The promise vs. the reality
“Work from anywhere” sounds perfect for housesitting. Free accommodation, home comforts, stable WiFi. In theory, it's digital nomad infrastructure. In practice, it's more complicated.
Housesitting forums are full of remote workers who've learned the hard way: not every sit is compatible with actual work. Some are perfect. Others will destroy your productivity.
The uncomfortable truth: Homeowners aren't providing you a workspace. They're getting pet care. Your work needs are secondary – and some sits will make that painfully clear.
The WiFi disaster
“Good WiFi” in a listing means different things to different people. To a retiree checking email, 5 Mbps is fine. To you, trying to join a video call with a client, it's a career risk.
What sitters report
- “The WiFi dies every afternoon”
Rural properties often have satellite internet that throttles during peak hours. Or the router overheats. Or the homeowner's “unlimited” plan has a fair usage cap.
- “Fast enough for streaming, not for Zoom”
Download speed isn't upload speed. You can watch Netflix perfectly and still have your video call freeze every 30 seconds.
- “Lovely cottage, no signal”
Remote locations often mean no mobile data backup. When the WiFi fails, you're genuinely offline.
What to actually ask
Before accepting any sit where you need to work:
- “What's your actual internet speed?” (Ask them to run speedtest.net)
- “Is there mobile signal as backup?”
- “Does it ever drop out?” (Honest homeowners will tell you)
- “Where's the nearest café or library?” (Backup plan)
- “Is there a proper desk or workspace?” (Kitchen tables get old fast)
- “Is the workspace in a heated area?” (Winter sits in that beautiful but freezing conservatory will kill your productivity)
The schedule collision
Here's where housesitting and remote work genuinely clash: pet schedules don't care about your meeting calendar.
The incompatible sits
- Dogs who can't be left
Separation anxiety means you can't pop to a café when the WiFi dies. And working from home with an anxious dog is an exercise in constant interruption.
- Four-walk-a-day expectations
“Buddy needs walking at 8am, 12pm, 3pm, and 6pm.” You've just lost half your workday to non-negotiable commitments.
- Time zone nightmares
Housesitting in Portugal while working US hours means your client calls are at 10pm – exactly when most pets are demanding dinner or walks.
One sitter described it perfectly: “I'm on a call with a client, the dog is staring at me because it's walk time, and I'm watching my professional reputation die in real-time.”
The question to ask yourself
Before accepting any sit: can you do every pet task the homeowner expects AND meet your work obligations? If the answer is “probably” or “I'll figure it out” – you're setting yourself up for a stressful month.
What actually works
Not all sits are incompatible with remote work. Some are perfect. Here's what experienced digital nomad sitters look for:
Good signs
- • Cats or low-maintenance pets
- • Dogs who can be left 4+ hours
- • Urban or suburban location
- • Fibre internet (ask specifically)
- • Dedicated workspace area
- • Homeowner who mentions “we work from home”
Red flags
- • “Can't be left alone”
- • Rural/remote location
- • Extensive daily routines
- • Multiple pets with different schedules
- • Elderly or unwell animals needing monitoring
- • “Needs constant company”
The best digital nomad sits aren't the most scenic – they're the ones where your work needs and pet care duties don't compete for the same hours.
The financial reality
Yes, housesitting can save money. But the savings are rarely as clean as “accommodation cost = zero.”
What experienced nomad sitters actually spend
Still cheaper than rent in most cities. But “free” it isn't. And if you factor in productivity loss from bad sits, the maths can flip entirely.
The loneliness nobody Instagrams
Here's what digital nomad housesitters don't post about: the isolation. You're in someone else's home, in someone else's neighbourhood, often in a country where you don't speak the language.
From the forums:
“Three weeks into a rural French sit, I realised I hadn't spoken to another human in person for 10 days. The cat was great company. But I started talking to myself.”
“The sit was perfect on paper. Beautiful house, easy dog, great WiFi. But I was so lonely by week two that I almost left early.”
Regular housesitters go home between sits. Full-time digital nomad sitters don't have that. It's worth being honest about whether that suits your temperament.
Making it work
This isn't meant to discourage you. Plenty of remote workers make housesitting work brilliantly. The key is being realistic and selective.
What successful digital nomad sitters do
- Turn down beautiful sits that would destroy productivity
- Ask detailed WiFi questions before accepting (embarrassingly detailed)
- Keep a portable WiFi device as backup
- Build buffer days between sits for catch-up work
- Prioritise repeat sits where they know the setup works
- Accept that some months will have more gaps (and budget for it)
- Maintain social connections deliberately, not accidentally
The honest bottom line
Housesitting can be incredible infrastructure for remote work. But it requires being ruthlessly selective about which sits you accept.
The picturesque farmhouse with the adorable but anxious dog and the satellite internet? That's a holiday, not a workspace. Take it between contracts, not during them.
The practical apartment with the independent cat and fibre broadband? That's where you can actually get work done. It just won't look as good on Instagram.
For broader lifestyle considerations beyond remote work, see our Full-Time Housesitting Lifestyle guide.
Getting started
New to housesitting? Build experience on TrustedHousesitters, HouseSitMatch, or Nomador. Start with shorter sits where a WiFi disaster is recoverable.
Already experienced? If you've got 20+ reviews and you've figured out how to make remote work and housesitting coexist, apply to join us.