Many Home Base Holidays members do, however, arrange home swaps as a way of having a comfortable, private base when celebrating special occasions - family reunions, weddings, birthdays, the birth of grandchildren, etc. It helps a lot, of course, when dates and locations are known well in advance and if the occasion is either in or near a large city where there are a good choice of home exchange offers, or if it's the type of occasion (an anniversary for example) where a couple may be looking for a desirable home and area to have a celebratory vacation rather than is the case with an event like a wedding when the location for a home exchange is restricted by where the event is taking place. A few examples of recent members using home exchange in this way: My wife, myself and our 20 year old daughter will be attending a wedding in England in late June/07 and would like to build a 4-5 week holiday around the wedding. We are looking for 2 weeks in London and 2 or 3 weeks on the continent. See full home exchange offer, HE17257 We decided to take early retirement to enable us to spend more time visiting our daughter in Australia. She married an Australian lad in 2004 & they now have a daughter (our first grandchild) so we want to visit as often as we can. We were lucky enough to get an exchange this year to be at her birth but now our aim is to be with them in April for her first birthday. See full home exchange offer, HE18945 It's our 10th anniversary this September. Looking to celebrate in Europe, preferably, and with our son. Our work provides for flexible schedules, so we're open to suggestions. See full home exchange offer, HE19258 Looking for exchange to enable us to attend our daughter's wedding in Brisbane, plus open to offers after that so that we can visit them. See full home exchange offer, HE19032We had a little break last week in the small town of Wiarton (my birth place), in southern Ontario, to celebrate my Aunt Mabel's 100th birthday (pictured here enjoying her party). My family converged on Wiarton from Alberta, Arizona and England to celebrate this important milestone with our very special auntie. It was a great family occasion and one I wouldn't have missed for the world. The logistics of planning accommodation in such a small rural town at short notice, and for a fluctuating number of extended family members, meant that considering a home exchange was virtually impossible. Instead, we made do with basic motel housekeeping rooms (or what Kyla, my young great niece, referred to as our 'hut in the woods').
Vancouver, BC, Canada - Beautiful 2 bedroom bungalow with lovely garden and fruit trees and patio/deck in a friendly neighbourhood, 2 blocks from Jericho park/ beach, the best beach in Vancouver and 5 minutes from downtown Vancouver.
Mildenhall, Suffolk, England - Three bedroom house at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac. A 10 minute stroll will take you into the nearby town of Mildenhall with its beautiful church, shops & several good pubs & restaurants. The River Lark offers some lovely walks along its banks with an interesting array of wildlife.
New York City, NY, USA - Two bedroom apartment in pre-war building in Manhattan/Washington Heights. Spacious, stylishly-appointed with high ceilings, hardwood floors, separate formal dining room with French doors, fully-equipped modern kitchen, antiques, art, books, wireless Internet. Located along the Hudson River, in the shadow of the George Washington Bridge, the building has a rear courtyard garden.
Swindon, Wiltshire, England - An architect designed six bedroom house set in a desirable residential surburb of Swindon. Good transport links, and easy access to major tourist areas. On edge of Cotswolds, near Avebury and Stonehenge, Bath and Oxford less than one hour away by car, London 1 hour by train.
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