Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

Swap Homes and Lifestyles - or Try Out a Whole New Career!

Most home exchangers swap homes and lifestyles for a short period and this generally doesn't involve swapping jobs too (although there are specialist organisations for teachers to swap both jobs and homes). Many Home Base Holidays members on longer exchanges do arrange to work while living abroad (notably many Australians who plan home swaps to live in the UK for a few months).

I recently read about VocationVacations®, an organisation that isn't involved in home exchange but, uniquely as far as I'm aware, enables people to try out a different career. As there are probably many people doing jobs they don't enjoy, this sounds like an excellent way to check out other career possibilities without leaving a present job or making any long-term committments.

Check out VocationVacations® for the chance to 'test-drive your dream job'. Or, if you're happy in your job (or retired), just swap homes instead to possibly test drive your dream home or location!

Home Exchange: Taking Time to 'Smell the Roses'

As a reaction to an increasingly frenetic pace of life for many people, there is a growing movement towards slowing down when travelling (and eating). The following comments received from Home Base Holidays members from Tucson, Arizona, show how home exchange fits well with the concept of slowing down to enjoy travel experiences more:

'Although we have traveled extensively and lived in various countries abroad over the decades, "home exchange" travel has opened new opportunities for us as a retired couple. Paramount is the chance to travel at a relaxed "no-deadline" pace and settle into a single setting to savour the local scene as a typical citizen. No pressing goal of covering several countries, cities, sites - just aim to explore the nooks and crannies of the society and experience whatever strikes our fancy or arises in the "process" of our journey. Certainly we do some advance research, check our guidebooks and maps - but at a leisurely "smell-the-roses-along-the-way" mode with a sense of exploring rather than programming.'

Slow travelers who swap homes with this couple will enjoy:

'Modern Southwestern USA city living yet set in authentic Wild-West, Native Indian & Spanish Colonial charm!'

See the full details of this exchange offer (a one floor wheelchair accessible town house), HE14523

Arranging a Series of Non-simultaneous Home Swaps: Last Minute Offer in Melbourne

Joanne, a Home Base Holidays member from Melbourne, Australia, recently wrote:

'Our home is available for five weeks from the 30th June for non-simultaneous exchange. We would be happy to have a holiday owing to us that we could take later, even within Australia works well for us. The people that we are exchanging with are through your site and they came (two families) to our home in December and we moved out. Now it's our turn to go to the mum's house in Wimbledon, London.'

Non-simultaneous home exchanges are often arranged by second home owners who are usually able to make their holiday home (or main home if they plan to stay at their second home) available on dates that best suit their exchange partners. However, Joanne shows that it can be worth moving out of a main home temporarily in order to accommodate exchangers and, in turn, take your side of the exchange later on when convenient. And, as Joanne, says, this means being able to have more home exchange guests staying in a home which would otherwise be empty - and banking some holiday exchange time for later.

Joanne's house is 'in a lovely bayside area of Melbourne, close to small groups of shops with lovely cafe style restaurants within walking distance. The largest shopping centre in the southern hemisphere is five minutes drive away; beaches in two directions from our home and a marine sanctuary 700 metres walk.'

See her full exchange offer and more photos, HE17020

'Our holiday house swap': Article in the Daily Express

'As Jane Clegg soaked in the hot tub and gazed out through the redwood trees she couldn’t help thinking she’d got the best of the deal.

After offering their terraced home in London for a holiday swap, she and partner Mark Mullins had been contacted by a Californian couple. Jane needed little persuading to trade life in Stoke Newington for a few weeks in the Sonoma wine region, north of San Francisco.'

This is the beginning of an excellent article on home exchange written by Adrian Lee and published in today's (26 May) Daily Express.

Home Base Holidays member, Jane Clegg, who, with partner, Mark, and two sons, have swapped homes 22 times, was interviewed for the article. Short quote:

'Staying in a hotel can be very restrictive,' says Jane. 'By swapping homes we get all the other family’s toys, there is much more space and often a car. It is like having a home away from home and we get to experience family life in a different country. You do feel you are living like the locals. They leave information for us, introducing us to their favourite restaurants and places and we do the same .... We do save quite a lot of money. Last year we were having building work done on our own house so we couldn’t swap. We ended up paying about £1,000 a week for a very basic apartment, which made us realise how we normally benefit from swapping our house.'

The family are currently looking for short break exchanges at the end of July and end of August/beginning of September; one week 22 - 30 October; 1-2 weeks Xmas/New Year 06/07.

Brief description of their home exchange offer:

Family house in North London 'village' of Stoke Newington. Great local shops, restaurants, bookshops, park. Local public tennis courts, indoor climbing wall, watersports centre. Good access to West End/City of London.

Stoke Newington is an area of London about 5km north of the City and West End. It still retains an individual and slightly alternative character of its own. Its a great base from which to explore London and a place to spend some time in in its own right. "Best place in the UK to be a parent" (Observer Magazine London, November 2004). "Stoke Newington is a medieval village that, while now swallowed up by the British capital, has never truly become a part of it. One of the most culturally diverse parts of London, Stoke Newington is today a great place to eat, drink and shop as well as being an excellent detour from the beaten tourist track." (Lonely Planet Guide to London 2006).

See their full exchange offer and more photos, HE2400

Swap Homes with a Dinky-di Australian

It's fun every day reading through the descriptions of the latest home exchange offers. Home Base Holidays members are generally very articulate and provide enticing descriptions of their homes and areas. The variety of different idioms used in English speaking countries, is intriguing. One that caught my eye recently:

'Peter and I (Joan) are in our early 50’s/late 40’s and are new to house exchanging; however, we love to travel to new places and thought this would be an ideal way to see new locations as a resident. I have lived in Merimbula for 24 years, arriving here from the UK in the early ‘80’s. In 2007, we will be visiting my family during our visit, but thought we would like to spend a few weeks travelling to Scotland and other parts of Europe and UK as Peter, a dinky-di Australian, has never travelled outside Australia.'

This dinky-di Aussie and his Limey wife have a lovely home to offer for exchange in Merimbula, a small coastal town in New South Wales, half way between Sydney and Melbourne. See their full exchange offer and more photos, HE18221

Out of curiosity I consulted Alison, my Australian friend and walking buddy, who lives nearby, for a definition of 'dinky-di'. Here's Alison's introduction to Australian:

"'Dyed in the wool' is the nearest you could possibly get to 'dinky di'. The other Aussie word for it is 'dinkum' (adjective). 'Dinkum' is 'true'. So 'fair dinkum' or 'struth' means 'it's the truth'... and 'fair dinkum?' means 'is it true?' or 'is that so?' or 'you don't say' (our Aussie dictionary of idioms is called The Dinkum Dictionary). Merimbula is not very big, on the coast down near the border between NSW and Victoria. I think it would be a good place for a home exchange with access to lots of interest and also pleasant temperatures."

Thanks, Alison!

Small Business Blog Interview on Pajama Market

Following on from Travel the Home Exchange Way being chosen as the Pajama Market Small Business Blog of the Day on 9 May, I was pleased to be contacted by Brian Brown and interviewed for the Pajama Market blog. All small business owners interviewed are asked the following questions:

• How has the blog impacted your company?
• What has the response been from your customers/clients?
• What types of things about your work day inspire you to write a post on your blog?
• What have been the biggest surprises with your blog so far?
• What blogging program do you use for the blog? Did you create this blog yourself? How do you like the program?

Read my answers to the questions on Pajama Market.

I saw that Brian had used a rather out of date photo of myself (me looking younger, the computer looking dated) from the About Us page on Home Hase Holidays. This was the incentive to update the picture!