Travel the Home Exchange Way blog

One Life Live: Relocating Overseas? Test the Waters First with a Home Swap

Several Home Base Holidays members have used a home exchange as a way of trying out a new country before moving permanently. Arranging a home swap in a neighbourhood you are hoping to move to is an excellent way to spend some time looking into the practicalities - local schools, job opportunities, home rental costs, etc. So, when we were approached a few weeks ago by the organisers of One Life Live (takes place this weekend, 2-4 March at Olympia, London) to exhibit in the Relocate section of the exhibition, it was tempting (but, unfortunately, a little beyond our budget). However, if you are in London, and want an interesting day out that could change your life, do go along to Olympia and visit the many stands at the exhibition. This is how it is described:

'What do you want to do with your One Life?

Whether you dream of becoming your own boss or want to take a career break to travel or volunteer, if you long to relocate overseas or retrain for a new career, or if you simply feel in need of achieving a more fulfilling life, One Life Live (2-4 March, Olympia) brings together all the options in one place - giving you both the inspiration to make a change, along with very real solutions to ensure you can achieve your dream.'

Is There a 'Prime Time' to Look for a Home Exchange Abroad?

An American Home Base Holidays member mentioned this week that she thought she may have missed the 'prime time' when most UK members would have been looking for, and setting up, home exchanges in the USA for this August. As it can take some time to find, and then get to the stage of agreeing to, an exchange, it's always best to start the process earlier rather than later, both to ensure a long circulation for your own exchange offer and to enable you to check regularly for possibilities from the new members joining every day. However, it really is impossible to set a particular 'prime time' for contacting others with an exchange offer. Some early birds like to have their exchanges set up several months (a few even up to two years) in advance while others, for various reasons, won't be able to commit to exchanges until much closer to the dates.

I was thinking of this when I received this member's message as I remembered that she had joined and started contacting members with her exchange offer at least a year before the exchange dates she wants. Although she had some interest in her attractive offer from those early enquiries, no one was prepared to commit to an exchange so far ahead. It is, of course, disappointing not to receive a definite, positive response to your exchange offer when you are eager to get your own arrangements in place but it is probably unrealistic to expect firm commitments from many people when approached so far in advance. This is not to suggest that you should wait and risk losing out on potentially ideal exchanges but rather that, when sending exchange offers very early on, acknowledge in your messages that it may be too soon for them to give you a definite answer and that, if they are at all interested in your offer, ask if it is alright to contact them again in a few weeks if they need more time to consider it.

This won't hold you up from pursuing other exchange offers but gives you another chance to contact members you have already been in touch with instead of writing them off immediately as not interested in your offer. If you make another firm exchange commitment, it is crucial to let anyone know who has shown any interest in your offer, however non-committal, that you have now agreed an exchange but, if you are interested, you could suggest the possibility of an exchange at another time.

Great Ideas for Things to Do on a Home Exchange in Oregon

Most Home Base Holidays members give good, full descriptions of their homes and local facilities such as shops and restaurants. A few home exchange offers really stand out, though, for the additional information provided on area attractions, activities available for all ages, what the locals like doing, regular events and the local climate.

Nancy, an experienced home exchanger from Albany, Oregon (Nancy has had three home swaps with the same family in England!), provides the following enticing description of the many attractions near or within easy reach of her home, choosing beautiful photos to illustrate her exchange offer:

'The Pacific Coast or Cascades Mountains are two hours by car. There are many famous covered wooden bridges nearby and spectacular western scenery. Oregon is noted for rivers, lakes, forests, beaches, mountains and world famous flora & fauna. There are wonderful things to do in the summer. As a matter of fact, Oregonians practically live outdoors during the summer months! There are also many fun things for children and teens to do. Within easy driving distance of Albany is Mt. Hood, known for summer snow skiing and one of the locations the US Olympic Team goes for summer training. On the other side of the mountain in the Columbia River Gorge, is rafting, hiking, windsurfing and miles of gorgeous scenery. There is good shopping and restaurants in the town of Albany and surrounding towns. Also, we have Indian Pow Wows and many wineries nearby. There is a fabulous hot air balloon festival in August and good local theater. Ideal climate in the summer. It's sunny and warm plus, we seldom have rain and the nights are lovely and cool.'

Nancy is retired and plans to travel to the UK with her grown-up daughter between June and September this year and is open to home exchange offers in England, Wales or Scotland (anywhere apart from the very south of England and very north of Scotland). Do check out her attractive offer in Albany (members: log on to view Nancy's full listing, HE17903).

BBC Radio 4, 'You and Yours': Home Exchange Feature

'You and Yours', BBC Radio 4's popular consumer affairs programme, included a discussion on home exchange holidays today (21 February). You can listen to the programme on-line for seven days after the broadcast (the lengthy home exchange segment starts about half way through the one hour programme).

Many thanks to Home Base Holidays members, Alan from Pontefract in West Yorkshire, and Janet and Mike, from Ulverston in the English Lake District, who agreed to be the two case studies, and had been interviewed in their own homes before the programme. Both provided much useful information on their personal home exchange experiences - all very positive!

'Home exchange: Is it the holiday for you?' Article on AOL United Kingdom Travel

The article begins:

"If you long to be immersed in the culture of a foreign land and want to spend your holiday funds on something other than accommodation, home exchange may be just the thing for you. The home exchange concept started over 50 years ago with a group of teachers in the UK. Faced with plenty of time off but little money for holidays, teachers began ‘swapping’ their houses with other teachers.

.... it’s essential to research a site carefully before you join. If listings stay up for a long time, question why. It may mean there isn’t much activity with that agency. Make sure full contact details are available so that you can get in touch offline if you need to."

The home exchange experiences of a Home Base Holidays member from Hertfordshire are mentioned in a caption but without a link to his own attractive home exchange offer - his Costa del Sol holiday home (in photo). Now that's rectified!

The article concludes with a generally realistic list of the pros and cons of home exchange:

"Pros

• Cost savings: No accommodation costs, and swapping cars and sporting equipment will save on hire costs. There will also be kitchen and laundry facilities to cut down on dining out and laundry bills.
• Convenience: Families with other children will be able to offer toys, books, games, local babysitters and playmates.
• Culture: Independent travellers will enjoy being immersed in the day-to-day lives of another culture.
• Friends: Neighbours are often interested in a new family visiting the area, and swappers often become friends.
• Security: Houses are safer when occupied; plants and pets will be looked after.

Cons

• Effort: Home exchange is DIY so it takes some effort to arrange the exchange and leave your house tidy and with space in your wardrobes.
• Sharing: Some people may feel uncomfortable with others living in their house.
• Expectations: Your exchanger’s housekeeping standards may not be the same as yours.
• Specifics: If you want to go to a destination at a particular time it may be difficult to find a match.
• Trust: Home exchanging is done through ‘gentlemen’s agreements’. Although rare, if one decides against the exchange the other is left in the lurch, particularly if plane tickets have been purchased."

Read the full article, 'Home exchange: Is it the holiday for you?' on AOL United Kingdom Travel.

Leave Emergency Contact Numbers Prominently for Home Exchange Guests

Meg, a Home Base Holidays member, sent this important reminder for all home exchangers:

'My husband and I are Australians and last year we had a thoroughly enjoyable three months in the UK and Europe with a total of six house exchanges. Every experience was good but unfortunately I was quite ill for about eight days while in England. I would like to suggest that home exchangers should always leave emergency and other important telephone numbers in a folder or in a prominent place.

I ended up at the local hospital one Sunday evening and saw a doctor in emergency. He prescribed some antibiotics and in a few days I was well and truly on the mend. Fortunately I was able to find the information about the hospital in the local phone book.

I found that most exchangers were good at leaving tourist information and restaurant and take away phone numbers, all very important, but hardly anyone actually left an emergency telephone number or the numbers of local service providers.

Since coming home and updating the folder that I leave in my home, I have included the 000 number in Australia for emergencies (Police, Fire, Ambulance) as well as the number for the Poisons Information Centre plus telephone numbers for the local medical surgery, dental surgery and last but not least, my lovely hairdresser!'

Note: Thanks, Meg, for your useful suggestions. Normally, I would include a brief description of a contributor's own home exchange offer but Meg has informed me that she already has three further home exchanges arranged over the coming months and is not in need of any extra publicity for her offer just yet.