Getting "hooked" on house sitting: BJ's story

Like so many others, BJ first heard about house sitting from someone she knew. While working as a physical therapist, one of her clients mentioned she was off to France to take care of a ‘small winery’ for 6 months. This sparked BJ’s interest (naturally), and her house and pet sitting adventures began! 

“I first became a member of Nomador, but switched over to TrustedHousesitters after one year. For my 50th birthday, I wanted to go ‘live in France’ for a month, not just travel. We were accepted for a sit in Nantes, where we took care of two Labs, one cat, two chickens, and a large garden. This was over 6 years ago now, and was an amazing experience on every level – we were hooked.”

Despite being a few years ago, their first-ever pet sit will always hold a special place in their hearts. 

“Our first sit will probably always be the most special because we had no expectations and no idea what we were getting into. Our friends thought we were crazy to cross to the ‘other side of the world’ to stay in a complete stranger’s house – what if it was not legitimate, or they were going to kidnap us?!”

They told everyone not to worry – they had a credit card and could jet off to another destination if things went south. But obviously, this wasn’t necessary! 

“The owners picked us up at the train station, we shared a meal that night, and by the end of the evening, we felt like old friends! We kept in touch for years later and had an open invitation to return to visit them.”

Ahh, it’s a tale as old as time! Since then, house and pet sitting has introduced the pair to incredible people and places all over the world. One of their favorite pet sitting experiences was in Mexico City over Christmas and New Year.

“We were looking after two Frenchies in Condesa, a nice neighborhood that is not too touristy. Because we had the dogs, people assumed we lived there as expats, and we were treated with wonderful hospitality everywhere we went.”

So why does house and pet sitting work so well for BJ and her partner? 

“When we travel, we like to stay in one spot, so we can get to know the community, explore locally, shop at local markets, and find the local gems. We are homebodies and enjoy exploring during the day and relaxing at ‘home’ in the evenings. We are active and healthy, so also like to cook for the most part instead of going to restaurants all the time. We love the sense of ‘home away from home’ that pet sitting gives us.”

It’s also opened up no end of doors for them, both metaphorically and literally…

“TrustedHousesitters has been so many things to us – I house sat locally for 6 weeks when we had rented our house out and I could not leave the city yet; I write freelance, with a focus on travel, so house sitting has often allowed me to have a place to stay while I explore things to write about; we have lost our own pets and have decided to hold off getting another so we can be flexible to house sit; we have been on the other side too, getting sitters for our pets through TrustedHousesitters, which was also always with good experience.”

Now, what’s next for the couple? Hint – it could be envy-inducing!

“I retired 3 years ago, and my partner will retire soon. We intend to live nomadically and house sit as a big portion of our life. We own our own house(s) but will rent out as furnished and just stay for periods of time between sits.”

Having just completed a house sit in Seattle, they’re now on the hunt for sits in France in May, and have a stay coming up in Qualicum Beach, BC, in August.

“It will be fun to explore Vancouver Island!” BJ says.

If you want to keep up to date with the couple’s adventures, check out BJ’s website, subscribe to her mailing list, or give her a follow on Instagram, @mylifedonedifferent.