spend a month in California. live in Florida

[Agnostic007]

Had a pet/house sitting gig in a condo across from Oracle Park. lasted 3 weeks. Tenderloin district was appalling.  Was trying to find a high-end Thai restaurant in the area... we were walking... having done 24 years in Austin the homeless and their encampments aren't new to me.. but this was on a whole different level.  about 3 blocks in we decided no matter how good the restaurant was, not worth it.. and changed course. But I am happy to report much of San Francisco was still cool. Took a one night trip to Carmel By the Sea... wow! Might be the coolest little community I've been to stateside. every house was unique, well taken care of and the scenic loop around the town was amazing. If you haven't been, consider it.
Napa... 3rd time there. It's like Vegas now.. you need a reservation to visit 90%of the wineries and $50-$60 pp wine tasting to get in. We did a couple of those but visited the 6 or so wineries that accepted walk in's. Side note, we did crash the Stags Leap vineyard and struck up a conversation with the people working the front desk. They took pity on us and we were able to purchase a couple glasses of wine and tour the place. Same with Caymus. We did pay for a tasting at the Castillo De Amarosa because my wife was set on taking pictures of the place. The lady working the tasting basically gave us as much wine as we liked, and some from the "sold out listing"..which was pretty cool
The most expensive ribeye steak I've seen to date was at Torc in downtown Napa. 60 day dry aged at $175. I passed on it but the food there was top notch. Don Giovanni was another pleasant dining experience
.

[IroNat]

Typical Getbigger tourist.

[chaos]

Had a pet/house sitting gig in a condo across from Oracle Park. lasted 3 weeks. Tenderloin district was appalling.  Was trying to find a high-end Thai restaurant in the area... we were walking... having done 24 years in Austin the homeless and their encampments aren't new to me.. but this was on a whole different level.  about 3 blocks in we decided no matter how good the restaurant was, not worth it.. and changed course. But I am happy to report much of San Francisco was still cool. Took a one night trip to Carmel By the Sea... wow! Might be the coolest little community I've been to stateside. every house was unique, well taken care of and the scenic loop around the town was amazing. If you haven't been, consider it.
Napa... 3rd time there. It's like Vegas now.. you need a reservation to visit 90%of the wineries and $50-$60 pp wine tasting to get in. We did a couple of those but visited the 6 or so wineries that accepted walk in's. Side note, we did crash the Stags Leap vineyard and struck up a conversation with the people working the front desk. They took pity on us and we were able to purchase a couple glasses of wine and tour the place. Same with Caymus. We did pay for a tasting at the Castillo De Amarosa because my wife was set on taking pictures of the place. The lady working the tasting basically gave us as much wine as we liked, and some from the "sold out listing"..which was pretty cool
The most expensive ribeye steak I've seen to date was at Torc in downtown Napa. 60 day dry aged at $175. I passed on it but the food there was top notch. Don Giovanni was another pleasant dining experience
.

And to think the liberals view SF as some sort of example of their policies at work. I haven't been there in 15 years or so, even back then I was offered drugs and asked if I sold drugs as I walked down the streets and through the parks.

[G_Thang]

And to think the liberals view SF as some sort of example of their policies at work. I haven't been there in 15 years or so, even back then I was offered drugs and asked if I sold drugs as I walked down the streets and through the parks.

Like you don't look like a hell's angel or something out of the devil's rejects.

AOC is 1/4th price in West Hollywood.

[Hulkotron]

Cool story bro

[chaos]

Like you don't look like a hell's angel or something out of the devil's rejects.

AOC is 1/4th price in West Hollywood.

Not the point Mulatto_Thing.

[Thin Lizzy]

And to think the liberals view SF as some sort of example of their policies at work. I haven't been there in 15 years or so, even back then I was offered drugs and asked if I sold drugs as I walked down the streets and through the parks.

I recently spoke to someone who had just come back from SF. He said the homelessness there was 100x worse than in NYC.

[funk51]

    back in 1972 when I was young , I was off the bus in Philadelphia no 5 minutes and a drug dealer came up to me with his bag of goodies. the funny thing was he offered me steroids. this was back in 1970's.

[galain]

And to think the liberals view SF as some sort of example of their policies at work. I haven't been there in 15 years or so, even back then I was offered drugs and asked if I sold drugs as I walked down the streets and through the parks.

SF was my very first experience of the US. Taxi from the airport to hotel, checked in, went to check out the place, saw three guys shitting on the street within the first 5 minutes and someone smashing a car window and running away with whatever they'd grabbed about 10 minutes after that.

Pretty city though.

[Agnostic007]

And to think the liberals view SF as some sort of example of their policies at work. I haven't been there in 15 years or so, even back then I was offered drugs and asked if I sold drugs as I walked down the streets and through the parks.

"We need to take back our Tenderloin," the mayor said.

The intervention plan is already underway and will continue developing in the months ahead, according to Breed's post. Some of the first issues addressed included bringing temporary lighting into "key areas" and warrant sweeps conducted by local law enforcement. The next steps will involve "taking on the most destructive behavior" before officials identify long-term fixes.

"We are committed to the short-term emergency intervention, and then after that, we will not let the Tenderloin slip back to its current conditions," Breed wrote. She added that the efforts were not just for the Tenderloin neighborhood but "for the entire city."

Breed wrote that the emergency actions taken to address crime in the Tenderloin neighborhood would "require a significant police response." To support the efforts, she said, she intends to introduce a supplemental portion to the city's budget "to help fund SFPD overtime" through the end of the fiscal year.



apparently the Mayor doesnt look at it like that. She gave a press conference in December... I don't see it has gotten better. The people I talked to while there were sick of dealing with the out of control homelessness and had hopes the Mayor's recognition of the problem would offer some relief.

[LurkerNoMore]

Had a pet/house sitting gig in a condo across from Oracle Park. lasted 3 weeks. Tenderloin district was appalling.  Was trying to find a high-end Thai restaurant in the area... we were walking... having done 24 years in Austin the homeless and their encampments aren't new to me.. but this was on a whole different level.  about 3 blocks in we decided no matter how good the restaurant was, not worth it.. and changed course. But I am happy to report much of San Francisco was still cool. Took a one night trip to Carmel By the Sea... wow! Might be the coolest little community I've been to stateside. every house was unique, well taken care of and the scenic loop around the town was amazing. If you haven't been, consider it.
Napa... 3rd time there. It's like Vegas now.. you need a reservation to visit 90%of the wineries and $50-$60 pp wine tasting to get in. We did a couple of those but visited the 6 or so wineries that accepted walk in's. Side note, we did crash the Stags Leap vineyard and struck up a conversation with the people working the front desk. They took pity on us and we were able to purchase a couple glasses of wine and tour the place. Same with Caymus. We did pay for a tasting at the Castillo De Amarosa because my wife was set on taking pictures of the place. The lady working the tasting basically gave us as much wine as we liked, and some from the "sold out listing"..which was pretty cool
The most expensive ribeye steak I've seen to date was at Torc in downtown Napa. 60 day dry aged at $175. I passed on it but the food there was top notch. Don Giovanni was another pleasant dining experience
.

So are you going to continue your house sitting adventures?

what has been the pros and cons of it?  you get an up close look at how strangers live and sometimes it might not be very pretty.

[tommywishbone]

California is dead.

[chaos]

I recently spoke to someone who had just come back from SF. He said the homelessness there was 100x worse than in NYC.

Buddy of mine travels to 2-3 cities per week, any time SF or Seattle is on his itinerary, he's pissed. Those two places are the worst he's been in.

[Dokey111]

California is dead.

It's too bad too.

[Primemuscle]

And to think the liberals view SF as some sort of example of their policies at work. I haven't been there in 15 years or so, even back then I was offered drugs and asked if I sold drugs as I walked down the streets and through the parks.

Maybe you looked like a user or a dealer.

[chaos]

Maybe you looked like a user or a dealer.

That's why it only ever happened in SF and never in LA/OC/Riverside/San Bernardino/San Diego/Tijuana/ Juarez/etc...

[Agnostic007]

So are you going to continue your house sitting adventures?

what has been the pros and cons of it?  you get an up close look at how strangers live and sometimes it might not be very pretty.

So we were supposed to show up 2 days early and they would put us up in a guest condo in the building. 5 days out they text and ask if it's okay if we take over their master suite but stay with them to learn their routine with the 2 parakeets and 2 dogs. That was a bad decision because it turned into 3 days living with strangers in a 1200 sf condo. Their flight got cancelled so it ended up that extra day. Im not the kind of guy who likes to stay over in peoples houses. Even my family and my in laws know I'm getting a hotel. So the 1st 3 days were awkward. Once they left to Europe it was a cool 20 days.
They were kind of jerks on the last day.... we were leaving at noon as they were due in at 2pm. So leaving the animals for 2 hours was no big deal. If their flight was cancelled or there was some interruption we were ready to stay longer though we had reservations for a hotel in Camel that day.
So we take off actually at 1:20 because they told us their flight was delayed 30 min. We found out later that day that they did land at 1:50 but didn't bother to contact us until 4:45 to let us know they were back. IN the meantime we were worried something happened and might have to turn around and drive back to SF. So that was a stressful 3 hours. When she called, she said that they had already unpacked, taken the dogs to the park and were settling in. But they had to have seen our messages inquiring about if they landed etc. They made up for it by sending us a bottle of Don Julio 1942, but I would not sit for them again just based on that last day of leaving us hanging.
We have 2.5 months scheduled in Mexico, Oaxaca, Hualtuco and Puerto Vallarta, and then will likely continue on with the house sitting. But I will not come in 2 days or 3 days early again...   

[Primemuscle]

So we were supposed to show up 2 days early and they would put us up in a guest condo in the building. 5 days out they text and ask if it's okay if we take over their master suite but stay with them to learn their routine with the 2 parakeets and 2 dogs. That was a bad decision because it turned into 3 days living with strangers in a 1200 sf condo. Their flight got cancelled so it ended up that extra day. Im not the kind of guy who likes to stay over in peoples houses. Even my family and my in laws know I'm getting a hotel. So the 1st 3 days were awkward. Once they left to Europe it was a cool 20 days.
They were kind of jerks on the last day.... we were leaving at noon as they were due in at 2pm. So leaving the animals for 2 hours was no big deal. If their flight was cancelled or there was some interruption we were ready to stay longer though we had reservations for a hotel in Camel that day.
So we take off actually at 1:20 because they told us their flight was delayed 30 min. We found out later that day that they did land at 1:50 but didn't bother to contact us until 4:45 to let us know they were back. IN the meantime we were worried something happened and might have to turn around and drive back to SF. So that was a stressful 3 hours. When she called, she said that they had already unpacked, taken the dogs to the park and were settling in. But they had to have seen our messages inquiring about if they landed etc. They made up for it by sending us a bottle of Don Julio 1942, but I would not sit for them again just based on that last day of leaving us hanging.
We have 2.5 months scheduled in Mexico, Oaxaca, Hualtuco and Puerto Vallarta, and then will likely continue on with the house sitting. But I will not come in 2 days or 3 days early again...

Not that it is something I am interested in doing, but how did you first get into house sitting? Does it simply afford you the opportunity to see other places or do you actually earn an income from this?

Our neighbors teenage kids used to take care of our dogs when we travelled but they are all adults now with careers and lives of their own. We did pay them, but it wasn't allot as best as I can remember. We have a large yard with dog doors, so the only thing dog sitters had to do was feed them each day and make sure they had fresh water. Since they lived next door there was no need to move in while they were taking caring for our pups.

[LurkerNoMore]

So we were supposed to show up 2 days early and they would put us up in a guest condo in the building. 5 days out they text and ask if it's okay if we take over their master suite but stay with them to learn their routine with the 2 parakeets and 2 dogs. That was a bad decision because it turned into 3 days living with strangers in a 1200 sf condo. Their flight got cancelled so it ended up that extra day. Im not the kind of guy who likes to stay over in peoples houses. Even my family and my in laws know I'm getting a hotel. So the 1st 3 days were awkward. Once they left to Europe it was a cool 20 days.
They were kind of jerks on the last day.... we were leaving at noon as they were due in at 2pm. So leaving the animals for 2 hours was no big deal. If their flight was cancelled or there was some interruption we were ready to stay longer though we had reservations for a hotel in Camel that day.
So we take off actually at 1:20 because they told us their flight was delayed 30 min. We found out later that day that they did land at 1:50 but didn't bother to contact us until 4:45 to let us know they were back. IN the meantime we were worried something happened and might have to turn around and drive back to SF. So that was a stressful 3 hours. When she called, she said that they had already unpacked, taken the dogs to the park and were settling in. But they had to have seen our messages inquiring about if they landed etc. They made up for it by sending us a bottle of Don Julio 1942, but I would not sit for them again just based on that last day of leaving us hanging.
We have 2.5 months scheduled in Mexico, Oaxaca, Hualtuco and Puerto Vallarta, and then will likely continue on with the house sitting. But I will not come in 2 days or 3 days early again...

Now let's hear the real good stuff.... did you try on their clothes?  Find their secret home porn movie stash?  Start feuds with the neighbors?

[ThisisOverload]

We have 2.5 months scheduled in Mexico, Oaxaca, Hualtuco and Puerto Vallarta, and then will likely continue on with the house sitting. But I will not come in 2 days or 3 days early again...

Are you doing the pet sitting thing in Mexico?

I was talking to my GF about it, she's never heard of anyone doing that.

I'm curious because we are thinking about heading to Puebla in the Spring for 2 weeks.

[GymnJuice]

Now let's hear the real good stuff.... did you try on their clothes?  Find their secret home porn movie stash?  Start feuds with the neighbors?

Steal their identity and live in their place while rehabilitating yourself?

[LurkerNoMore]

Steal their identity and live in their place while rehabilitating yourself?

Travel to where they are vacationing, kill them, hide the bodies and continue to live in their house.

[IroNat]

I was in Oahu, Hawaii 40 years ago and every other person who walked by asked me if I wanted to buy reefer.

[Thin Lizzy]

I’ve never heard of people traveling to pet sit. Typically it’s a local who watches the dog or cat while the owner is away.

[chaos]

Now let's hear the real good stuff.... did you try on their clothes?  Find their secret home porn movie stash?  Start feuds with the neighbors?

Agnostic walking around in the wifes lingerie is a sight the poor neighbors will never forget.