House Sitting Abroad: Discover the World with Trusted House Sitters
House sitting abroad offers an exciting and rewarding way to travel while enjoying free accommodation. Experience the world like a local and immerse yourself in authentic cultures.
Explore House Sitting Abroad Opportunities
House sitting abroad offers an exciting and rewarding way to travel while enjoying free accommodation. Experience the world like a local and immerse yourself in authentic cultures.
Why Consider House Sitting Abroad?
International house sitting is a win-win arrangement with benefits to both house and pet sitters and home and pet owners.
- Explore fascinating destinations worldwide and take part in local customs and traditions.
- Live in diverse and beautiful locations, from bustling cities to serene countryside retreats.
- Enjoy the warm camaraderie of local communities and forge meaningful connections.
- Provide invaluable home and pet care in exchange for a place to stay.
- Homeowners gain peace of mind, knowing their properties and beloved pets are in safe hands.
What is a House Sitting Assignment?
House sitting assignments are opportunities for house sitters to provide home and pet care, either in their native country or abroad.
These assignments are posted by homeowners on trusted house sitting websites like HouseSitMatch.
The Assignment Process
- Home and pet owners register on HouseSitMatch, posting house sitting jobs that require house sitters’ services.
- House sitters browse through the available assignments and apply for the ones that suit their preferences and experience.
- The arrangement typically involves a fair exchange of services: free accommodation for home and pet care.
Types of International House Sitting Jobs
- House Sitting: Homeowners seek sitters to ensure their properties are well-maintained until their return.
- Pet Sitting: Care for adorable pets, from dogs and cats to unique and characterful animals.
How to Become a House Sitter Abroad
If you have property and pet care experience, house sitting abroad can be a fantastic opportunity for you. Follow these steps to get started:
- Prepare for international house sitting
- Gain local pet and property care experience, such as volunteering at a pet rescue shelter or taking a pet first aid course.
- Build a reputable profile on HouseSitMatch to showcase your expertise and positive reviews.
- Secure your first international house sitting job
- Search for house sitting opportunities in desirable locations.
- Apply for assignments that match your preferences and experience.
- Get ID and police checked online as part of the registration process on HouseSitMatch.
House sit abroad
House sitting abroad is definitely worth considering because house sitting and travelling overseas can be exciting. It is a rewarding way to see the world, as you feel you are contributing to your journey by earning your keep.
In general housesitting by exchanging free home and pet care services for free accommodation offers authentic ways to experience travel. It is a fair exchange.
Wherever you go it enables you to live-like-a-local absorbing the authentic experiences of the location. A couple of our housesitters Andrew and Christopher ‘the Global Wanderers’ explain what it is in this video.
Click either housesitting video picture to view Christopher and Andrew’s winning video –
What is house sitting abroad?
How do I become a house sitter abroad?
If you have property and pet care experience, with or without previous housesitting references, you may consider the opportunity to housesit abroad.
All you need to consider is do you have home care and pet care experience to offer in exchange for free accommodation. If so you could be lucky and find luxury house sitting jobs in fabulous locations.
Have you cared for pets and property?
Most of us in our lives have cared for a home and garden. We may have been involved in pet care of some description for friends, family or neighbours. You can prepare for pet sitting perhaps by taking a pet first aid course, or volunteering at a pet rescue shelter. Both will help you to gain experience of a wider range of animals.
With some local experience and good reviews on a housesitting platform like Housesit Match you can then progress to international house sitting.
Housesitting membership networks like HouseSitMatch exist to serve house sitters and petsitters wanting to find suitable assignments at home and housesitting abroad. However, at HouseSitMatch we can also help new sitters get started on their journey.
How to Become a House Sitter Abroad
If you have property and pet care experience, house sitting abroad can be a fantastic opportunity for you. Follow these steps to get started:
- Prepare for international house sitting
- Gain local pet and property care experience, such as volunteering at a pet rescue shelter or taking a pet first aid course.
- Build a reputable profile on HouseSitMatch to showcase your expertise and positive reviews.
- Secure your first international house sitting job
- Search for house sitting opportunities in desirable locations.
- Apply for assignments that match your preferences and experience.
- Get ID and police checked online as part of the registration process on HouseSitMatch.
What does a house sitter do?
One of the things you may be not realise is that if you have cared for a home and pets you have great house sitter experience. So what does a house sitter do? A housesitter will care for your home, and if asked any pets resident in your home.
If you want to become a house sitter then you need to do some preparation to optimise your opportunity.
We offer advice, top tips, contacts in the housesitting community. Here you will find full time housesitters who can advise based on a wealth of community knowledge and years of experience in housesitting and petsitting activities.
Learning from the community can help you prepare to become a highly rated housesitter. This community specialises in supporting and nurturing reliable housesitters.
It is easy to register as a housesitter. You get ID and police checked online as part of the registration process through HouseSitMatch. Once registered you can build a housesitter profile and specify the countries in which you would prefer to housesit.
International pet housesitting
House sitting and pet sitting through a recognised trustworthy network can provide fantastic international opportunities for house sitting and pet sitting your way around the world, for example by pet sitting like a friend in exchange for free accommodation.
Jill and Gavin are long term full-time Australian housesitters. They enjoy house sitting abroad. They were once home owners themselves,. They’ve been travelling for seven years, visited five continents and housesat in 18 countries.
Starting as international pet sitters
Since their first assignment nearly a decade ago they’ve answered housesitting adverts saying sitters required from the Czech Republic to Western Australia.
They’ve taken jobs abroad outside of their native Australia following tourist trails to North, Central and South America.
They’ve done long term housesitting in Europe taken a dog sit looking after house and pet, to multi pet sits with dogs cats, birds, guinea pigs and all kinds of other animals as their video will show.
Here is the video story of why housesitting abroad is so rewarding by international housesitters Jill and Gavin…
Travel agents also do house sitting abroad!
Dianne and Mike are a professional Canadian couple who decided last year to take a grey gap year, so they sold everything at home in Canada and started housesitting through the HouseSit Match network.
Based in the United Kingdom HouseSitMatch is a house and petsitting network that can offer you international house sitting assignments.
They joined our network as new sitters. However, they had tested the waters by doing local housesitting in their home town to see if they liked it. After a while they decided housesitting and petsitting suited them and they would enjoy travelling by house sitting abroad.
International house sitting
How they started international housesitting
By submitting to an ID and police check, building a good profile online, offering descriptions of their pet and property experience, their motivations for housesitting they have been able to secure a house sitting assignment and have travelled throughout the United Kingdom and across Europe.
Some of the most popular housesit assignment are for housesitting in Spain.
In just over a year they’ve paid very little for accommodation. Just a few days here and there in hostels between housesits. They’ve even extended their grey gap year. They took the TEOFL exams and so they teach to supplement their portable professional income as travel agents.
House sitting adventure
Extending a Grey Gap Year
Their grey gap year is now turning into a long term housesitting adventure across Europe. With every housesitting and petsitting assignment they are building reviews on their profile and a reputation for being reliable housesitters.
Dianne and Mike have undertaken many international housesitting assignments now but they tell us their favourites are the pet housesitting placements.
One petsitting assignment was for an Akita dog lover in the UK. They’ve also cared for houses and pets in Spain, Ireland, France and taken on a house and pet sit near Oxford UK.
They enjoy travelling and living in a home and pet care is a pleasurable service they can offer in exchange for the opportunity to live in beautiful new surroundings and spend time to explore new tourist trails.
This helps Dianne with her work as a travel agent. They cared for dogs, cats and hens in this English home, and horses, donkeys and lovely cats in Spain.
They say that HouseSitMatch is one of their favourite pet sitting websites.
Trusted house sitters
Pet owners with holiday homes abroad use services for house sitting abroad



The investment of a holiday home or any property in another country comes with benefits and responsibilities. Finding people to help you care for that property requires a degree of trust.
If you keep pets and a garden in your property abroad, their safety, care and maintenance is also an important consideration.
According to PetKeepers pet housesitting is one really affordable option to consider.
Free house sitters through a trusted house sitting website
If your property is in another country, then organising house sitters for care maintenance is an important factor in the success of your investment.
House sitters can care for your property and garden. And indeed they also care for any pets you keep in your holiday home. The housesitting is in exchange for free accommodation.
Like old fashioned barter this arrangement is facilitated safely through a website which takes fundamental security precautions.
Second homeowners with multiple properties
If you’re a second homeowner it can be hard managing both properties when you only live in one.
This is when using a house sitting network to find a house sitter to care for your property is really helpful.
Also if you are managing a property portfolio organising house carers and house sitting abroad can help improve security. Care for your properties by ensuring they are occupied as well as cared for.
It is important to ensure that gardens are maintained especially if you’re absent as this is a clear sign of an unoccupied and vulnerable property.
Trusted International House Sitters Share Their Stories
Jill and Gavin’s House Sitting Adventure
Jill and Gavin, full-time Australian house sitters, have travelled to 18 countries through house sitting opportunities. They’ve cared for pets and homes in Europe, South America, and beyond. Their love for pet sitting and exploring new destinations makes house sitting abroad an ideal lifestyle for them.
Dianne and Mike’s Grey Gap Year
Canadian couple Dianne and Mike started their house sitting adventure with HouseSitMatch after deciding to take a grey gap year. They sold everything in Canada and embarked on international house sitting assignments across the UK and Europe.
Bragi Jonsson’s Icelandic Adventure
At 60 years old, Bragi Jonsson, an Icelandic security guard and part-time shepherd, embraced house sitting abroad as a way to escape the harsh Icelandic Winter. His house sitting journey led him to Marbella, Spain, where he cared for pets and fell in love with the rewarding lifestyle.
Friends tell friends about a good housesitter
So one house and pet sit led to another, and through the HouseSitMatch petsitting website he answered housesit adverts asking ‘sitters required’. Then two more long term house sitting assignments in Europe were secured. This kept him busy until his return to Iceland in the Spring for lambing season.
Over the years Bragi (aka Bravo on the HouseSitMatch housesitters’ directory) has developed a number of strong relationships with his matched homeowners, and now does the occasional return housesit.
House sitting abroad
Pet owners who need housesitting abroad
One advantage of pet sitters from HouseSitMatch is that they exchange their time for free accommodation. This means there is no cost to you other than the membership fee.
And rather than take paid house sitting jobs abroad they can travel on a tourist visa if they don’t take payment.
You will have a choice of pet lovers to choose from. View their pet experience in their profile – we make it easy for you to choose a suitable match.
Travel by housesitting
Housesitting offers a way to travel further afield
He says though he hasn’t yet discovered Western Australia he would like to visit. And friends in the housesitting community suggest that he might enjoy Central America and South America for the climate. As an Icelandic traveller these are all great opportunities for house sitting away from a cold Icelandic Winter that he finds appealing.
If you have pets at your property abroad you may also prefer to have them cared for in the home rather than in a kennels. Our housesitting arrangement will save you the costs of a fee charging pet minder. This is a considerably more affordable option.
Most vets agree that pets cared for in the home experience minimal separation anxiety. This is important particularly for rescued animals who will often take some time to settle into a new environment.
Read more of our house sitters reviews on Trustpilot.
Why Choose HouseSitMatch?
At HouseSitMatch, we are dedicated to providing a safe and reliable platform that connects homeowners with trustworthy house sitters worldwide.
Our community of experienced and caring sitters ensures that your home and pets are in the best hands possible.
Whether you’re a homeowner seeking responsible house sitters or a pet lover looking for free accommodation in exchange for pet care, HouseSitMatch offers a win-win solution for all.
Your House Sitting Adventure Awaits
House sitting abroad is an exceptional way to explore new destinations, experience diverse cultures, and make unforgettable connections with both people and pets.
With HouseSitMatch, you can embark on your house sitting adventure with confidence, knowing that you are part of a trusted network that values integrity, reliability, and genuine care.
Join HouseSitMatch today and start your journey to house sitting abroad.
How to find housesitters
It is easy to register as a homeowner and pet owner to find sitters. Then you can benefit from live-in checked sitters who are happy to travel and do housesitting abroad.
FURTHER READING ON HOUSESITTING ABROAD
Housesitting makes it easier and cheaper to travel
9 Tips on how to become a housesitter