On this article, I’ll be outlining the perfect methods to turn into a house-sitter in France. Alongside my husband, Rob, I’ve been touring the world repeatedly for 2 years. I recurrently use home and pet-sitting websites to improve our experiences and preserve our lodging prices down.

There are a number of glorious web sites obtainable for home and pet-sitting. Understanding the perfect ones and the way to use them effectively will provide help to safe house-sitting jobs in France and the remainder of the world. I’ll be outlining all my experiences, good and unhealthy, in this text.

I’ve accomplished over thirty housesits; starting from taking care of a small ranch in Tucson, Arizona, to caring for beach-loving canines in Santa Theresa, Costa Rica. I house-sat and pet-sat three completely different instances in France over 2 and a half months. This included taking care of 2 lovely canines, 2 cute cats, and a menagerie of birds, simply exterior of Toulouse, France.

Since I began home and pet-sitting, I’ve not solely obtained free lodging worldwide, however I’ve realized a lot and have some good ideas to cross on. Home sitting is a good way to meet new individuals and uncover completely different elements of a nation that you just may not in any other case get to see. Let’s get began.

How to Become a Home Sitter in France

There are a number of nice web sites obtainable for any burgeoning home and pet sitters. Discovering the suitable one for you is the primary essential step to take. Totally different websites have completely different execs and cons, so learn on to discover out extra.

1. Trusted Housesitters

Trustedhousesitters.com is my go-to web site and the one I’ve used greater than some other. Their app and website-based platforms are simple to use and there’s all the time a ton of listings obtainable. I simply checked, and presently, there are 6,530 listings accepting purposes for housesits all over the world…a lot of that are luxurious home sitting gigs.

My favourite side of Trusted Housesitters is the flexibility to save your searches. For instance, once I was in search of choices in France, I set my dates, my location (nation or metropolis/space), and different search standards. In the event you don’t get any hits instantly, it can save you a search and be alerted when one suits the invoice.

Fundamental yearly membership begins at $95 and permits for limitless purposes and housesits. Greater-tier memberships embrace completely different advantages resembling insurance coverage, vet chats, premium customer support, and a search and alert perform. The highest membership is $190 a yr. Goats On The Street readers obtain 20% off utilizing this hyperlink and promo code GOATS20.

2. Home Carers

Housecarers.com is an easy-to-use website-only home and pet-sitting web site. Though the variety of listings can’t compete with Trusted Housesitters, it’s a nice concept to preserve your choices open and to construct your profile. Most individuals itemizing their property solely use one web site, so the suitable posting for you can be ready on one other platform.

Housecarers.com doesn’t but have an app facility, so you may have to head to the webpage to preserve up to the mark. Members obtain e-mail notifications and alerts for attainable housesits and when speaking with a host. The performance of the searches is nice and will be well-tailored to go well with varied preferences, areas, dates, pets, and so forth.

Housecarers.com is an reasonably priced introduction to the world of housesitting. They’ve a free membership that permits you to peruse all their listings in full. To use, you’ll want to turn into a fully-fledged paying member which at round $50/yr is a nice deal.

In the event you’re pondering of turning into a house-sitter in France, Housecarers.com is likely to be a good place to begin to get a really feel of what a housesitting web site affords and the way it all works.

☞ SEE ALSO: How to Put together For Your Home and Pet Sitting Job

3. Workaway

Workaway.data is probably higher often known as a volunteer/cultural alternate web site than it’s for housesitting, nevertheless it shouldn’t be ignored. I’ve used it to discover placements everywhere in the world the place meals and lodging are exchanged for 4-5 hours of labor a day. Nevertheless, it has since turn into a worthwhile software of mine for home and pet sitting.

One in every of their primary search choices is house-sitting and at a fast look, there are over 500 listings searching for sitters all over the world, together with many individuals in search of a house-sitter in France. Their web site and app are simple to use, listings are all the time properly introduced with loads of particulars, and communication with hosts is often fairly environment friendly.

Membership prices round $50/yr or $30pp/yr when a couple indicators up with a joint membership. I’ve made some terrific connections, long-term mates, and international contacts through Workaway. I extremely advocate it as a string to your house-sitting bow. See Additionally:

4. Thoughts My Home

Mindmyhouse.com is without doubt one of the longest-serving on-line platforms for house-sitting. It started in 2005 and has a terrific open ethos that advantages everybody concerned. They’re additionally one of many most cost-effective round at simply $29/yr.

I like Thoughts My Home for the close-knit really feel of the corporate. If in case you have a problem, you’ll seemingly converse immediately to one of many homeowners of the corporate. They play an lively position in the day-to-day. The ‘About Our Members’ part of their web site is a nice characteristic. It exhibits what number of hosts and sitters are presently lively and the place they’re. Proper now, customers are at round 12,500 individuals.

In my view, Thoughts My Home may simply be the suitable choice to get you began when you’re missing a little confidence in embarking on your own home and pet-sitting profession in France.

5. Nomador

Nomador.com is a nice web site when you’re wanting to turn into a pet sitter or home sitter in France. Though they do have listings all over the world, there are a ton in Europe. Their web site may be very comparable to Trusted Housesitters, priced equally, and equally as simple to use.

An amazing membership choice with Nomador is their 3-month short-term primary bundle. It permits new customers to dip their toes in and see if the housesitting recreation is for them. Added advantages resembling insurance coverage, premium customer support, and early entry to new listings include greater membership costs. The highest-end bundle is round $190/yr.

Regardless of not having an app, Nomador is a nice choice for newcomers to home and pet sitting. See Additionally: Questions to Ask a House and Pet Proprietor Earlier than Accepting a Job

Private Expertise Housesitting in France

My husband and I pet-sat in France for simply over two months. It was wonderful! Even in mid-November, it’s heat sufficient to drink a beer exterior in the south of the nation. Whether or not you’re in a small city out in the countryside or one of many massive cities, it’s such a stunning vacation spot with one thing for everybody.

Home-sits in France usually embrace a pet, or pets, to take care of. In rural areas, a component of gardening and watering often comes into the equation too. Simply housesitting listings (no pets) do come up, however for probably the most half, a pet or pets are sometimes all the time a part of the discount. Every time I’ve been a house-sitter in France, the hosts have included a automotive too (extra on this later).

I taken care of 2 stunning largely outside cats in Bergerac, the place my largest job was sustaining the swimming pool! Then I moved additional north to Limoges and took care of a pleasant little Jack Russel terrier known as Alfie. My remaining cease was simply exterior Toulouse, in the tiny however beautiful village of Cologne – 2 cats, 2 canines, and let me depend… 23 birds!

☞ SEE ALSO: 15 Execs and Cons of Home and Pet Sitting

Finest Areas to Home Sit in France

As I’m initially from the UK, I’ve visited France many instances in the previous. There are many nice areas to go to from small cities in the countryside to large cities. Listed here are a few of my prime locations to take into account house-sitting in France:

1. Paris

Probably the most iconic, and maybe the obvious, place to take pleasure in house-sitting in France is the French capital, Paris. It’s a really great metropolis filled with artwork and tradition that bubbles with life and environment — there are countless issues to see and do in Paris. World-class eating places, cool bars, and cafes that set the usual for espresso tradition worldwide are round each nook.

Home-sitting in a massive metropolis like Paris will imply extra of an city setting and the expertise will likely be akin to a metropolis break somewhat than a rural retreat. Smaller metropolis homes and flats appear to dominate lots of the listings I see on the housesitting websites for Paris. This after all comes with the additional advantage of getting on a regular basis facilities in your doorstep.

I haven’t but been to Paris for a housesit, however have visited many instances for brief weekend breaks. It could be a tremendous place to base your self as a house-sitter in France.

Location: Paris is positioned in direction of the North of France, round 2.5 hours from the coast and three hours from neighboring Belgium. Discover it right here.

2. Bergerac

My first expertise as a house-sitter in France was really in Bergerac and it’s the right place to kick issues off. The gorgeous and historic city dates again to the Center Ages and has many well-preserved medieval buildings. It sits on the gorgeous Dordogne River and is a fashionable vacation spot for vacationers.

An amazing profit to house-sitting in Bergerac is that a lot of individuals converse English. That is due to the quantity of British vacationers and expats that dwell in the area. I ordered a spherical of drinks in my finest unhealthy French, and the waitress responded in a thick London accent, “Lets discuss in English as an alternative?”.

There are a great deal of cute cities located close by resembling Pereguex and Riberac, and Bordeaux is simply over an hour away. Good transport hyperlinks make getting out and about simple. It’s often fairly low cost too. I used BlaBlaCar a number of instances, which is a nice ride-sharing app unique to Europe and really low cost.

Location: Bergerac is positioned in direction of the southeast of France, round an hour east of Bordeaux and 6 hours south of Paris. Discover it right here on the map.

3. Toulouse

I house-sat and pet-sat simply exterior Toulouse for about a month. My location was fairly a small city simply exterior of town nevertheless it was very easy to get to central Toulouse. Fortunately, the hosts left their automotive behind to be used throughout our keep. There’s an specific prepare into Toulouse that I traveled on a lot, which at sure instances of the day prices round $1.

Toulouse is named ‘The Pink Metropolis’. That is due to the variety of terracotta brick buildings that give it a heat and rosy glow. The Canal du Midi, a UNESCO World Heritage Website, runs via Toulouse, with many nice spots for leisurely strolls, boat rides, or just enjoyable.

Toulouse has a bustling vibe, with energetic markets, cafes, and a thriving restaurant and nightlife scene. A visit to the Convent des Jacobins is a tremendous expertise. Drinks beside the Garonne River and Pont Neuf are additionally a should. Home-sitting in this area can be very best for anybody searching for quiet retreats on the outskirts, barely exterior of a extra fast-paced metropolis expertise.

Location: Toulouse is positioned in the southern a part of France, round 105 miles (170 km) from the border of Andorra and 155 miles (250 km) from Spain. Paris is round 420 miles (678 km) to the north.

4. Montpellier

Montpellier was the primary metropolis I visited in France and it affords a distinctive expertise for anybody contemplating turning into a house-sitter in France. One in every of my favourite issues about being a short-term native isn’t just visiting however really dwelling someplace. Think about waking up in a centuries-old residence with slim medieval streets simply exterior the doorstep – that’s Montpellier!

An amazing perk of housesitting in Montpellier is indulging in the numerous culinary treats. Recent produce is offered day by day at native markets and there are a number of excellent eating places and cafes everywhere in the metropolis. Montpellier can be identified for its energetic environment due in half to it being residence to one among Europe’s oldest universities.

Past town, housesitting in the Montpellier space might even embrace seashore stays alongside the Mediterranean coast or extra rural properties surrounded by the pure fantastic thing about the area. Situating your self right here would provide the freedom to discover the seashores, spend time in nature, and embrace a vibrant metropolis as a house-sitter in France.

Location: Montpellier is positioned on the Mediterranean coast in the south of France. It’s round 2.5 hours east of Toulouse, 3.5 hours west of Good, and 280 miles (450 km) to the Italian border. Click on right here to discover Montpellier on the map.

5. Limoges

Limoges was a new metropolis for me. I knew it was a fairly centrally positioned, massive metropolis, with a college, and that it had good direct prepare hyperlinks to my subsequent already-confirmed placement in Toulouse.

I’m glad I opted to go to Limoges. It’s a metropolis steeped in historical past and it exudes an old-world attraction, with its cobblestone streets and half-timbered homes. Though my house-sit was a pretty trendy house, house-sitting alternatives right here might be for centuries-old properties. What an expertise that will be!

There are some nice museums, a magnificent cathedral, and a few fascinating historic websites that may delight fellow historical past buffs like me. As a college city, there are many cool bars and nice locations to eat to go well with each funds, and there’s all the time tons occurring. My husband and I spent his birthday in Limoges and it was a nice day of meals, drink, and cultural sightseeing.

Location: Limoges is positioned pretty centrally in France, edging in direction of the south. It’s round Four hours south of Paris and three hours north of Toulouse. Discover it right here on the map.

Is France Secure?

I discovered France to be a protected place to go to, and it’s thought-about a protected vacation spot for vacationers. Like several nation, it’s essential to stay vigilant, particularly in crowded vacationer areas the place petty theft can happen. Train widespread sense, resembling keeping track of private belongings and staying conscious of your environment.

French authorities take safety significantly, and main vacationer websites are sometimes well-monitored. As a house-sitter in France, do your finest to keep knowledgeable about any advisory warnings, and in case of any emergency, dial 112 the European emergency quantity. Having an insurance coverage coverage to cowl issues resembling private harm, lack of belongings, and theft is all the time extremely advisable.

If it’s your first time as a house-sitter in France and you propose to drive, it’s all the time a good concept to familiarize your self with native driving laws forward of time. Don’t be taught issues the onerous means, particularly when you’re renting a automotive or utilizing the homeowners’ automobile. Even skilled drivers will profit from a fast read-through of one other nation’s driving customs.

Execs and Cons of Being a Home Sitter in France

There are execs and cons to staying anyplace. Listed here are a few of the important thing factors which have cropped up throughout my time as a house-sitter in France:

Execs of Dwelling in France

• High quality of Life: France persistently ranks excessive for high quality of life. It has a sturdy healthcare system, glorious public companies, and a good concentrate on work-life steadiness.
• Culinary Paradise: Famend for its gastronomy, France has a various and beautiful tradition with meals that’s deeply ingrained in its tradition and historical past. As a house-sitter in France, you’ll be spoilt for alternative!
• Public Transportation: Environment friendly and intensive public transportation networks make commuting and journey inside France handy and eco-friendly.
• Cultural Richness: France’s wealthy artwork, literature, and structure historical past is unparalleled.
• Scenic Landscapes: From the picturesque countryside to the gorgeous Mediterranean coast, France is residence to many breathtaking landscapes.
• Unimaginable Wine: France is well-known for making a number of the finest wine in the world. Good bottles of wine can be found in supermarkets for as little as $2.

Cons of Dwelling in France

• Paperwork: France is understood for bureaucratic processes that may usually be complicated and time-consuming.
• Language Barrier: The language barrier will be difficult for a house-sitter in France who isn’t fluent in French. Although many French individuals converse English, many additionally don’t.
• Strikes and Protests: France has a historical past of strikes and protests, which might often disrupt public companies and transportation.
• Value of Dwelling: The price of dwelling in sure areas, particularly in main cities like Paris, will be comparatively excessive in contrast to different international locations.
• Climate Variability: Whereas France usually has a nice local weather, climate circumstances can differ, and a few areas expertise excessive temperatures and climate occasions.
• Significantly Rural Areas: In the event you like having facilities in your doorstep 24/7, a few of France’s extra rural areas is probably not for you as they lack on a regular basis conveniences. Many small cities and villages require a drive into greater cities for companies.
• Weekend Hunters: Looking with weapons or packs of canines is a fashionable pastime in many areas of France particularly on weekends. In the event you’re pet-sitting or planning to turn into a house-sitter in France take further precautions and search recommendation out of your hosts about the place to go and when.

Ideas for Home Sitting in France

With a lot to take into account earlier than taking up a itemizing, I’ve put collectively a few of my prime ideas for house-sitting in France:

• Know your location: France has some very rural areas and housesits could also be means out in the countryside unsupported by public transportation. Be absolutely conscious of the precise space you’re heading to and the way simple it’s to get to grocery shops, cafes, and so forth.
• Ask about a automotive: If the individuals you’re housesitting for are leaving the nation they might be leaving their automotive behind. Generally, the insurance coverage in France covers anybody with a legitimate license to drive a correctly insured automobile – good for a house-sitter in France!
• Study the market schedule: Weekly markets are nonetheless a highly regarded factor in France, it’s how a lot of locals get most of their produce. You’ll discover every little thing from garments and quick meals to contemporary and reasonably priced groceries at a city market.
• Carry some money: Most locations, even the markets, settle for card funds however not all. In the event you’re staying exterior of a massive metropolis discovering a cashpoint that doesn’t cost a hefty charge will be a actual ache. Seize a cheap money float when you possibly can.
• Put together for spotty WiFi: Most hosts will likely be clear and upfront in regards to the WiFi state of affairs. We’ve had a few connection points in rural France so I like to recommend having a pay-as-you-go SIM for knowledge as a backup.
• Plan your procuring: Many supermarkets, even the actually massive ones will shut round midday on Sundays. So plan your procuring accordingly.
• Put together to make fires: I discovered that many rural homes in France have been heated virtually solely by a hearth. Hosts ought to all the time go away you ample provides of wooden and present you ways to function them, however constructing good fires is a necessity out in the French countryside.

Home Sitting in France: FAQs

Listed here are some solutions to probably the most generally requested questions on house-sitting in France:

In Conclusion

I hope this text has helped with some concepts on how to turn into a housesitter in France. It truly is a great nation and one which I really feel everybody ought to expertise in some unspecified time in the future in their lives.

Home and pet sitting offers a tremendous alternative to journey extra cost-effectively. For me, it additionally heightens the expertise of each journey. I’ve made some lifelong mates alongside the best way, with each the individuals I’ve sat for and their mates and neighbors.

I rave about home and pet-sitting to anybody who will hear. It’s one thing that’s modified my life and has opened up so many home windows of alternative for journey that I by no means thought attainable.

Good luck!