Meet Amy from @amykhornsby – a full-time house sitter, freelance writer, and slow travel advocate. We recently caught up with Amy to learn all about her adventures on the road with her partner Jordan.
From caring for a chatty cat who tagged along on hikes in the Swiss Alps, to dealing with a surprise bee invasion in Bath, Amy’s house-sitting journey has taken her across Europe and North America—13 sits in total!
Read on to hear how she got started, her best tips for landing your first sit, and what life is really like as a digital nomad with a suitcase full of winter coats and hiking boots.
Tell Us A Little Bit About Yourself– Who Are You, Where Are You From, For, Do You Do It Full-Time Or Sporadically
I’m a freelance writer from the UK. I spent 15 months housesitting with my partner Jordan, who is American and teaches online. We housesat full time from January 2019 to March 2020, but then things changed, and we had to head home!
How Many Housesits Have You Had And Where?
We completed 13 house-sits across Europe and North America. We started in England and moved to France, Switzerland, Ireland, the US, and Canada.
How Every Digital Nomads Can Save Money (Without Paying Bills And Rent!)
There are thousands of opportunities to house sit in any country and live for free! If you’re wondering how YOU TO can travel for free, check out our guide on how to become a house sitter
Why Do You Housesit? What Is The Main Motivation?
We love animals, but we can’t have a pet while traveling quite a lot, so this is an excellent compromise as we get to do both. We also like to travel slowly to spend time working, having downtime, and seeing places at a slower pace over a more extended period ,rather than tiring ourselves out sightseeing all the time.
You get to know a place well when you do everyday things like food shopping, taking the bus, and chatting with neighbors.
How Did You Find Out About Housesitting?
I can’t remember, but it was probably in a travel article a few years ago. It’s been on my radar for a while, and I thought it sounded fantastic. It is!
Pros of House Sitting
Pets, meeting new people, traveling, seeing places you wouldn’t usually go to, slow travel, living in a home and not a hotel, working remotely, becoming adaptable to many situations, and learning things along the way.
Cons of House Sitting
It can feel like a house of cards sometimes. All it takes is for a house owner to come home early, and you realise your plans could fall apart quite easily. Sometimes, homeowners are not all that upfront about the house or the pets, but you get to learn the red flags. The biggest one for me is not being with my friends, and it can be not easy to meet people, so it was often just the two of us for long periods.
How Much Luggage Do You Travel With?
A lot! The maximum you can get on a plane is a large suitcase and two carry-ons. We traveled for over a year, and the seats were very varied, so we needed all that stuff. For example, we were in Switzerland over the summer and Quebec City over the winter, so we needed a range of clothing for that.
How Do You Decide on a Destination?
We try to travel sustainably and focus on slow travel, which means we spend a reasonably long time in each place or country and then try to move on to a nearby country to travel by land. With me being from England and Jordan from the US, tourist visa times are a big consideration, too, and we plan movement on allotted days in each place.
Was It Hard For You To Secure Your First Housesitting Gig? How Many Applications Did You Have To Send Before You Got Accepted For Your First Assignment?
Actually, no, we got our first two lined up pretty quickly. We made sure to bolster our online profile with lots of information and photos of us with animals. Before housesitting, we lived in Poland, where we regularly cared for two friends’ dogs.
At that time, I had housesitting in mind, so I asked the owners if they’d write a reference for us, which also went up on our profile. So, despite being new to housesitting, we had other experiences to mention.
What Was Your Favorite Housesitting Experience To Date And Why?
There are so many! We loved exploring the cities of Sheffield, Baltimore, Galway, and Quebec City. We had a character of a cat in Switzerland who chatted all the time, came on walks with us, drank only from the tap, and loved sticking his head inside his shoes.
In Bath, we looked after a small parakeet called Sunny, who was a lot of fun and would sit on our shoulders and try and steal our food. We stayed in an apartment near Lake Geneva and went swimming in it every day, and even stayed in a gorgeous 13th-century castle in France.
Have You Had Any Funny Housesitting Experiences?
At the very beginning of the Bath housesit, we had to deal with a hive of bees who decided to set up shop in the owners’ chimney. We were lucky to get a beekeeper out over Easter weekend, and when he turned up he had a beehive in a box in the back of his car, with a cloud of them flying around the outside. He had to come back another time when they returned a few weeks later – I don’t know what the neighbors thought.
Tips For Others Wanting To Get Started?
Join a site and spend time on your profile. We use Trusted Housesitters and Mind My House. Add photos with your pets, and fill in all the information. If you’ve ever cared for somebody’s pet, get them to write a reference.
When applying for a sit, don’t copy and paste a message; write it carefully, ask questions, and let them know you’ve read their post and can do a good job. Always do a video call before accepting the sit, and trust your gut if you have any bad feelings.
Where to Next?
It’s probably somewhere within Europe, most likely England. We’re also looking at workaway experiences to learn practical skills and experience interesting ways of life.
Want to Find Out More About Amy?
You can find her here, over at Instagram or see her Trusted Housesitters profile here.
Want to Read More Interviews With House Sitters?
If you enjoyed this interview and want to read more, you’re in luck. We have interviewed over 80 housesitters, including retired couples, digital nomads in their 20s, families of 5, couples who house-sit part-time, and much more.
You can see the interviews here.
Need Help Getting Started With House Sitting?
Have we got you excited about house-sitting? We love sharing house-sitting experiences and teaching others how to become house-sitters and start their journeys.
So, if you need help starting your house-sitting journey, see my resources here, and don’t hesitate to contact me and ask me any questions.
