Kevin and Val are in their mid/late 60's. Val is originally from Vancouver, Canada and Kevin is a New Zealander. Whilst we have spent time living in Canada We have lived most of our lives in Auckland, New Zealand. But we travel regularly to Canada and on to other destinantions, usually for house sitting.
When we are away we usually have people mind our home so this gives us an appreciation of the concerns of having a stranger living in your property. As well as this we have owned rental properties and this adds to our appreciation of the requirements of looking after someone elses property.
For us, travel is not about tourist destinations. Although this can be a nice thing to do it does not give you an insight to the lives people live and the culture and customs of a country. Our best travel experiences have been spending time in a destination and soaking up daily life. This is why house sitting appeals to us.
We are used to looking after pets and have had cats, dogs, Rabbits, chickens and Goldfish at various times in our lives.
We have been fortunate to have many travel experiences: Canada, USA, Australia, Bali, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan and Europe. We really enjoy and appreciate coming into contact with people and cultures of other countries.
In 2009 we did a house swap with friends in France (Albertville in the Rhône-Alpes.) It is from that experience that our desire to house sit has been sparked.
To us house sitting is of equal mutual benefit to both parties. The sitter gets to live in and experience a different community and the owner gets the security of knowing their home is occupied and that their pets are well looked after while they are away.
In 2013 we spent over three months in Europe. We did house sitting in; - Cambridge (UK), - Loyat (Brittany) France, - Thones (Haut Savoie) France, - Berne Switzerland. - As well as staying and minding a friends house in Grozynan, in Northern Croatia. BAsed on the success of this, up until COVID, we continued house sitting expeditions. In 2015 we did more house sitting in Europe, in 2017 in Singapore and EUrope. All of these experiences far exceeded our expectations and have whetted our appetite for more of this type of experience.
We are extremely aware of the need to give confidence to home owners that their home and pets will be well taken care of. We regard house sitting and pet sitting as a privilege. Our thanks to you, for granting us this privilege is in the the way we look after your home and pets. We are responsible people who believe in treating people and their homes as we would expect ourselves and our home to be treated. Our promise to you is that we will treat your property, home and pets with the utmost respect and care.
As the world learns to adjust and to live with COVID and its variants we look forward to more house sitting. We are fully vaccinated and will continue to stay up to date in this regard.