My Two Cents
Personal-finance columnist Charlotte Cowles asks the nosy, revealing, sometimes uncomfortable questions about money so you don’t have to.
Photo-Illustration: by The Cut; Photos: Getty Images
Alanna Parrish, 33, quit her corporate job three years ago to travel the world, living off her savings to do so. When her money ran low, she started exploring ways to travel more affordably, house-sitting and pet-sitting in exchange for a place to stay. That led her to New York, where she’s lived rent-free for the past seven months, often getting paid to care for people’s homes and pets while they’re on vacation. Recently, she got a remote corporate job, but she still isn’t interested in settling down anywhere. Here, she talks about the logistics of moving so often, the downsides to a nomadic life, and how much she makes during the holiday season.
What were you doing before you became a full-time house sitter?
From 2014 to 2021, I worked in real estate for a company based in San Francisco, and I lived in the East Bay. A combination of the pandemic and not being able to go anywhere or do anything — that made me really want to travel. I had about $65,000 in savings, so in 2022, I quit my job and figured I’d see how long I could live off of it. I didn’t really have a set plan.
My money went much further than I thought it would. It’s a lot cheaper to travel in Asia and Europe than it is to live in California. My sister came with me for the first part of the trip, and we rented a flat in Florence, Italy, for two months. Then I did the same thing in Croatia.
Do you have a home base? Where did you keep your stuff during that time?
My family lives in California, and I have some things stored at my parents’ house. It’s not much, though. I’m a minimalist at this point. It’s just some clothes, some personal items, and some kitchenware from my last place. Every time I go back, I get rid of more stuff. I’m like, Oh, I didn’t remember that I had that; I have no need for it.
During the first two years of travel, I was back and forth a fair amount. I’d come home for a little bit, and then I’d be ready for another trip. The longer I traveled, the more I wanted to travel. Then I got to the point where I had spent about $40,000 of my savings and I wanted to make some of it back. I also wanted to look into other ways to travel affordably and make my money last. That’s when I started looking into house-sitting and pet-sitting.
How did you get started? I imagine that you need references and people to vouch for you.
I signed up for Rover and started doing local pet-sits while I was home in California, just to make some extra money. At the same time, I started looking into house-sitting via Facebook groups, and I realized there’s a huge demand, especially abroad. Europeans tend to take really long trips; they have more vacation time than we do here. So I would see posts about people traveling for weeks at a time, and they were looking for house sitters. Almost all of it was unpaid, because you’re doing an exchange — you get a place to stay for free, and they get someone to water their plants and take care of their home. So it’s different from Rover, where someone is reaching out to you specifically for pet-sitting services and they’re willing to pay you.
The very first house-sit I did was in Helsinki, Finland, through a Facebook group that I joined. A girl posted that she was leaving her flat for three weeks to travel, and she was looking for someone to stay there. I was back home in California at the time, and I was like, Oh, I’ve heard good things about Helsinki. Let me just send her a message, see if she replies. And she did. We FaceTimed twice. She had done this a few times in the past, which was good because it was new to me, so I took her lead. I sent her all my travel information once I booked my flight, and then I met up with her for the key handoff when I got there. I stayed for a few weeks, and it was great. After that, I tried it a few more times, and everyone was so kind and generous and super welcoming. It’s almost like getting an Airbnb, except it’s free. If anything, it’s even better, because there’s a lot of mutual trust. You’re getting to know the person who lives there; it’s not just about picking up the key from a lockbox.
How do you get people to pay you to stay in their homes?
When I’m getting paid, it’s usually to pet-sit. People reach out to me for my services during certain dates. So when that happens, if it’s a place I want to visit and stay, then I’ll talk to them and see if it will work. I’ve definitely gotten pickier the longer I’ve done it, because I have built up a reputation and have reviews and references. I’m on House Sitters America, Trusted House Sitters, Rover, and then I get clients through word of mouth as well.
The majority of my house-sits are just an exchange — they’re not paying me, but I’m getting a place to stay and watering their plants and looking after their home. Probably 20 percent of my stays are paid. And the majority of them are during holidays. That’s just the busier season.
How much do you charge?
Usually for overnight shifts, it’s $75 a night when there’s a pet. But I usually will do discounted sits for repeat clients who I want to keep, between $50 and $75 a night. And during the holidays, the rates are higher. Last year, I think I charged $75 to $125 a night for holidays. I already know I’m being underpaid for some of these; a lot of other pet-sitters charge more. But to me, I’m also getting value out of staying at these people’s homes. I get paid through Venmo or Zelle, just to keep it simple.
How are you doing now, financially?
Pretty well. I made a goal to replenish my savings and get it back up to the $65,000 I started with, and I managed to do it. So that feels good. I’ve always been good with my money and careful with savings. I also have a Roth account, which I started in my previous job and try to contribute to every year. Now that I’ve mostly been in New York and not flying around, my travel expenses are really low. Otherwise, it’s mostly just groceries, eating out. My phone bill. Just normal day-to-day stuff. I have a travel health insurance called SafetyWing, but luckily I haven’t had to use it much. I can sustain myself pretty well.
A few months ago, I did get a full-time remote telehealth job. I don’t necessarily need it, and it took a while to find, but it’s cool to have. I got it partly because I wanted to make a little money, have some routine, and be a functioning member of society. There was also probably some pressure to live a little bit more traditionally. That said, I could see myself taking time off again. It’s nice to build up that financial security so that I can do either. I work West Coast hours, but I can work from anywhere, which allows me to keep house-sitting and moving around when I want to.
What brought you to New York?
About a year ago, I started traveling more within the U.S. because I was thinking about where I wanted to end up. So I wrote a list of cities that I thought that I would want to visit and potentially live in, places like Nashville, Austin, Boston, New York. Then I started lining up house-sits for these places.
I’ve been in New York since April. I recently did the math, and I think I’m on my 25th house-sit since I’ve been here. I’ve done a few short ones, maybe two days to fill in a gap, and then I’ve had a couple that have been a month long. I tend to be in Brooklyn a lot. I love Fort Greene and Greenpoint. I’d like to do more in Manhattan, but those are harder to find. I wanted to see how long I could be here, and so far, it’s worked out.
When you’re staying in someone’s apartment, do you ever look up how much it costs to rent or buy?
Sometimes I look it up, because whenever I tell my family that I’m staying in a new place, they always ask how much it costs to rent. I have stayed in some really nice apartments where I’m like, Why did someone let me in here? But I love it. I am super appreciative that people trust me. I can tell when people put thought and care into their home, and I want to respect it and take good care of it. One of the nicer places I’ve been to was in Nashville. It belonged to a touring musician. It was beautiful, and it was huge, like an estate, and I had the run of the land. But these places in New York and San Francisco are more just cool and charming. I love staying in brownstones.
Have you ever had people ask you to sign NDAs or be paranoid about privacy?
No, I have not. I also think a lot of super-wealthy or high-profile people who would want that kind of thing are probably not finding house sitters online. I’m trying to figure out how to crack into that market, but I think it’s probably more word of mouth. Or they have staff who manage their homes for them.
Have you ever had to deal with a freaky pet or weird house situation?
I really haven’t. I vet people really carefully. I don’t want to waste people’s time or have a bad experience. Anything that seems out of the norm or really particular is a red flag to me at this point. I can get a pretty good sense of the vibe over FaceTime. As for pets, I mostly just do cats. And if anyone has weird requests, I’m usually just like, Okay, maybe this isn’t the right fit for me. That said, I’ve dealt with some cats that I wouldn’t want to go back to. Not all cats are low-maintenance. Some people who pet-sit want to be out and about all day, doing stuff, but I spend time with the pets and make sure they aren’t lonely.
Do you ever worry about people leaving cameras in their homes?
Yes, people do have cameras in their homes sometimes. To my knowledge, everyone has always given me a heads-up. Like, “Hey, we have cameras. This is where they are. Feel free to unplug them to have your privacy.” Maybe there have been times when I didn’t know, and I didn’t think to ask, but I think usually people tell me.
It seems like a dream to live in New York without paying rent. What’s the catch? Are there downsides that people don’t think about?
The main thing is not having a home base, and I think a lot of people would probably be uncomfortable with that. It’s difficult to establish a routine when you’re moving a lot. I’m always trying to figure out a new grocery store, normal things like that. It does take a lot of planning, and I think it takes a certain type of person too. And it is work. I’m taking really good care of people’s homes and people’s pets. I have heard stories of house sitters who just want a free place to stay and kind of neglect the house and the pets and just do their own thing. And I don’t do that.
I’m a very clean person, and on a couple of occasions, especially when I first started, I would arrive and the home wasn’t as clean as I would want it to be. So there were a few times when I did deep cleans when I arrived. It was kind of a win-win, because it would make me feel more comfortable, and the clients would come home to a really clean house. But now that I’m more experienced, I make sure to vet that out. I let them know that I’m a clean person and I want to leave the space cleaner than I found it. I always do FaceTimes with people, and during the walkthrough, I can usually tell pretty quickly if someone is taking care of their space. I always ask for them to show me where the vacuum and cleaning supplies are. And plenty of clients will have a cleaning service come in before I’m there, or if I have a long stay, they’ll come in while I’m there too. That’s probably my No. 1 thing at this point — the mutual respect of keeping a clean space.
Do you ever miss having your own home?
No, I don’t. I’ve really enjoyed bouncing around. Every day is different — I get something to eat, try to get a workout in, do some housekeeping, explore a little bit, work, see friends if they’re around, but it all depends on where I am. It keeps my mind stimulated going to new places and being in new surroundings. I lived in my previous home for a long time, and it all kind of blurs together when you’re doing the same routine and staring at the same walls. Traveling slowed down time for me a little bit. But I get that not everyone wants to do that.
Is it hard to date or keep up with friends?
Sometimes. But I meet a lot of new people all the time. And I do date. My last relationship was here in New York, and it did end partially because of the instability of my life — I don’t think he was super comfortable with that. I am a very independent person. I’ve done a lot of solo travel, and sometimes it is really hard. Knowing a lot of people in New York has made it easier for me to stay here and be less lonely. I think it would be harder to do this full-time without having that sense of community. And I’m really close with my family. They’ve been super supportive of what I’m doing. My sister travels a lot, too.
When you’re staying in people’s homes, do you usually stay in their beds?
I’d say 90 percent of the time, I’m sleeping in their beds. The other 10 percent, they’ll have a bigger place and they’ll have a guest room for me to stay in. Sometimes it takes me a few nights to get settled. I bring earplugs and an eye mask.
What else do you pack?
I’m wearing the same clothes all the time, but most people have laundry either in their unit or down the street. I have a couple jackets, a pair of jeans. Sometimes I’ll buy something if I need it, but not very often. I’ve never been a big fashion person. If I’m not wearing something, I’m getting rid of it. I want to feel good in what I’m wearing, but I don’t like to spend money on clothes. I fit all of my belongings in a carry-on bag.
What happens if people cancel?
I think since I’ve been doing this, it’s maybe happened two or three times. People usually give me enough notice. I’ve only had one case that wasn’t handled well, when I was flying from Nashville to New York and going straight to my New York house, and the person canceled the night before. I got a hotel for the night and found another house the night after. But it doesn’t happen too often, and when it does, I usually have enough time to figure out a new plan.
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