Vermont

My partner and I are taking a little New England roadtrip at the end of December, approximately from 12/22-1/1, and looking to find places to stay in/near Bennington and Brattleboro. Is there anyone near or around those spots who might be able to host us for a night? We're very flexible with sleeping situations (couches are AOK) and would be happy to take you out as a thank you! Thanks in advance for your connections, friends!

We are still hosting weekly board game events in Hanover, NH anyone wants to get together.

Here is a link for the next event: https://www.couchsurfing.com/events/board-games-4th-place-hanover-2023-03-02

Doing a weekly game night event at The 4th Place in Hanover, NH. It is free to come play.

https://www.couchsurfing.com/events/4th-place-geekery-hanover

I made an event for this place that is opening in Hanover, NH.

Want to hang out?

https://www.couchsurfing.com/events/4th-place-hanover-opening

A group of couch surfers worldwide is hosting a virtual Couchcrash. A couch crash is where a bunch of people get together and host events and get to know each other.

A few example events for this one ( a few of which I will be attending): A whisky tasting where we share our favorite whiskies and cat. A virtual trivia which has a really fun host. I have attended a few of her trivia nights and it is always fun.

A tour of Belgium, a virtual escape room, and a lot of others. The full list is on the couch crash event page here:

https://www.couchsurfing.com/events/global-zoomcrash

Now available for Christmas and New Year!<<<

Hi! Nice to meet you person or family who I have not met yet. It's been several years since I offered to house and pet-sit for people. For over 10 years I did close to 100 house-sittings 'gigs.' I am based primarily in the Portland and the Pacific Northwest and in the past, in California. In 2013, I decided to start to put myself through university as an older student. I grew up in foster care, so I didn't really get to start university until later. I have gotten to backpack and travel extensively in the past especially in Asia. The pandemic has affected everything. Originally I was thinking to begin offering house-sitting back in March, but then the pandemic happened, and all of my plans changed. I need housing and I also miss house-sitting for people. I think it is a great job. I would also look at doing the house-sitting in exchange for housing. In the past, it was always a paid job, but with my lack of recent references, I think it would be good just to offer to house-sit without any money exchanged.

I am very careful about COVID-19. I'm an introvert who loves having / even needs his own space sometimes. For the past several months I have been renting Entire Houses through Airbnb. The costs are just too much. In the past, I would have been going from house-sit to house-sit. I figured I can do the same thing again carefully and with the holidays fast approaching, hopefully there are some people out there who need a house-sitter. It does appear as though some people are beginning to travel again. I am older and more mature than several years ago. My objective is to just find a quiet, boring, and cozy place to live / stay over the holidays. My kids are overseas, and I am in North America indefinitely, so it is worth it to take the time to try to make new connections and see what options I am able to find. I'm also interested in making friends in general as with all of my back and forth between Asia and North America over the years, I have lost touch with friends. The past several months have also been incredibly isolating for most people. It would be great to make new connections, and keep in touch! It's even better if you are somebody who might need a house-sitter in the near or far future. Or if you have some housing ideas or opportunities for me. I have to remain flexible because I am hoping to see my kids overseas again next year.

I had lots of wonderful experiences in the past with house-sitting. Sometimes I took care of empty houses.. other times there was a single dog.. other times there were plants, cats, iguanas, you name it. I have house-sat in the countryside, in the suburbs, and in the in the city (Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, etc.). It was a lot of moving around but definitely worth it. I am a friendly person who loves dogs and other animals. I am sort of the ideal house-sitter because of all of the travel I have done. I am used to taking care of people's places and being super clean. I have also done over 100 Airbnbs with pretty awesome reviews over the last eight years. I'm just simply very accustomed to taking care of other people's pets, things, and spaces.

I like that with house-sitting in the past, I also had time to work on creative projects. That led to some very good things. Right now I have a project in mind to try to write a novel about my travel experiences. Being a house-sitter again wold allow me the time to work on personal projects like this. Perhaps also learn more about meditation and other self-improvement too. I have traveled extensively, especially in Asia starting in my early 20s, and I have always immersed myself in different cultures. Thus, I have gone back and forth between Asia and North America for the last 20 years.

I'm posting this in different places, so I'm going to try to attach some of my favorite house and pet-sitting photos taken over the years. They are all taken from different years. On long house-sittings in the past I'd send photos of their pets to the folks who I was house-sitting for while they were away. It's a nice reminder of the house-sitting memories too. I'll also post a link to an album here: https://imgur.com/a/p2Vnibq

I'm careful about safety and cleanliness, and a bit OCD as well. I am one of those people who has to double and triple check every time I turn off a stove or close a garage door. Although nobody is perfect, and I certainly don't claim to be perfect. However, I really do try to be careful.

As noted in my writing here and as well as in the photos, I am most fond of dogs. However, I'd say about half of all jobs in the past have included a cat or two, or other things. I've also taken care of empty houses as well. One time outside of Oakland, California I got to take care of a kangaroo, which was a cool experience. So just please reach out to me and let me know what your situation is like and we can see whether it works or not.

In summary, I am a friendly, reliable, mature, honest, and OCD house-sitter who has been impacted by the pandemic. I am starting all over again in 2020. I am looking for any house-sitting and housing options to keep on the table and help you over the 2020 holidays, and well into 2021. I don't see myself being able to visit Asia again until there is a widespread COVID vaccine available. So in the meantime, I am just doing what I can to offer to house-sit for people. Please reach out to me anytime. Best way to reach me is by e-mail and we can touch base and set-up a video call!

Thank you very much! Hope to meet you soon. Happy Holidays & Warm Regards, Shaun

I created an event for next weekend for us to play some CAH virtually.

https://www.couchsurfing.com/events/6140109