Australian couple notch up 134th global house-sitting gig using agencies such as Trusted Housesitters and HouseSit Match
Nine years ago, the couple took early retirement and leased out their house in Somerville, south-east of Melbourne. They sold most of their possessions to travel the world by staying, for free, in other people’s homes.
Their next home might be a Paris apartment, or a house with stunning views on a Greek island.
New York story: Jacqueline Lamb on the balcony of a Manhattan apartment.Credit: Glenn Lamb
Glenn estimates their three-week stay in one of their favourite places, a three-bedroom apartment on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York, would have cost $AU18,000, had they had to pay.
Instead, they stayed there for free, in exchange for walking a Weimaraner dog in Central Park, two blocks away.
There were social events for residents on the roof garden. “It was amazing,” Glenn says of that gig.
At a hobby farm in Hampshire, England, the couple played farmers, looking after a pig named Gwendolyn, three dogs and guinea fowl.
Temporary farmer: Jacqueline Lamb with two lambs at a hobby farm in Hampshire, England.Credit: Glenn Lamb
The Lambs also bottle-fed two lambs, who would run towards them, bleating. “It was just adorable,” Jacqueline said.
In a Brisbane house, they looked after a python for a week, but were relieved to learn that it had been fed well, and that they just had to check, once a day, that it was still in its tank.
The Lambs find house-sits by using agencies such as TrustedHousesitters and Housesit Match. They plan only months ahead, so they’re available for last-minute listings, like the coveted Manhattan one.
Glenn says: “It’s actually quite exciting, that we don’t know where we’re going to be or end up in a couple of months, and it usually pans out to be something really cool.”
How’s that? The view from an apartment where the Lambs house-sat in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.Credit: Glenn Lamb
Their 33-year-old son lives in the Netherlands and sometimes travels with his parents to places, like Iceland for example, between their house-sits.
They return to Australia about every 18 months to catch up with relatives and friends.
When they do stop house-sitting, they will live in a recently bought apartment in Maroochydore on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. But they have no house-sitting end date. Rental income from their Somerville and Maroochydore properties and their superannuation funds their travel and other costs, such as food, between house-sits.
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Jacqueline says they have no medical issues, “so that’s allowing us to continue doing what we’re doing”.
Angela Laws, head of community at TrustedHousesitters says its number of registered house-sitters increased from 4255 in 2021 to 12,775 in 2025.
Its global sitter membership rose from 38,000 to 111,000, reflecting trends like slower travel and digital nomading – working remotely while travelling. Laws said house-sitters can live like locals, away from tourist hotspots, and save money.
