Does anyone know how to find house sitting jobs and or know of any cheap accommodations in Orange County, CA?

Orange County, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Beach Area...
I reside in New York State. I am an Art Teacher and work at the Niagara Arts & Cultural Center in Niagara Falls, NY. I would be traveling with a friend to Orange County. My friend is a Sociology Professor in Niagara Falls, NY. We both reside in New York State and have been to Orange County, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Beach area a number of times. My sister and her husband live in Aliso Viejo and have resided there for about eight years or so.

I thought I should mention that I do not house sit for a profession, but I would be seeking to house sit because of this particular situation. I have a very dear brother in-law who lives in Orange County and has been battling Melanoma for over five years. Unfortunately, he has taken a turn for the worse and we know that we will have to be coming out to your area at some point. It could be very soon. We would most likely be available for a week or so when the time comes.

However, under these circumstances we do not have a date for when we will have to be traveling to Aliso Viejo. But, I thought that perhaps I would check into house sitting as an alternative to staying in a hotel when the time comes. I thought I could be providing a service in exchange for a home to stay in while I'm in California. This would probably be "a last minute situation" but, I would be more than willing to house sit if our times correspond. So, I encourage anyone to keep me posted about any potential dates that service may be required for house sitting over the next couple of weeks or months

I am very responsible I live in and own my own home, I have also restored a number of homes in my area. So, I am very good at taking care of a home. The home I reside in is a Victorian that has five bedrooms and three floors, I am responsible for the cleaning and general up keep. My partner and long time spouse and I have both worked on restoring homes and are currently doing some renovation to the home we currently reside in.

My friend is a home owner as well, is very responsible and actively supports the arts and many arts organizations. We are both world travelers and would most assuredly take good and proper care of your home. We are both animal lovers as well.

Thank you...

The best resource is www.craigslist.org. Once on the site click on California, then Orange County. There are tons of listings on there for everything: jobs, stuff for sale, apartments, etc. There are people on there looking for roomates and housesitters. Basically ads for whatever you can imagine - because it's free to post anything but a job listing, and even that is cheap.

JudgementProof is right, Craigslist.com is the place to go to see about a possible house sitting gig.

However, I don't think that house sitting is the way to go. Most people who hire a house sitter are looking for somebody who can watch their home on specific dates, and it sounds like your travel plans are not set yet. As a homeowner, I don't think that I would want to hire someone who cannot commit to specific dates, even if they were otherwise well-qualified. I would think that your thoughts and energies would be directed towards your family's situation, rather than my home. And that's as it should be. During that time, I don't think that you should be distracted by having to worry about taking care of someone's home in addition to your family situation. You would be doing a disservice to the homeowner, your family, and yourself.

Unfortunately, spring break is coming up, and hotel prices are going to increase. In south OC, I would recomment the America's Best Value Inns, which you can probably get for less than $100 per night. There is a location in Irvine, and another in Lake Forest, and they are decent.

Please accept my condolences for your difficult situation. I wish you good luck.
Penny saver or a local newspaper. Many are on line now.
You can find lots of jobs in Orange County here:

http://www.cahelpwanted.org/county/orang...
http://www.cahelpwanted.org/county/orang...