Traveling the world house sitting and pet sitting can take you to amazing destinations and unexpected experiences. I had, for example the experience to travel for 2 weeks in Tokyo taking care of a miniature poodle. One of the sweetest dog ever and the best, I had a fully equipped apartment in a very good location in Tokyo! It makes a even better experience knowing that Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities in the world and I didn’t have to pay for my accomodations!

I also had the experience of dog sitting and house sitting in a luxury yacht in Hong Kong for 2 weeks. Hong Kong is as well one of the most expensive destinations in the world! And who wouldn’t love to stay in a luxury yacht for 2 weeks? (I have a blog post about this experience. You can read more about this house sitting and dog sitting experience in Hong Kong).

The world is facing a new normality after COVID and we can see more remote jobs. Companies and people are adapting to the new reality of working from home. More and more people will have nowadays the chance to work from anywhere in the world requiring only an internet connection. With no rent or bills to pay, house sitting and pet sitting is a good way to explore the world while working remotely!

If you are an animal lover here are some tips in how to become a pet sitter and house sitter and start traveling the world for free! All you need is to share your love for pets!

1. Join a House Sitting Website

I recommend joining a house sitting website like Trusted House Sitters . I have been a member of the site for about around almost 6 years now. The majority of my house sits came through this British website and it has a lot of house sits mostly in Europe (England, France mainly), Australia, New Zealand, Canada, US are the most frequent countries. It requires a payment of an annual membership fee. Although this is an investment that easily pays itself after the first house and pet sit.

Staying for example in Paris or London for one night will pay for the annual membership in just one day.

2. Take care of your friend’s pets and ask for references

It is difficult to start house sitting and pet sitting without any reviews of referrals, it is the same like a job search. It is the same as applying for a job with no experience. As the competition is high you will have less chance to be accepted. The more experience you have or good reviews the easiest it gets.

When I started pet sitting and house sitting the way I found to start was first asking friends and family for recommendations and reviews. Ask them to write something good about you, of course being honest, showing your skills taking care of animals or taking care of a house while they are away on vacation.

You also need to create a good profile about yourself so people can trust leavins their home and pets with you. You will be selected based on the reviews so it is important to have lots of positive and good things on your profile and as well of course, good pictures.

3. Create a nice profile with some amazing pictures

Images can tell more than a thousand words! So show your smile and how good you are with the animals and show your best skills! Show all the happy moments you have taking care of dogs, cats or whatever animal you like.

Write honest and good things about yourself and add some amazing pictures. I guess if you don’t like animals maybe look for only house sitting websites without any animals. Taking care of someone’s pet is a lot of responsibility, so you must love animals!

In summary a good pictures can tell more than any words, so invest your time taking some amazing pics.

4. Apply a local pet sit and ask for a review

A good way to start pet sitting and house sitting is to do one around your neighborhood. Apply for one in your city and your state, you can easily also meet the homeowners in person introduce yourself and interact with the animals.

This is the best way to start as the pet owners will be leaving the house and animals with someone they met in advance. It gives the the security and you can benefit and receive your first review.

My first pet sit was a local one that I did when I was living in the US. I drove there and met the homeowners and pets in person before doing the pet sit and I got my first 5 star review! After the first review and some referrals from friends I could start applying for house sits internationally. The first destination was England!

5. Be fast and start applying for pet sitting and house sitting ‘jobs’

Usually timing is important as the competition to apply for the ‘jobs’ is high. So the earlier you apply better your chance to have your message read, your profile viewed and be considered for the position. It is at the end the same as a job search, more people applying probably the first ones get more chance to be considered.