My House Sitting Book Review
My Review of the House Sitting Book
As a dancer, writer and business traveler, I often look for affordable options for places to stay when I travel. So, whether you also travel for work or simply want to enjoy the benefits of being a retiree more economically, house sitting might be worth your investment of time and effort to save dollars for that next stay-cation, extended vacation or work holiday.
But in reality we're talking more free lodging or free room and board. It may involve pet sitting - the most common reason house sitters are wanted. Other times as the author talks about, it may involve helping out with chores related to farming or other duties.
Walk-Thru of House Sitting Book
The Author Josie and Her Husband
House Sitting Book
House Sitting Book
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Walk-Thru of House Sitting Book
Chapter 1 introduces you to the author Josie and her husband, Conrad.
Chapter 2 simply answers the question, "what is house sitting?"
Chapter 3 offers a great self-assessment tool of your readiness to house sit.
Chapter 4 provides a review of websites Housecarers.com and MindMyHouse.com. It also covers how to write your profile using her "P.A.S." process. There's even a case study for a stay in a Spanish mountain home. The author shows how she schedules on her wall chart, discusses how to draft a contract with the home owner.
Chapter 5 covers other before-you-go issues such as visa. Also, how to consider language and deal with phone issues.
There's a great section on travel hacking redeem miles or points for travel rewards, e.g. upgrades or tickets. Just the practical tip of paying a few extra dollars for earning miles in alliances for airlines you fly most often will save you money.
Chapter 6 discusses what happens after you arrive at your new home - getting settled in someone's home / handling animals, emergencies, and money concerns, even discussing that question "to work or not to work..?"
Chapter 7 has 3-step method to find lodging - it walks through the process of finding a place to stay between house sitting assignments.
What I Liked About This House Sitting Book?
So what you're asking yourself is "Why do I want to buy this guide?"
Josie provides a wealth of sound practical advice grounded in her own personal experience. She shares her own detailed stories with her husband Conrad.
Everything is spelled out - there are even web clippings for travel sites and showing her process for finding affordable housing between house sitting assignments.
Also, her detailed stories and practical advice for getting started in house sitting are priceless. This guide provides essential information to help anyone getting started with house sitting.
For example, the self-assessment section with a quiz to determine your house sitting quotient is great for figuring out "What kind of traveler are you?"
Once you're ready to get started her P.A.S. test - Professionalist, Awareness, Sensibility - is a great process for writing your profile to find house sitting assignments.
What I Didn't Like as Much
I found navigation to be a bit tricky - not sure whether it was because of the horizonal layout or sometimes topics felt a bit disjointed. But, overall, the conversation tone has a very natural flow.
Couple of small points would be that I felt Chapter 2 on "What is Housesitting?" wasn't necessary. In other words, it didn't need a separate chapter for only a few sentences. Also, more house sitting website reviews would be good in future editions of this guide. Only two are reviewed - Housecarers.com and MindMyHouse.com
Brief Conclusion, Summarizing My Opinion of House Sitting Book
With all the priceless tips and strategies this book is well worth the purchase price just in terms of the savings from finding lodging on your first house sitting assignment. Never mind the advice on travel hacking and what you will save in air fare.