. Thank you for the information and this video! My first question ('cuz I'm sure I'll have a lot more) is, do you get paid for doing something like this?
Welcome to the world of house and pet sitting! Thrilled to hear that you've enjoyed the info. In response to "do you get paid" the answer is it depends. Most house sitting websites are very clear that they are a trade (all of the ones we did long-term were) and no money is exchanged. You care for pets and a home in exchange for a place to live. As you know, it's an awesome way to slow travel and keep your costs down. We have been tipped at the end of sits by homeowners, which is always a nice gesture, but not required. Hope this helps! Happy to answer any other questions that you have.
That will depend on the homeowner's request. For us, having a place to sleep was part of the trade for a long-term (1 month or longer) house sit. Most of the homeowners on Trusted House Sitters websites (and the alike) are looking for the trade style. If you want to do something more local where you can stay at your house and just pop into theirs to walk, feed and water, then check out Rover.com. Even though it seems odd, we generally get paid for the short-term sits and do trades for the long-term sits.
All so true! Thanks for sharing. We're getting into our house sitting journey now and this is all really relatable. Our recent lesson was to make sure we put the toilet seat down (boys!!) because we were woken up one night due to the doggie drinking from the bowl LOL :) We did laugh though, as did her owners.
