The Ultimate Travel Hack: How to Travel the World Rent-Free with House Sitting

This is the ultimate life hack. I am currently writing this article while house & dog sitting on a gorgeous island in the Caribbean. This 3-month long housesit adventure will end up costing me less than if I had stayed at home, paying my usual rent.

Are you tired of paying high rent every month? Do you love animals and enjoy traveling? House sitting may be the perfect solution for you! In this post, I’ll share my own experience with house sitting and how it has allowed me to live rent-free while exploring new places and taking care of adorable pets.

How did I get started with house sitting?

I have been petsitting for about 5 years and first started house sitting at the beginning of 2022 when a friend asked me to cat/ housesit while she went on vacation. This experience opened my eyes to the possibilities of house sitting as a way to have my own space and save money on rent. As a young university student, I could only afford to live with roommates, and housesitting seemed like the perfect way to temporarily get my own space while also live in a house that I would normally not be able to afford. On top of that, I had a furry companion.

I decided I wanted to look for more housesit opportunities so I joined trustedhousesitters.com, one of the best known websites for housesitting. I began to housesit not only in my city, but also while traveling, which allowed me to explore new places for very cheap.

In August 2022, things took off for me when I started booking back-to-back house sits in my city. At this point, I subleased my room in my apartment and spent a month and a half bouncing around different house sits in my city. This was a huge turning point for me because I realized that house sitting could be more than just a hobby – it could actually allow me to live rent free full! Not only was I saving money on rent, but I was also getting to live in really nice houses. It sounds like a dream, huh?

Is this for everyone? 

Probably not. There are two important factors to consider.

1. You need to love animals and be willing to take care of them. The majority of housesits include caring for someone’s furry companion, so it’s essential that you enjoy spending time with pets.
2. If you want to live rent free (the ultimate life hack), you should be open to the nomadic lifestyle. You can, of course, house sit while keeping your home, you just wouldn’t be reaping the benefits of living rent free.

How can you do the same?

If you want to do this full time, I would recommend signing up on multiple platforms, to have more chances of finding back-to-back house sits. The platforms vary a bit by country so I will predominantly touch on world wide ones, and Netherlands specific ones.  

Worldwide: Trusted housesitters is a big platform for house sitting. A basic membership costs an annual fee of 120 euros. This is well worth it, when you spend even one weekend living somewhere for free. 

Facebook is a huge resource, though it will be a little more time consuming, as it is less organized. I would join any facebook groups related to the destinations you are looking to housesit in. Search “house sit (city name), dogsitting (city name)” and anything in that ballpark. 

Netherlands: To find house sits in Amsterdam, I use Trusted Housesitters, Rover, and Cat in a Flat. I am also in the facebook group called “Expats with Dogs in Amsterdam”.

Once you’ve joined the platforms, it’s time to make your profile. Some tips: 

• Include pictures of you with animals (it helps to portray how much of an animal lover you are)
• Smile in your pictures, people tend to prefer someone that looks friendly 
• If you have animal sitting experience on other platforms, mention that you can provide these references 

It may feel a little tricky to get accepted for housesits at first, since often there are multiple applications for the same housesit. My recommendation is to start local. People prefer someone who already lives in their city, so there is no chance of travel delays and so they can meet you in person before deciding to entrust you with their animals. Starting locally is an ideal way to build up some reviews so your profile is more enticing for the top tier house sits. 

Tips for the actual house sit

So you got the housesit! Amazing. Here are some things I’ve learned so far.

• Always take pictures of every room in the house the minute you arrive (this will be your reference point to look back on when you’re leaving, since you want to leave the house as good or better than you found it)

• Always take pictures of every room when you’re leaving the house. You never know how picky or difficult house owners can be, and it’s always good to have proof of how you left their house. 

• Send picture updates to the owner once every few days. It will make the owners happy to see that their pet is in good hands. 

By following these tips, you can live rent-free and have amazing adventures while taking care of adorable pets. Give house sitting a try and see how it can change your life!