Image contains a photo of a man squatting and facing away from the camera. On the right-hand side of the man, there are two small dogs looking towards him. In the distance, the sky is a mix of pale pinks and blues as the sun sets.

House Sitting

In 2015, I started house sitting in British Columbia, Canada, and since then I’ve travelled around the world. From a remote house in the Highlands of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada to a penthouse apartment in Thao Dien, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, I’ve taken care of dozens of cats and dogs while exploring parts of the world I had never seen before.

Although taking care of animals for strangers may not be everyone’s cup of tea, I’ve found it to be a great way to pursue a life of full-time travel while still maintaining a relatively tight budget. Not only that, but being able to spend so much time with a bunch of animals is always a plus in my books.

Of course, like any other job, house sitting can be stressful at times. Personally, I’ve had a number of late nights due to energetic cats, scared older dogs, and plenty of other random things. In 2019, I also dealt with the loss of five different animals, two of which occurred while I was doing the house sit (one involving a stray being hit by a car before I could gain their trust and rescue them, and the other involving a surprise cancer diagnosis hours before the dog passed). So, I don’t make it a secret that house sitting isn’t the perfect answer to having a stress-free life of beaches and beautiful sunsets.

That being said, I have seen plenty of both thanks to my time as a house sitter, and I suspect there will be more in my future.

To find out more about my experiences as a house sitter, and to perhaps prepare yourself for starting the adventure, check out my first book on the topic.