Want To Stay Free When You Travel? Swap Homes
For purposes of home exchanges, what is a home?
A home can be a single family home; condominium, rental
apartment; yacht or sailboat; motor home; or houseboat.
How do you exchange homes?
Once you find out if you are a good home exchange candidate, you
can begin the home exchange process. To do that you will have to
decide: Where you want to go; who you want to travel with and
when; how much money you can spend finding an exchange and on
the trip; and what you are willing to offer prospective
exchangers.
How do you find home exchangers?
You can place an ad in a newspaper of the city or country you
want to visit; talk with other exchangers for referrals. A more
efficient and faster way is to visit and join one or more home
exchange organization websites.
Car Exchanges
Some exchangers include their cars in the home exchange
agreement. That means they drive each other's cars while they
stay at each other's homes. Top ten benefits of home exchanging
1. Staying free! 2. Living like the locals during your stay 3.
Gaining an understanding of how people in other places live 4.
Being able to stay in locations where there are no hotels or
other accommodations 5. Meeting new people, making new friends
6. Your home is taken care of while you travel 7. Being able to
sample local foods 8. More privacy 9. Save money by cooking your
own meals 10. You have more space than at a hotel
Who exchanges homes?
All kinds of people exchange homes. There are teachers,
journalists, doctors, archeologists, psychologists, realtors,
homemakers, and many other occupations and professions
represented among home exchangers. Many home exchangers are
adults over 40 and retirees. There are offers of modest homes
and luxurious estates. Home swappers tend to be educated,
reliable, respectful of other's things and interested in travel.
Whether you are planning a vacation to Hawaii, an extended leave
in New York or a business trip to London, home exchanging could
be what you are looking for. Before you let a stranger stay in
your home and before you hop on a plane on your way to a home
swap, there are some things you need to know. Make sure you ask
lots of questions and know what you are doing before you agree
to an exchange.
M.T. Simon is co-author of a popular how-to guide on home
exchanging, The Home Exchange Guide (Poyeen Publishing, $19.95).
For information on home swapping and a list of organizations
visit http://www.freehomeawayfromhome.com