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Family home for relaxed stay. North London - easy to reach central London. Three bedroom house on three floors. 5 minutes walk to Tufnell Park tube. Gated estate with play park for children.
Note on photos: it doesn't always snow and our house is not normally covered with halloween stuff!
See full home exchange description and photos.
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Following on from the post on 20th October, here are some more samples of tastefully inviting home exchange offers:
Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico: Situated on the beach in the popular downtown Zona Romantica. There you will find the famous Olas Altas boutiques and restaurants, and of course the ever popular, Malecon are just outside the gate. Sip coffee in the morning and dine anytime on the fully furnished large patio with built in bar-be-que, while enjoying the spectacular ocean view. Relax or read on the patio and watch the many boats on the water or the people walking the Malecon. If the daytime views aren't spectacular enough, just wait until sunset. A most romantic time of evening with the lights of the city sparkling.
Turtle Bay, Falmouth, Antigua & Barbuda: Lovely 2-bedroom house with separate office in a quiet residential area overlooking Falmouth Harbour, Antigua, 10 minutes drive to English Harbour. The house has a simple layout - high ceilings, open plan kitchen/sitting room, large covered veranda with seating and dining areas. Hand-made red cedar louvre windows and French doors. The fenced garden is planted with palms, shrubs and trees. The area has many historical interests: Nelson's Dockyard, Shirley Heights, Fort Berkeley. English Harbour is also a major yachting centre during the winter when the marinas are packed with some of the world's most beautiful yachts. Fabulous beaches, scuba diving, hill walks.
Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire, England: Alan and I live in a beautiful little town in the English Pennines, surrounded by stunning countryside, voted 4th funkiest town on the planet, gay-friendly, abounding with cafes, pubs, vegetarian and other restaurants. Offering many scenic walks to suit all levels of fitness, plus lots of interesting little shops, an independent cinema and friendly people. We are a few minutes' walk away from the train station; an hour's train ride from Manchester and Leeds - York & Blackpool are just a bit further. Nearby are Haworth (home of the Bronte family) and Heptonstall (Sylvia Plath's grave).
Edinburgh, Scotland: Contemporary styled, modern, spacious city centre apartment. French doors in the living room lead out to a private enclosed terrace with table and chairs. We are right in the heart of the city centre and restaurants and bars are on our doorstep. Edinburgh Castle, Holyrood Palace, The Royal Mile, George Street and Princess Street are all within walking distance. Glasgow is a 50 minute car/train journey and Stirling, Perth and St Andrew's are all within driving distance too.
St Meard de Gurcon, Aquitaine, France: Spacious traditional village house (~140m3) in the square, looking out over the 12th century church, with quiet, secluded lawned garden and patio dining area. Village shops, bakeries, restaurants and bars are all a short stroll away. The house is very comfortable and equipped to a high standard with everything you need for a perfect holiday. With its large living room, well-equipped kitchen-diner opening onto the rear patio and spacious double bedrooms, this village house has a wonderfully light and airy feel inside - with thick stone walls which keep it cool in the summer. You can collect fresh eggs each morning in exchange for scattering some corn for our chickens!
Lisbon, Portugal: This spacious, bright and modern flat overlooks a pretty lawned square with trees and benches. It has lots of character, including wooden floors, white walls, high ceilings and shuttered windows. The apartment is located in one of Lisbon's most distinctive heritage areas, in a quiet, leafy residential area of the city centre. Within a 5 minute walk are fashionable streets with shops, popular outdoor restaurants, cafes, supermarkets, etc. You can also explore nearby Gulbenkian Museum and gardens, department stores, Bullring, parks, cinemas etc.
Join Home Base Holidays and start contacting members with your home exchange offer today!
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Home exchange members generally do very well in selecting photos to show various aspects of their homes, giving potential exchange partners a good idea on whether the home will suit them. For many, this means a tidy-up to show off their homes to best effect before taking inside shots. To avoid a home looking impersonal and sterile though (your guests have chosen to live in a real home, not a cookie-cutter hotel room!), personal effects such as pictures, books, photos (and pets and family members) help make a home warm and inviting. And what is more inviting than a table set up for dinner or drinks on a terrace or garden?
A few samples of recent home exchange offers:
Monte Gordo, Algarve, Portugal: This flat is in the lovely resort town of Monte Gordo, only a 5 min walk from the beach in a beautiful sandy bay. Monte Gordo is 10 minutes from the border with Spain, close to Ria Formosa Park and the Guadiana Estuary Park. It is also convenient to visit old quaint traditional towns like Tavira, Caçela Velha and V.R.S.António or the Moorish town of Mértola. Monte Gordo is a lively resort with a casino, restaurants, bars, terraces and shops. All water sports are available and also, countryside safaris, river cruises, etc. It is only half an hour from Faro and two hours from Lisbon.
Sherborne, Dorset, England: Edwardian house in friendly residential road, 10 minutes walk into town centre. Sherborne is a small market town with an Abbey, two castles and numerous small independent shops and cafes. Mainline train to London (2hrs 10mins). Within one hour you can reach beaches and towns of Salisbury, Bath, Exeter, Wells, Bournemouth and Poole. Sherborne is surrounded by the beautiful Dorset countryside perfect for walking.
Blouwater Bay, Western Cape, South Africa: We are located on the beach at Saldanha bay. We own a lodge and resort, with a restaurant and beauty salon, tennis court, swimming pool, horses, boat, catamaran, canoes. The house is situated in this resort with its own private beach. Saldanhabay is perfect for fishing, sailing and diving. Paternoster, Langebaan and Velddrif are closeby. It is the kite surfing mecca. Cape town international airport is only an hour and a half away. It is only half and hour away from the wine routes and 90 minutes from Stellenbosch. It is a internationally famous bird watching area. The West coast National park is only 20 minutes away.
Colomina, Sidi Ifni, Morocco: My house is in a village 10 minutes walk to the sea. It is fully furnished and has a sun terrace with tent. It's close to local transport, the bone shaker bus or local petite taxis. The house is suitable for families OR adventurous types, perhaps touring Morocco or travelling on to Africa. 10 minutes from Sidi Ifni which is a pretty art deco town, small, friendly place, its only industry is fishing. The beach is great for surfing, good for walking. Sidi Ifni is near the desert. The house is located in a friendly narrow street. Friendly neighbours, who speak French, Spanish and Moroccan Arabic, Berber. The house is light, airy, has a big room with mirrors for dancing or yoga.
Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand: Detached 3 bedroom holiday cottage. Wonderful all day sun position. Absolute waterside position overlooking Dunedin harbour at Portobello on the Otago peninsular. Cottage garden, extensive decking and total privacy. Main bedroom has balcony and sea views. The village of Portobello is 10 mins walk from the cottage along a scenic clifftop path.
Budapest, Hungary: Our flat is a contemporary, bright 1-bedroom, 87 square metre apartment, centrally located with easy access to Budapest's excellent public transport system. There are plenty of bars and restaurants within walking distance and all parts of the city are easily reached by a cheap, efficient public transport system.
Got you interested? Browse home exchange offers worldwide.
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The topic for this year's Blog Action Day is food. Thousands of bloggers are publishing posts related in some way to food today. Some will focus on the pleasures of fine dining, favourite recipes, or their regional specialities, while others draw attention to the plight of the millions of people in the world who go hungry every day due to droughts, wars and general poverty.
As a home exchange blog, our attention will be on how we, as individuals, can make thoughtful food choices both at home and when travelling. Home swappers have a great advantage over those who stay in hotels and eat all meals in restaurants, knowing how expensive and wasteful this can be. Many home exchangers have vegetable gardens and are happy for exchange guests to use whatever is in season during their stay (in exchange for a little hoeing and watering). Some also keep chickens, guaranteeing a supply of freshly laid eggs.
Not everyone has the space (or often time) to grow their own fruit and vegetables but all home exchangers will be able to suggest the best places to buy locally produced food, such as street markets and small shops in the area (much more fun than shopping in a large supermarket). Being able to prepare some meals 'at home' is a great way to cut down on food costs and waste.
A rewarding aspect of home exchange is the chance it gives to 'live like a local', exploring an area often well off the tourist trail, meeting local people, supporting local businesses and enjoying the speciality foods in the area.
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Home Base Holidays members come up with some ingenious ways to use the service when arranging home swaps. Although the most common remains the direct exchange of homes at the same time, many are able to offer non-simultaneous exchanges, giving more flexibility to find dates that suit both parties. Or, if you happen to own a hotel in a popular location ...
‘Our modern house (in photo) is at the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains in France with skiing just 30 minutes drive away. We live in the beautiful town of Lourdes where we own a hotel.
As well as offering our home for exchange, we can also offer a non simultaneous exchange deal in which we can provide accommodation in our modern hotel on dates from April to October in exchange for use of your property in the winter months of October to March, ideally during our French school holidays. We're open to any location. In return we can offer very comfortable accommodation in our Hotel in the tourist town of Lourdes FULL BOARD! The Hotel is in an excellent location, walking distance to all local sites.’
See full details of this unique home or hotel home exchange offer in Lourdes, 18374.
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Home exchange members are encouraged to leave very detailed information folders for their exchange guests' use while living in their homes. Folders will include a household section with appliance brochures and instructions, information on rubbish collection days, etc.
In household information, it is very important to leave full details on security steps that must be taken when leaving your home. Ideally, your appointed 'agent' will be available to greet your guests on arrival (if you have already left) and show them how to lock doors and windows securely and, if you have an alarm system, go through the instructions on how to set it.
Do you leave curtains closed or open when likely to be out after dark? Do you leave lights or radios on or on a time switch? Are there any outside doors or gates that need to be secured? If you live in an apartment block, is there a main door entry intercom? Is there a double lock on your front door? Where do you store a fire extinguisher? How do you re-set smoke alarms?
People who take part in home swaps are very conscientious and won't leave your home vulnerable intentionally (they are trusting you to care for their home too) but it's easy to take for granted steps we take when securing our own homes. Take time to write a quick Locking Up reminder list and stick it near the front door. If leaving several keys on a key chain, label them to make it easier for your guests. If you are likely to get flyers left in a porch or rubbish blown into your front garden, ask your guests to check for this and clear it away every day. Also, if your exchange guests haven't left detailed security information for you while in their home, do contact them or their agent right away if you are unsure about anything.
It is also important to inform your household insurance company in advance of the dates non-paying guests will be staying in your home. Insurance companies generally acknowledge that lived-in homes are safer than homes left empty but it is important to ensure your own insurance cover remains valid (note: when you have any non-paying guests - friends, relatives, exchange guests - you will likely find a clause in your policy on thefts not covered if there is no evidence of a break-in).
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The blog is run by Home Base Holidays. We also run Guardian Home Exchange for the Guardian Newspaper.
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