Travel the Home Exchange Way

Happy New Year - and Happy Home Swapping in 2007!

The photos in this home exchange listing seem very appropriate for New Year's Eve. The member writes:

'The photos show the view from our building, including the July 4th Macy's fireworks (they were spectacular!!)'

'Modern sunny 1-bedroom penthouse apartment on 33rd floor of luxury high-rise in Long Island City, with fabulous views of the East River, United Nations HQ, and Midtown and Upper Eastside Manhattan. 15-minute subway ride to theatre district, Times Square, Grand Central Terminal.' See the full home exchange offer (and more spectacular photos), HE13121.

Painting a Picture to Entice Home Exchangers

When looking at photos of homes available for exchange, especially interiors, I'm sure that many people visualise themselves living in the home. The same is true for locations. Home Base Holidays members generally do a very good job of describing their local attractions (although sometimes it's easy to take one's own area for granted). A new member, with an apartment available for exchange on Portugal's beautiful Algarve coast, paints a particularly enticing picture in her description. Here's a snippet:

" ... close to the seaside resort of Cabanas on the Algarve coast; close to the beautiful town of Tavira, steeped in Moorish history and brimful of character, without doubt the 'Jewel in the Crown' of the Algarve with its narrow, cobbled streets and medieval charm. I never tire of just ambling around the town and markets or sitting in the 'little gardens' in the town center and enjoying an ice cream from a local vendor on a sunny day in July or August. The great thing about the Algarve is that even in the height of summer you get the cooling Atlantic breeze to moderate the daytime temperature." See the full home exchange offer, HE19043

Now, on a cold winter day, can't you just visualise eating an ice cream while relaxing in one of the little gardens near your home away from home on the Algarve next summer?

Start Planning Now for Your Summer Home Swap

You may hardly have recovered from a big turkey dinner (or, if like my family, a big nut roast) and it may seem early to start planning for holidays next summer. If you saw the movie, 'The Holiday', over the holiday, you may think, if you haven't had a home swap before, that exchanges are agreed instantly and that you will be on your way to a home you know nothing about the very next day. The researchers for this movie couldn't have done their homework properly!

This is the ideal time to start planning a home exchange for the summer holidays. As the period between June and early September is particularly popular for home swaps (especially for families with school age children who have their longest school breaks during this time - at least in northern hemisphere countries), it really does mean that those who start planning well in advance have the best choice of exchange offers. Join Home Base Holidays now so that your exchange offer is in circulation for several weeks before your preferred exchange dates, start contacting members right away to suggest an exchange, and keep checking the new listings as new members join every day.

Once you find the perfect exchange, you will want to take your time making arrangements for your exchange. Communicate regularly with your exchange partners, generally getting to know them so that, by the time your exchange takes place, they will feel like friends that you will be happy to have caring for your home while you are enjoying your vacation using their home as your home base.

Christmas Greetings from First Time Home Exchangers

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Dear Lois,

Our trip to Boston and the Berkshires worked out fabulously. We have remained firm friends with our exchangers and look forward to meeting many more people through this scheme.

Hope you have a very Happy Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Best wishes, Jan and Kev

Note from Lois: It is always a delight to receive such nice messages from Home Base Holidays members about their first home exchange experiences. Unfortunately the animated artwork in Jan and Kev's message couldn't be used on the blog - you'll have to imagine the reindeer's flashing lights!

Jan and Kev have now joined the ever growing ranks of enthusiastic home exchangers and no doubt are already looking for their next swap. Check out their exchange offer in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England:

Three bedroom detached house in Salisbury, a wonderful location for exploring the S.W. of England. Salisbury is an historical city, famous for it's Cathedral and Close, and proximity to Stonehenge. See the full description and more photos, HE18465.

Happy Holiday Time for Many Home Exchangers

As I write this, London and all of the south of England is covered in a thick fog which is causing major chaos at the airports at the busiest time of year. I do hope that all Home Base Holidays members who have arranged home swaps over the holiday, have already arrived at their destinations.

The Christmas period is a popular time for exchanging homes, with many Australian and New Zealand members in particular using home exchange as a way of visiting friends and relatives here in the UK (not being guests in someone else's home means being able to return to a peaceful home away from home to recover from the celebrations). In turn, many lucky UK members will no doubt be enjoying a very different holiday season (Christmas dinner on the beach?) at the height of summer in Australia and New Zealand.

Happy holidays to everyone - and happy home swapping in 2007.

'Holiday Home Exchange - What exactly is it?'

This is the subject of a post recently published on The Travel Blog - The Ultimate Travel Website, which begins:

'Anyone who has a home can participate in a holiday home exchange. You don’t have to compare values of the house, or find a swapping partner with a home just likes yours; you just need to find a home that you and your family would be most comfortable in and in the area you are looking to visit.'

This is an excellent point to make about arranging a home exchange. Sometimes those who live in fairly modest homes feel that no one will be interested in exchanging with them. This is far from the case. There are a minority of people who do want to swap 'like for like' but such people don't really make the best home exchangers as their exchange options are often limited. Also, it is almost impossible to compare property values within a country (rural, town, large city) let alone in other countries. $1 million may still buy a very palatial home in many areas but won't buy nearly so much in a major city like London or New York. If you do live in a grand house, what you may lose in terms of the size and facilities in an exchange home, will often be made up for in location and attractions.

I like to include links to full articles on home exchange from other sources whenever possible as, in this way visitors to this blog can read further on the topic. Besides, blogging should be about being generous in linking to other blogs which provide relevant and useful information! So do read this article in full on The Travel Blog.