Change of Scene
Is the house swapping trend for you?
Tired of impersonal hotels, rundown rental cars and overcrowded tourist attractions? House swapping might just be your vacation solution. Here’s what you need to know before you get started…
• Membership to a home exchange site usually costs about $100 per year. Within that year, you can exchange as many times as you want, and there are no additional fees other than your usual travel expenses.
• Remember that a house swap probably won’t be your typical vacation. You’ll be experiencing your destination as a local. How refreshing!
• Use a reputable organization like Home Exchange for your house swap. These organizations do a great job of keeping the process safe and relatively stress-free for everyone involved.
• Be sure to exchange plenty of emails, pictures and even phone calls with your swapping partners. That way, you won’t feel like strangers and you’ll develop a sense of trust.
• Most exchanges within a country last 1-2 weeks while international exchanges are typically a little longer.