Granny Dorset finds Wonderfull NZ couple for Dorset housesit

"Gosh I am very impressed with your service. Thank you. I had 8 replies in 24 hours and have found an Australian couple who will be on their way back from Cornwall for the dates I need. so we are getting in touch by telephone today.

I found a wonderful NZ couple via you, 2 years ago but a friend did all the computering for me and they were wonderful and had to cope with snow and ice on their first trip back to UK in 25 years!!

As a very new owner of a computer we have got there. Thank you for a wonderful service. Granny Dorset!!

Housesit Details:

Would you like a week's break in lovely West Dorset?? ...

View details of West Dorset housesit

Visit Housecarers at Sydney Baby Boomers and Retirement expo Darling Harbour

Visit housecarers at the Sydney baby boomers expo Darling Harbour 34/4 thru Sun 2 May free entry

Sydney Baby Boomers and Retirement expo Darling Harbour

Attend and win 5 year membership - Imagine never paying for holiday accommodation again

Tobago homeonwers finds perfect sitter for their home in paradise

"We placed an advert with you recently & received a good response. Your site is quick & easy to navigate & we were very soon organised with house sitters. We would like to thank you for the service you provide & will not hesitate to use you in the future. "

Beautiful two bedroomed house with pool in Tobago with en suite bathrooms and beautiful views....

View details of Tobago housesits

Retired house sitter from Thailand spends seven months moving from one home to another, around Australia

Dear Ian,

"I can't tell you how much this site has made my stay in Australia bearable. I am in Australia so I can qualify to take
my pension to Thailand. My wife and I spent seven months moving from one home to another, all from this magnificent site.

I know we couldn't have managed without Housecarers. I have a rebooking from August to October, and I am flying mack to my wife in December. If I am lucky enough to get something before I go, well that would be a bonus.

Thank you, Ian. I have recommended this site on others I post on."


Sincere regards,

Mike, and my wife Pen. (username mipen2006)

View profile for sitter mipen2006

Brisbane QLD Homeowners receives many excellent high quality applications for Brisbane housesit

"Dear Housecarers, Thank you for the many excellent high quality applicants. The response to my "Ad." was unbelievable."

Regards, diddit

Eastern Suburbs Mackenzie Brisbane QLD
6 to 7 weeks from 2010-08-13

Full details Housesit Eastern Suburbs Mackenzie Brisbane QLD

Cat Sitters required for Barcelona appartment - 10min metro ride to Las Ramblas & the ocean

House sitting provides the opportunity to travel to exotic locations and share in the community. A Cat Sitter is currently needed for Barcelona appartment in safe residential area 10min metro ride to Las Ramblas & the ocean

Cat Sitter needed for Barcelona appartment

Noreen Finds the best sitter for comfortable Home, Shepparton VIC, with large rural city with good facilities, theatres, art gallery, golf clubs, sporting facilities

"Thanks for your excellent service, I have been
delighted by the number of applicants and believe we
have chosen the best. Cheers... Noreen UserName: norsemily,

Mooroopna, Shepparton VIC Australia


View Shepparton VIC house sit, requiring house sitter

Housecarers featured in Vancouver Sun article on affordable travel

Read Vancouver Sun article below.


Free and affordable lodging puts travel back in your budget

Seneca Ohio homeowner finds her Home has quite a following

"This is the third housesitter I have found through this website.

Housecarers.com is definitely the best.

The first time I used housecarers and two other housesitting websites. The second time I used housecarers and one other site. This time I only used housecarers.com and found that my home had quite a following.

I found the perfect housesitter in two days and have a list of 10 other sitters who want to be notified when I need my next housesitter.

Your website is well organized and easy to use. Thank you for such a wonderful service"

House Sit Details:

Seneca (County Seat of Rural town) Ohio United States

Looking for someone (single or couple) willing to mow the lawn and take care of a craftsman style home built in 1911 in a small rural community in Northwest Ohio.

Home has been recently renovated and shouldn't need any repairs. The house has a large L-shaped porch with beautiful wicker furniture. There is a baby grand piano in the living room. The bedrooms are on the second floor and include two antique bedroom sets. Bathroom has original claw-footed tub (which means your bathwater will stay warmer longer).

Friendly town and friendly neighbors, near walking distance to several churches, downtown, public library.

There is a front lawn that needs mowing/tending but you don't need to take care of any pets.

I provide the high speed internet, cable TV and digital phone service. You pay for the other utilities. F.Y.I. My current sitter is leaving because he couldn't handle the snow. I will really miss him because he was fantastic. He repaired our SUV and it is available for your use.

References and photos will be required.

Belfast, A City Reinventing Itself

Belfast is a great city to experience while House sitting.

The roads of Belfast, so recently patrolled by army vehicles, are now witness to a new phenomenon, tourist buses. Until the relatively recent end to the conflict known broadly as the ‘troubles’ few people would have considered Belfast as a tourist destination. Now, with the terrorist threat mostly gone, the city enjoys a growing number of visitors each year.
.....
Read entire article .. Belfast, A City Reinventing Itself

An 7.0 earthquake has devastated Haiti. They need your help now! Get involved in the relief efforts :

An 7.0 earthquake has devastated Haiti. They need your help now! Get involved in the relief efforts at :

http://bit.ly/78jhkJ

House Sitters highstandards recount their house sitting highs and challenges

Thanks to housecarers.com 2009 found us making the easy decision to continue our house sitting life, which started off as a means of visiting and spending quality time with grandchildren and their parents, in New Zealand and Australia. With the birth in 2009 of our 4th grandchild, this was still our main purpose, but we love traveling and treated ourselves to a few house sits in interesting places, where house sitting offered the opportunity to meet people and experience the local culture.


On the family side, we had a rocky start to 2009, when, in February, our 18 month old grandson Luke was seriously injured, when a large car-park gate came off its runners and fell on him. This happened only a day after his Mum and Dad came home with a new baby. As this coincided with a gap in our schedule, we hastily secured a house sit in Sydney after only a few days search. Thanks to house sitting we were able to assist with his care, and after 3 months in plaster from chest to ankles, we watched as he learnt to walk again, and he made a full recovery.


The highlight this year was having our family together at Christmas for the first time in 12 years, while looking after Pepper, a dear little Bijon Fries/Maltese, (for the second time), on the Central Coast, NSW. This house and pet sit is in a great location with swimming and surf beaches, cycle trails, a golf course and 3 shopping malls nearby. It was an exciting few days as the NZ grandchildren met their Aussie based cousins for the first time. A happy ending to the year, after a rather scary start, this reunion could not have happened without the benefit of house sitting, and the generous attitude of the owners who have become more like friends.


All the sits throughout the year have been great and we had several loveable pets to look after, and a few farm animals - old, young, large and small. Our four-legged friends help to keep our fitness levels up, and keep us surprisingly busy. We do appreciate the homeowners' trust and confidence in us, allowing us to stay in their homes, drive their cars, and in return we take our job of looking after their homes and pets very seriously. At all times their requests and instructions are followed with great care. It is so special to go back to visit the house owners at a later date, and receive a warm welcome from them and excited tail-wagging from their pets.


While in Sydney we were interviewed by the Sydney Morning Herald, and an article on house sitting appeared in the paper as a result.


Another highlight of 2009 was a very enjoyable 6 week break in Tahiti where we cared for Hiro, an elderly, lovable pitbull, in his home in the village of Papara. Coconuts, breadfruit, bananas, pineapple and limes grew in the large garden, and a daily swim at the local beach was a short stroll away. We were able to buy fresh fish and vegetables from nearby roadside stalls, and enjoyed extending our diet to include local delights such as raw fish, and making mango and lime marmalade, leaving some for the owner on her return. Challenges such as mastering the outdoor washing machine (which had a tendency to go walkabout, and sounded like a plane taking off!), and communicating with the friendly locals in our very limited French, added to the fun. New friends were made, and a very special Tahitian family, Jean-Marie & Anne-Marie welcomed us into their home, and we were privileged to spend time with their family and their Tahitian Cultural Dance Group. We will never forget the time we spent with this group of young dancers and musicians, and the stunning concert performance they gave on a magical evening, shortly before we left.

Back in rural New Zealand, we can't forget helping to get a Highland bull into a horse float, or our week on a lifestyle block in Timaru, chasing sheep through invisible fences, and keeping a discrete "eyes right" while the local calendar girls did their photo shoot in the sunflower paddock!


In Australia, not to be forgotten was a side trip up the NSW coast, and through delightful villages inland. On the road we enjoyed meeting with a group of bikies on the way to a festival, and we won’t forget getting lost while trying to find Slim Dusty’s Pub with no Beer! We finally arrived at 5pm having made the mistake of following an inaccurate tourist map, which led us up and down dale along winding roads leading to a padlocked farm gate at the top of a mountain! With the advice of the farmer’s wife, and with the petrol tank and our liquid intake on “nearly empty”, we finally found it after miles of back-tracking along steep, unsealed roads, on a very hot day. The pub was well stocked that day, and that beer was sorely needed!

So we are now at the beginning of another year, and are planning our schedule. But as 2009 taught us, house sitting is full of surprises. We have 3 sits lined up already, but who knows what surprises are around the next corner. We are open to suggestions and housecarers.com is sure to deliver!


Lois and Kevin (highstandards)
View Profile for house sitters Highstandards

HouseCarers member recounts his 3 month Italian house sitting experiences

"Make yourself at home with a spot of house-sitting. Are you broke post-Christmas? Then try house-sitting and you could find yourself staying in the lap of luxury – for free"

Read full Guardian account, House sitting in Italy

Sitters orchard47 meet new friends throughout Australia

"Even though our personal circumstances will change later this year, we inted to continue to be members of Housecarers.com

It is a wonderfull organisation that has provided us with fantastic opportunities to meet and make new friends whilst we travel throughout Australia.

Thanking you Lynette House sitters orchard47

Follow Housecarers on Twitter

Follow housecarers on twitter. For punchy updates on tips, resources, the unusual, the unexpected, the excitement, the outstanding opportunites, the adventures, the hilarious, and all related to housesitting.

Follow Housecarers on Twitter

Benefits of Off-Season Travel

While it may be very exciting for a person to be in the thick of action during any event, the same cannot be said of travelling during the high season. Sometimes, a trip during peak tourist season is unavoidable, as this is when most people are able to go on holiday. Travelling during the off-season, though, can be a remarkably different experience.

The first and most noticeable attraction of low-season travel is how much more affordable things are. If you've always wanted to go but were discouraged by the prices, now is the time to book cheap airline tickets to Florida. It's not just airlines that reduce prices when the flow of tourists slows down to a trickle. Hotels, tour agencies and car rental agencies have to make every effort count to attract business and stay afloat. This means you have the chance to enjoy savings of up to 50 percent for a nice room, with the possibility of receiving an upgrade to an even better room and other special offers and gifts.

Aside from enjoying a more cost-effective trip, a low-season traveler wouldn't have to jostle through crowds of fellow tourists just to get glimpse of a famous monument or get from Point A to Point B. All that extra space would make trips to the beach so much more enjoyable too. You can take your time composing a gorgeous photograph of the sunset without worrying about an inconsiderate fellow traveler stepping into the frame and spoiling the shot. Even the locals might be friendlier in the absence of large groups of boorish travelers.

Before you rush out to the travel agency though, you should be aware of the reason a low-season exists for your dream destination. If it's largely based on the holiday period, then you don't have to worry much. However, the weather can make or break your off-season holiday. For instance, booking a trip to Asia during the monsoon season is just one way of setting yourself up for a miserable time. Other destinations may be completely inaccessible to outsiders during the winter, such as the Rocky Mountain National Park.

There are also some towns that virtually shut down when the tourists leave. Most of the time, business owners use this period to carry out maintenance and repair work. Neglecting to make enquiries beforehand may mean arriving at a fabulous hotel whose west wing is currently undergoing maintenance, or is located beside a site where construction is being carried out. There's also a chance that museums and monuments might be closed to public at these times too.

To avoid disappointment, it's best to enquire at your dream destination's local tourist bureau for the timing and reason for their low season. Hotels, airlines and travel agencies in the area may have different definitions of the off-peak period, but it's highly likely that you'll find a happy medium if you take the time to do a bit of research.

Enjoy your time away without the worries.

Match up with a Housesitter to
care for your home and mind your pets.


By Angela Yorke

House sitters Libertybelle sit 8 months from Brisbane to Bass Straight

We have had a very busy year with sits ranging from Brisbane to overlooking the Bass strait!!

And some strange experiences like agreeing to mind 4 breeding Cavalier Spaniels and on arrival finding that that was an understatement. We ended up with 13 dogs, 2 horses, 4 chooks, 4 Parrots, a cat and 4 fish!!

We were responsible for caring fro two pedigree litter one from birth to 7 weeks old, a litter of five pups. They were lucky we were agreeable people and that they still got to go off to Canada for 8 weeks!! ( even though it took us 48 hours to get the farm house up to a hygienic state).

However we now have some great references and are off to NZ for 4 months then back to Bundaberg to do another 2 months for a newly retired couple up there.

We have been away for 8 months this year and probably at least that next year.. keep up the good work.
It's a great site.

Merry Christmas
Jenny and David (Libertybelle)

House sitters Libertybelle profile

Sitters Sauni and Ken sit a Virginian log cabin and explore new horizons

Thru Housecarers, we had the most delightful experience this summer housesitting for a most interesting couple in Virginia on 70 acres of land living in a log cabin, caring for their dear dogs, chickens, rabbitts,a falcon, a hawk, (the owner is a Falconer)

The couple were terrific, introduced us to some of their friends at a dinner party. It just couldn't have been a more perfect opportunity to help out and explore new environs. Thank you! Sauni and Ken ... ROSACAMILLE

View profile for sitters ROSACAMILLE

Camano Island Washington USA homeowner gets a win win result after choosing a house/cat sitter for 3 month housesit.

"Thank you for a successful adventure for us finding a house/cat sitter.

We have been very pleased with the rapid response of so many qualified applicants to our ad.

We are happy with our selection, and believe he will be happy staying in and caring for our house.

A win win result. You are providing an excellent service."... Camanonana

Housesit details:

3 months Rural Camano Island,Washington USA

We are hoping to find a couple who will live here, and care for our cat, Sam. Our 3500 sq. ft. house, built in 2000, is on five wooded acres on an island (with a bridge), with water and mountain views.

We are 20 miles west of I-5, two hours from the Vancouver BC border where the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in February, and 1 1/2 hours from downtown Seattle. We are walking distance from two State Parks, Camano Island State Park and Cama Beach State Park, both with beaches and wildlife and no crowds.

For skiing, snowboarding, crosscountry skiings, and snowshoeing, the North Cascades are a day trip.

DaisyandMarigold find a lovely siter couple from Canberra to mind Collingwood Melbourne house and cats, close to the cafes, restaurants, shops and ba

"Hi - just want to thank you for your impressive website and house sitting service. I've organised a lovely couple from Canberra to sit my house and cats, and had about 14 responses... Pam (DaisyandMarigold)"

House sit details: Collingwood Melbourne VIC Australia

I'm looking for a pet-loving house sitter from December 23 - 29, 2009. I have a lovely 2 bedroom terrace house in Collingwood, with a garden and vege garden.

My two beautiful cats, Daisy and Marigold, love affection and cuddles. My home is close to the cafes, restaurants, shops and bars of Smith St, Gertrude St and Brunswick St in Fitzroy and Lygon St in Carlton.

Responsible sitter essential, and I'd prefer a female or couple without kids who'd be happy to water the garden (rain water tank and 1 day of mains water. Thanks, and I look forward to hearing from you