Hey! My name's Mike. I'm a year-old, college educated, American who never wanted to settle into the machine. So, I've been traveling whenever possible since I was in university and I have been house sitting since I was in high school, both as a paid deal and for free. Now I hope to combine two things I enjoy and house sit while traveling. I am an avid gardener and love pets. I always enjoyed having cats growing up, but getting to take care of other's dogs has been a great experience and is always more fun. I've traveled in Asia and throughout Central and South America, and am confident in unknown situations I want to house sit because I travel a lot and would like to find places to stop and enjoy without the commotion of a hostel or the price of a hotel. I write and work online, so having a calm home base to do my work is important to me. I also enjoy living in new places, and getting to share someone else's lifestyle. I think that house sitting is a great way to return to an older style of traveling, when people were not as detached from the places they visited. For me, the opportunity to live in a location instead of just pass through it is the only way to experience it. That is what house sitting gives me, and I hope I can bring half as much to the places I get to live.
I am industrious and adapt well to different surroundings. When home, I maintain a acre property with two gardens and an old ranch house. So, I am experienced with light construction, general maintenance, gardening, yard work, and the requirements of keeping up a property and home. I have owned cats, and have dog-sat and house sat since I was in high school. I can't say that things have always gone smoothly during my pet sitting experience, chickens have refused to return to the coop, dogs have raced off after deer and turkeys, and my one snake sit involved a very finicky eater, but shortly into all of my house sitting experiences the pets are happy and we're getting along great. Though misfortune could strike at any second, up to now I've driven for over years without any accidents or major incidents, and only one ticket. Pretty good for being a guy in his late s! I've also driven a host of different cars, as I'm often happy to sober drive for friends or drive for any group I'm with. All this is to say, while there are no guarantees in life, I have a good driving record and will take great care of your vehicle. I should mention as well, that I have had my motorcycle license for all of those years driving. I also have experience around boats, ATVs, dirt bikes, and even a couple tractors as a child.. Basically if it has an engine, I'd be happy to drive it. I'm also comfortable around horses, so if it doesn't have an engine I can ride too. I spent several years as a youth riding horses and taking part in doing the stable chores. One thing I haven't managed to add to my info yet is the police check. I don't know if these are easy to get in other places, but in my small home town the officer working gave me a slightly puzzled look then said, "House sitting? Huh. Well, I know what you're talking about but we don't have that here. You'd have to go to the FBI or something for that." That said, it would be clean. Aside from that one speeding ticket. So ya, no major criminal activity has been squeezed in between school and travel, and your property will be very safe.