Local House Sitter – Why I Housesit Locally for Free – Top Tips

At HouseSit Match we love to share the many reasons our members love housesitting and how they do it. One ‘Local House Sitter‘ joined this year telling us all kinds of interesting benefits she experiences as a housesitter who chooses assignments within a defined geographical area where she lived for many years. Read Debbie Sakal’s blog about her choice to be local pet sitter and housesitter in and around the London home counties.

I’m The Local House Sitter – My Reasons Why I Stay Local

Photo by Debbie Sakal

I’m The Local House Sitter – Here’s My Rationale

My name is Debbie and I travel with my cat Molly, unusual yes, but it works for us. Mostly I stay and travel and housesit in the UK these days, and I love to book house sits in one particular area. And so I have become a local house sitter

Granted for HouseSit Match that is a little unusual when housesitters travel around the world by house and petsitting and in exchange they stay for free. However, my choice is to stay local. So around London in the Home Counties, I’m the local house sitter!

Why a Local House Sitter Stays in one Area

Why would anyone want to book a number of house sits in just one specific area when you can travel around the world exchanging your experience as a sitter for free accommodation? Well, there are many advantages for me in particular in doing just that. In this blog post I will endeavour to explain why, and why I chose to remain the local house sitter!

There are many reasons why people love to house sit. Ranging from travelling the world, making new friends, to saving money on rent, or spending time with amazing pets and living in a different variety of homes.

Why I stay local

For me, I enjoy staying locally within the English home counties.

• An established life with local connections – The reasons for my staying local is that my personal and business lives are already established here. Of course, that’s not to say I don’t occasionally take a house sit a couple of hours away, but I gravitate back to my familiar home turf if I can, so I can stay connected.
• Plenty of housesits available in my chosen locality – Also, I’m lucky to live in an area of the UK where there are plenty of house sits available.
• Deep knowledge and familiarity with specific towns or counties – By staying in one local area, it’s fun to be able to get to know and develop favourite shops, cafes, restaurants, and landmarks.

Discover New Local Cafes and Meeting Places to Build Business Connections

Photo courtesy of Debbie Sakal

By spending an extended time in one local area also gives us a sense of belonging, perhaps a connection to the local community. You might even start to feel like a local, rather than a tourist even if you are only a few miles away from your original home!

Making new friends, networking and referrals. When we stay for extended periods in one local area, we are bound to make new friends and connections. In my case, I made friends with some folks who frequented the local coffee shop, plus I got to know the local dog walkers whom I met most days when walking the dog.

Networking locally for my business and social life

Building a network within a specific community can be invaluable. You’ll get to know neighbours, maybe even other house sitters, and potentially other local homeowners who may recommend you for future house sits.

We can even go a step further, with business networking with local groups, providing for some business opportunities.

Benefit from Local Networking

Photo courtesy of Debbie Sakal

Lastly, by interacting and making friends with local people, the power of word of mouth that I’m the local house sitter, so I’m referred to others who have a house sit coming up in the same local area.

In my case, I booked two house sits with two different homeowners, and it turned out that one was a supplier for the other! This makes for great future referrals, when one housesit may indeed lead to another! The serious benefits to local networking by being the local house sitter:

1. Reduced travel time and expenses. By staying in the same locale, you can vastly decrease the amount of travel time and travel expenses from one sit to another.Also, the time and effort involved in moving from one house sit to another, if we are lucky enough to book back-to-back house sits. Who wouldn’t want a 20-minute drive to the next booking, rather than a 2-hour drive?
2. Building Trust and a Good Reputation. Being a regular “resident” in a community can help build trust amongst homeowners. They will undoubtedly feel more comfortable trusting their homes and pets to someone they know is familiar with the area, and has proven reliable with previous bookings, some with their own neighbours and friends.
3. Local Opportunities. Spending extended time in one local area allows us to explore potential work opportunities, volunteer work or even hobbies specific to that location with local clubs. These all provide further opportunities to network and get referrals for future bookings.It’s also nice to belong to local clubs, for example, a reading group or art club, as this promotes a feeling of belonging and familiarity.

Enjoy and Support Local Cultural Events

Explore Local Culture. Living in one area for longer allows you to really immerse yourself in the local culture and lifestyle, to spend quality time exploring all the sightseeing and museums it might have, and to learn about the history of the area.

You can also experiment and sample the different restaurants and local cuisine, maybe even take a local cookery class!

Discover New Local Walks in a Familiar Landscape

Photo by courtesy of Debbie Sakal

What about the local parks and walking routes?  If you are house sitting with dogs, this is a perfect opportunity to sample all the beauty and nature the area has to offer.

Work-Life Balance

Concentrating your house sits in one specific area can also provide you with a better work-life balance. You can establish routines, according to the locality you are in, for example walking on the beach, hiking in the woods, and so on.

You will find and cultivate your favourite spots for relaxation, for example maybe you enjoy yoga every morning at your local park.

At The Beach

All these activities promote a feeling of familiarity, of being “at home”, even if it’s only temporary for a few weeks or months. Even when I housesit at the beach in Brighton which is just over an hour away from my preferred local area, I can enjoy the benefits of housesitting without straying too far from my chosen local networks, and I can enjoy all the benefits of my new location – the sea air, the beaches and a new environment.

So that’s it for now, please stay tuned for Part 2, where we will explore some more exciting reasons to become a local house sitter!

I’m Deb Sakal, a business mentor, consultant, marketing expert and local house sitter.  When I’m not working with my clients, I love spending time with my cat Molly, travelling and painting.

Do you fancy housesitting to discover a new location? Join Housesitmatch today and find a new adventure either near or far.

Click here to Join as a trusted house sitter

Further reading on housesitting for housesitters

At HouseSitMatch we like to share useful blogs and practical advice about housesitters, housesitting and pet sitting. We hope you find this small selection of our blogs on house sitters and house sitting in London useful.

Housesitting with my cat

How to travel on a budget

Solo travel – Housesitting is a safer option

Cat sitting tourist sees London for free

What a housesitter does – Top 10 responsibilities

The Affordable Alternative to Dog Kennels