The Housesitter

The housesitter - travelling light

words: Pattie Pegler images: Supplied

The saying goes that a change is as good as a rest and for Cantabrian Dee (Devika) Bigelow, it was yearning for a little time away that initially got her thinking about house-sitting. Her children had left home and had their own holiday arrangements – and she was paying a mortgage on a house that was mostly empty. So she started to think about what she would like to do.

“I researched housesitting companies online and watched for a Christmas house sit in an area where I wanted to spend my three weeks off,” she explains.

And soon she spotted something – a cavoodle called Ralph who needed looking after while his owners headed away for Christmas. The house was at the bottom of the Rapaki Track in Hillsborough and for Dee, who wanted to increase her fitness and get moving – it was perfect. She loved looking after Ralph and getting out walking in the hills.

She hasn’t looked back. For a while she did house sits through an online company, on long weekends and for short spells. Then gradually she started to get house sits through colleagues and friends and word-of-mouth – and for longer periods.

There were some downsides in the early days.

“I didn't sleep well in different beds and heard noises all the time,” she says. “And I missed having my personal things around me, photos and things. But that has got easier with time as I learn to live with less. You don’ t actually need much I have found.”

Eighteen months and over 30 house sits later and Dee is loving the lifestyle. So much so, that in Easter this year she decided to become a full-time house sitter. Now, on the rare occasions she’s between house sits, she stays and pays at a friend’s house. She doesn’t charge for house-sitting and she has a ‘day’ job. But she does save a lot of money on outgoings - from rent to electricity and all those other house expenses.

And there are lots of other benefits says Dee. She gets to try out different homes, different neighbourhoods, different appliances. She meets and cares for lots of different pets. Sometimes she gets to use the swimming pool or the spa or the big screen TV. Sometimes house owners will encourage her to use the food in the freezer or grab some fresh produce from the veggie garden. She’s looked after cats and dogs and even hens.

Now with an overseas break in mind, she is looking at international house-sitting through a company. It offers a degree of security when neither party knows each other, plus they also carry liability insurance and can offer guidance and support – all probably good to have if heading overseas.

But for now she’s happy to house sit more locally. When I get in touch to ask her a couple of questions she’s off to meet three dogs she is going to be looking after for five weeks on her next house sit.

“It is a new and interesting way of life,” she say