House Sitting in Costa Rica | Talon AKA 1Dad1Kid - The Travelling House Sitters Professional Housesitting Services

Recently, we sat down with Talon from 1Dad1Kid. He shared some incredible adventures such as caring for monkeys while house sitting in Costa Rica and looking after a beautiful Moroccan riad and wonder what his favourite house sit was? You have to find out at the end of the interview!

If you are looking for house sitting opportunities in Costa Rica please go to the bottom of this post or click the button below!

House Sitting Jobs in Costs Rica

House Sitting in Costa Rica and Around The World!

I’m a single dad who left the US to travel full time and work as a digital nomad in Costa Rica with their young child. We ended up traveling for about 6 yrs. As a teenager, she had some desires and needs which had us returning to the US. Now we do more local travel and do longer travel about a couple of times a year.

How many housesits have you had and where?

Hmmmm. I’m not sure I could count how many! We did quite a few on 6 different continents. Some of our favorites were in Morocco, the UK, and Thailand.

Why do you house it? What is the main motivation?

For us the primary reasons to sit were enabling us to live in an area and experience it more like a local. Generally, when doing a sit you aren’t in the tourist zone so you get a real taste of what it’s like to live in that country/area.

Also, we love animals, and traveling nomadically didn’t allow us to have pets. So doing sits gave us much-needed animal time. An additional bonus was that since we weren’t having to pay for lodging, we could save up money and/or stay in areas that can be more expensive. For example, we were able to stay in the UK for many months and Australia and NZ for much longer than if we had been traveling completely on our own.

Want to Live in Rent and Bill Free?

There are thousands of opportunities to house sit for free rent around the world!

If your wondering how YOU TO can travel for free, check out our resources on becoming a house sitter!

How did you find out about housesitting?

I had done some housesitting for friends in the US before traveling, but it was a fellow traveling family which made us aware that it was a much bigger opportunity than we had realized. We ended up doing it for someone while we were in Mexico, and we were hooked!

Pros of House Sitting?
We were able to have experiences we just wouldn’t have had without house sitting. For example, we lived on an oasis in Morocco for 2 months.

We got to really absorb the local culture in ways that you just can’t do when you’re traveling in the usual way. Makes travel much more affordable, especially in areas that can be more costly. You may get to care for animals you aren’t as experienced with which can be a very cool learning experience.

Cons of House Sitting?
Some homeowners have quite a long list of expectations. Their home and/or pet routines can require some significant adjusting on your part (very early wakeups, for example). It can be nerve-wracking being in charge of someone else’s pets and/or property. If pets are involved, you may not be able to get out and explore as much as you’d like. A weekend trip away may not be practical.

What’s been the biggest or best adventure so far?

Probably the oasis in Morocco. Since we had a very small refrigerator, it meant going into town a few times a week for groceries. That was always an adventure all on its own since we didn’t have a vehicle and had to rely on the minibus and interesting taxi system. They didn’t have supermarkets, so it wasn’t a simple trip. However, it also meant you got to establish more relationships than typical.

We had our preferred vegetable vendor, butcher, fruit seller, bread man, and poultry shop. On one trip we’d eat breakfast at a favorite spot, and on the next trip we would do lunch at a restaurant whose owner was just so friendly and kind. When you bought your chicken, it was still alive. They’d weigh it, you would approve, and they would take it behind a divider and . . . prepare it for you to take home for cooking. By the time we left, it was really hard saying goodbye to all these people.

Want to Live in Rent and Bill Free?

There are thousands of opportunities to house sit around the world!

If your wondering how YOU TO can travel for free, check out our resources on becoming a house sitter!

How do you decide on a destination?

It often varied. Often it was seeing which places were the easiest or most economical places to visit. Sometimes, though, we see a sit that just looked really interesting and would apply. That’s how we ended up on Langkawi in Malaysia.

How much luggage do you travel with?

Usually one backpack or reasonably sized suitcase and a day pack. We kept it very light.

Was it hard for you to secure your first house-sitting gig?

The first one was fairly easy as it was a friend of a friend. While we were there, we were contacted by a couple in Morocco who had seen our profile and contacted us. It often varied, though. Sometimes we would get practically every one we applied for, and other times we would apply for many and never even hear back.

Did you ever have any unusual pets to take care of or responsibilities that were out of the norm?

At one of our sits, we had 38 hens that lived in a field that required a bit of a walk to get to, and at that same home, they had one injured hen who lived in the house like a family member.

What was your favorite housesitting experience to date and why?

It would be tough to pick a favorite really. One that stood out was home on an island in Washington state in the US. It was just gorgeous and peaceful. The home was next to the bay so you had that beautiful view. The dog and cat were absolute delights. Usually twice a day a bald eagle would come to sit in the trees above the home. So peaceful. My daughter’s favorite was the time we were in a bungalow on the beach in Thailand and had 5 cats to care for.

Have you had any funny housesitting experiences?

One of the Thailand cats was extremely vocal. When we would be coming back to the home after shopping or something, you could hear it howling all the way from the street. In England, we once had an African grey parrot. It’s cage was in the large kitchen. One morning I walked in and heard the homeowner’s voice greeting me. She had his tone and accent down perfectly so it startled me until I realized it was the bird.

Tips for Others Wanting to get started?

If you’re serious about a specific area, especially the UK, you’ll want to check the site multiple times a day. Some of the sits get over 100 applications, so if you aren’t one of the first few you will likely not even get a response. Also, it doesn’t hurt to do a Zoom interview with them and ask them to show you around the home. Sometimes the photos do not match the current circumstance. We had a home in NZ which was rather disgusting when we showed up.

Where to next (when you can)?

No sits most likely since our lifestyle has changed. Now when we travel, it’s a vacation for me, and I want all of my time available to do whatever I want. We’re heading to New Orleans soon and hoping to return to Mexico in the autumn.

If you would like to see what Talon is currently up to, check out his blog