Why to look for local house sitting jobs

Reasons why new sitters should consider local house sits

• You’ll get a good feel for what house sitting is like
• Short sits tend to get fewer applications than longer ones
• The home owner can be confident you’ll arrive without travel delays
• The environment, style of homes, outdoor spaces, safety - all will be familiar to you
• You’ll be able to do a few sits in a short period of time to build your reviews
• Your travel costs will be minimal
• Travel disruptions likely won't affect you
• You can offer to meet the home owner and pets in person before the sit

Local house sits for experienced house sitters

Short sits nearby aren’t just for new starters. They are house sits my partner and I love to do. Especially now we are based in France, where we are fast approaching three years at a super long-term house sit with no pets. 

Fortunately, our home owner doesn’t mind us being away for a while on other house sits – as pet lovers themselves they know how important our pet fixes are! 

Recently we took on a sit only 20 minutes away, in a little village we pass regularly on our way to our nearest big town of Beaune. 

For many experienced house sitters, this might seem like an odd thing to do... and even a home owner might wonder why you want to take on a house sit so close to home.

7 reasons we love local house sits

1) Pet fun

We don’t have any pets at our log-term “home”, although we do have a few stray cats who drop by most days for a snack-visit. We’ve also got cows in the field at the end of the garden who have become very friendly since we started feeding them the crab-apples from our tree this autumn.
So it is always nice to have a dog to go out on walks with us, or a cat or two to curl up on our laps.

2) A change is as good as a rest

Vanessa had some work to do while we were on our short sit and took her laptop with her. She quickly set up a “temporary office” on the dining room table. Even though still “at work”, the change in routine has a feeling of novelty about it.

3) A mini-break

Going to a new place, even if it is just a short distance from home, means you get to live a different life, even if just for a few days. On our recent local sit we had a great boulangerie just steps from our door... something we don’t have at home... so fresh bread every morning felt like a real treat.

4) Explore a new area

Even though less than 20 kilometres from home, we’ve only ever passed through this village, never stopping there. With a dog to walk we discovered lots of little trails and hidden valleys we had never seen before. We now have a few more outings planned, as we can get back to this area from home in such a short time.

5) Attend regular events

I’ve recently joined a local archery club who meet every Saturday morning. I’m really enjoying it, and look forward to the weekly event. Although the drive to the regular gathering was a little longer than usual, I was still able to go along and take part as usual.

6) Make new friends

We’ve found that we often make great connections with home owners, but if they are a long way away we tend to lose touch, unless the house sit becomes a repeat sit. A short sit near home offers the possibility of new friendships that are easy to maintain due to close proximity.

7) Keep our reviews current

As we’re on such a long-term sit, it would be easy not to do other sits, and our most recent review would be from two years ago. This isn’t an ideal situation if you do plan to apply for more sits in the future. Doing an occasional short sit is a fun way to keep our profile up to date.

Next time someone asks, "why would you take a house sit close to home?" you'll be able to give them some very good, credible reasons!