Simply put, a stint of house-sitting gives you freedom: freedom to travel without the cost of obscenely expensive accommodation; freedom to live in different areas in your own city; freedom to experience what it is like having a pet, a pool or a garden to care for. But what are the reasons to housesit?

Why do people choose to stay in other people’s houses whilst they are away? We discover the answer to a few of these questions in this month’s blog.

Reasons to housesit

Many people who started out house-sitting as a means to an end find they now love this freedom so much they have embraced it as a lifestyle.

But what are the other reasons to housesit that we all consider so worthy and valuable that we decide to travel at our own expense within our own countries and beyond to care for other people’s property and pets?

Saving To Buy A Home Of Your Own

Times are tough at the moment in the middle of this global financial crisis. These challenging financial times are hitting us all hard for all sorts of different reasons. Getting a mortgage is not as easy as it used to be and rental prices are ridiculously high. House-sitting is a great solution to both of these dilemmas.

Free rent –

There is nothing like free rent to give you a bit of breathing space to save for a deposit to either to buy or rent your own home.

While you are waiting for a build or renovation –

Apart from those very valid reasons to housesit you could have taken the plunge and be building your own home and don’t want to drag all your goods and chattels around with you in and out of rentals or friends houses during the build period so again, house-sitting is the perfect solution.

Homes are well equipped –

The majority of houses come complete with everything you need for day-to-day life. All you have to take with you are your clothes and personal effects.

A way to move out of your parents home for the first time –

Or, you could be desperate to move out of home and start building your own life but can’t quite afford the thousands it is going to cost to rent or buy your own place. House-sitting is a great way to get you started on your independent journey that begins with life away from home. Who knows, you could become a professional house-sitter!

Saving For Something Special

Maybe your sights aren’t quite as high as owning your own home just yet.

However, perhaps another one of the reasons to housesit you are considering is that exotic holiday you’ve been dreaming of, or that new car, iPad, mobile, computer or theatre system you just can’t live without. Without saving money by housesitting the purse strings won’t quite stretch to on your income.

Just think of how much you could save, and what you could buy if you didn’t have to pay rent! More people than you could possibly imagine are housesitting full time right now, around the world! They have found many reasons to housesit that justify that lifestyle for them.

Start house-sitting and start spending on yourself!

Exploring New Countries and new Locations

When it comes to answering the question “What is the purpose of House Sitting?”,  a clear reason is that you get to explore a brand new area! Your motivation for house-sitting could be that you have moved to a new city and are not quite sure which area you would like to live in. So, why not test drive a few first!

By house-sitting in a number of different areas you will be best placed to check out local amenities, transport links and just the general feel of the place. This could save a lot of time, effort and heartache in the future by having thoroughly researched where you want to live before putting down more permanent roots.

It is also a great way to explore a new city or even your own city if you are not sure where you would like to settle.

Your Love of Pets is One of the Best Reasons to Housesit

A Dog Is Not Just For Christmas but who looks after your dog when you are away for Christmas?

A love of pets is one of the most popular reasons to housesit. Whether you likes dogs, cats, budgies or goldfish for that matter housesitting often gives you the chance to care for someone else’s pets.

And house-sitting with HouseSit Match does offer you the opportunity to pet-sit albeit for a finite amount of time and connect with pets when, for whatever reason, you can’t have one of your own.

You will have the time to understand how much time you need to devote to looking after pets is and if you are ready for the responsibility or not. Who knows after spending time with a particular type of pet it might give you the impetus to do whatever it is that you need to do so you can have one all of your very own.

Immerse Yourself in a New Community – Live Like a Local

Housesitting is the very best way to immerse yourself in a new community, live like a local and understand a new culture and way of living. Many housesitters like to do this in a new country to have a real change of scene.

Learn a new language

One way to learn or perfect a new language is to remove yourself from all that is familiar and move to an unfamiliar environment where you have to speak the language you want to learn – housesitting provides a wonderful opportunity to create this immersive experience.

FURTHER READING ON HOUSESITTING AND REASONS TO HOUSESIT

Have a look at my Pinterest board for lots of fun house-sitting ideas and images.

Have more questions about house-sitting? These pages could help:

How to become a house sitter

What is the best house sitting site?

What is House Sitting?