The brilliance of house/pet
sitting means that often you can afford to stay in a location for much longer
than if you were paying out for a hotel. This means that rather than just
squeezing in all the main tourist attractions into a few short weeks, you can
take your time to notice and explore the smaller things that the town has to
offer.
But like any budget friendly
mode of travel, it does have some draw backs, so based on my experience so far
using the site, here are the pros and cons of Trusted House Sitter.com;
Pet companion-
I have grown up around animals my whole life, (in fact I tend to enjoy
the company of animals more than most people,) and after the recent passing of
my cat after 15 years together, I find myself craving the company of animals
more and more. Travelling solo can get pretty lonely and so this is a wonderful
solution for those who like a furry companion whilst on holiday.
Even though I was in this
glorious destination, I still needed to get work done, so I would spend a fair
bit of time in the house. Having a pet, or in my case 6 pets to warm my lap and
keep me company whilst I wrote, edited and answered emails was a wonderful
bonus to the holiday. I really do think a pet makes a house a home and having
my furry friends with me really helped make me feel at home in Greece.
Responsibilities-
With an animal or a full house of them in your charge also
comes the responsibility of ensuring you are there for them when needed. Trusted
house sitters is not supposed to be used as a hotel where you simply sleep in
the property but then spend all of the day out and about. Pets will need
feeding, cleaning up after, exercise, companionship and play- if you are
unwilling to put the animals in your care first then this probably isn’t the
system for you.
Snowy, the very clever dog I was minding in Corfu began to dig under
the property fence and escape whenever I tried to leave the house; this meant
that she had to be put on a long chain on a slack line across the garden. This
seemed like an extreme measure, however, stray dogs are a big problem in Greece
and she may have been in danger if she were allowed to run around outside of
the fence. I didn’t like to leave her like that for too long so I would cut my
trips out short. Had I known Snowy would be safe without the need to be on the
chain, I may have taken longer journeys across the island to explore further,
but then there’s always next time!
Come & Go as you please-
With that said, there are many different types of house sit listed on
the site; some without any animals at all or some with more low maintenance
animals like outdoor cats. There are also no hotel or hostel curfews, late
check out fees or early knocks on your door for housekeeping. Taking into
account the pets usual schedule and needs, you are your own boss of your trip.
My house sit in Corfu involved 5 cats and 1 dog, and although they had
set dinner and breakfast times, the dog did not need walks as the property was
large enough that she could get sufficient exercise in the garden.
You might need a car-
Looking through the website, many of the listings mention that you
would need a car to stay in their location. This might be great if you live in
the area, but if you are flying in from another country like I did, this could
be a real issue.
The village that I was staying in was called Afra, and was a beautiful,
peaceful place full of charm. It was however, too far away from any
supermarkets to just walk there. Fortunately there was a very affordable bus
system to take me into town, but the skaty bus schedule teamed with my poor
sense of direction and my need to return in time to feed the pets often played
havoc with day plans.
Local knowledge & Tips-
Any chance I have to make friends whilst abroad I take. As the home and
pet owners are trusting you with beloved members of their family, often they
will try to get to know you better via Skype or a few days together before they
need to leave. This allows you to get super helpful knowledge about the area as
well as possibly make a really great friend.
I had the added bonus of having
a truly wonderful host family as Miri frequently recommended attractions and
trips to me, as well as being incredibly helpful with questions about the buses
and how to get around efficiently. On the day I arrived, she treated me to
lunch and dinner out and I found out a lot about Corfu and why she fell in love
with the place.
It’s a home not a hotel-
It’s important to remember that even though you may be on holiday, you
are in someone else’s home, not a hotel, so cleaning up after yourself is a
must. Respect for your hosts property and privacy is expected when you sign up
for the site and a bad review as a result of neglecting this could mean you are
banned for using the site in the future.
Watering the plants and keeping the kitchen tidy was easy for me, yet
the house was down a rural dirt road which meant that thick dust was often
covering surfaces in the house at an alarming rate. A little extra attention to
cleaning wasn’t too much trouble but I hadn’t really noticed it until about my
second week there.
The support of a neighbourhood-
This is one of the best pros that this system may offer; Miri, (my
host,) had asked her friends and neighbours to offer their help should I need
it. Not only did they offer advice and lifts but also frequently invited me out
to coffee and lunch throughout my stay. This was so welcoming and an unexpected
perk of house sitters as I felt I really did make some lovely friends. Whilst
staying in a hostel in your 20’s can be a great way of making friends, staying
in a hotel in your 30’s or 40’s may not provide the same opportunities to meet
new people. It should be noted that not every house sit will be able to offer
this sort of support, but for the ones that do I really recommend getting to
know the people around you.
Above all, I really do think
the biggest win with using Trusted House Sitters.com is the amount of money you
can save. I managed to stay in a beautiful, comfortable house with WIFI, TV and
fully functional kitchen in a luxury holiday location of Corfu. I got to stay
there for free for five whole weeks, not to mention the invaluable advice I
received from Miri as well as a fully stocked fridge that she was kind enough
to fill. This trip could have easily been in the thousand pounds mark, but I
only spent a couple of hundred on my flight, food, souvenirs and
activities.
Budget Travel Friendly: 9/10
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