Strange is the wrong word to use here. Out of the ordinary, maybe. But not to everyone! There are people who don’t let the price of where they’ll be staying stop them from going to exotic locations. Ever been to London? Ah, the history filled streets, the theater, the food and the museums… certainly not the weather. How would you like to spend a month or more in London and have to pay nothing but your basic daily expenses? Who wouldn’t? Well it’s entirely possible. Here’s how.
You can live in mine if I can live in yours
It’s known as ‘house swapping’ and some people absolutely swear by it. If it’s just one concentrated area that you want to spend time in, addicts of this frugal type of travel say it’s the only way. It takes a lot of planning, but what vacation doesn’t? They argue that you would have to plan your vacation any ways so why not plan a house swap? And the savings, they promise, is only a small part of the many reasons to sample and enjoy house swapping for your vacation. Lasting friendships are born from these home exchanges on a frequent basis. Not only will you undoubtedly end up making friends with the people whose home you’re living in (and them in yours) but you may even make friends with your new neighbors, local pubs, markets and restaurants and more.
Just an ordinary day
Just because you’re on vacation doesn’t mean you have to eat out three times a day. You’re living in the house… make something! At the very least enjoy a nice relaxing breakfast during which you can plan your day. Or have a quick breakfast and fly off to enjoy the sights at random. If you miss something it’s not a problem; you simply catch it the next day. Or the day after that. You can even stay in all day and pop out for a nightcap that one of the local pubs, if you feel so compelled. And if you find something particularly enjoyable, you can certainly go back again… there’s lots of time. Speaking of time, it seems that Europeans are more than willing to swap houses for more than a month. Americans seldom have that kind of time off. Locations that are known as tourist attractions present great opportunities to take in the touristy sites without having to pay the touristy hotel bill. How does one go about finding a house to swap? How do you find anything?
Newspaper ads and Internet searches
Homelink and Home Exchange are two sources of places to find people interested in swapping homes. An annual membership fee of less than $100 allows you to not only list your home, please enclose a description and photos, but lets you just take it easy and relax while you wait for offers to start rolling in. When someone from an area that you’d like to visit gets in touch, you could have a possible match. Those two web sites are both reputable and extremely helpful to the newcomer.
I don’t want strangers in my home
By the time the whole house swap thing takes place, you will be anything but strangers with the people with whom you’re swapping. There will be phone conversations, emails and in some cases, the people owning the home in which you’ll be staying may even pick you up at the airport and bring you to their house. It has happened. Some have even gone so far as to give the visiting couple a tour of the city before they leave for the other house in the swap. And don’t forget one important fact. You have strangers in your house but you are strangers in their house as well. It’s a tradeoff. House swapping can offer you the opportunity to visit places you never thought possible because the cost would be too high.
One of the most painful parts of a pricey vacation is your temporary abode. Luxury resorts, though they may have swimming pools and free breakfasts, can’t compare with the comforts and the niceties of a personal, well kept yet lived in home. And if you think about it, some homes have pools and fitness rooms and all sorts of fun and exciting amenities!