Home Exchanges

Now that all of our travel plans are confirmed for our 3 - yes, 3 - back-to-back, simultaneous home exchanges, it is time to write about it.  This process was not at all easy and it began last fall when we decided that maybe it was time to go to Europe again.  We are not getting any younger and who knows when one of us is no longer up to a daunting trip like this.  Of course, working out the arrangements was probably the most difficult and stressful part.

Home exchanges have become a way of life for us since our first one in 2003.  Since then, we have done 22 home exchanges - if I remembered all of them when I was counting them up the other day.  In our younger days, we used to go to Europe, rent a car and drive all over to see as much as we could - never staying in one place for very long.  Of course, we were still working so could not be gone for more than a couple of weeks so we wanted to see it all.  After retirement, however, we are at leisure all the time and there are no real time restraints and we can be very flexible.

So, here is how it works.  We have belonged to 2 or 3 home exchange organizations on the Internet.  The best one has been Homelink.org    They have been around for a long time and have 1000's of members all over the world.  There are 2 ways to line up a home exchange - you can wait until someone contacts you about an exchange or you contact others about an exchange.  We have done it both ways but more often, I am writing to people asking if they want to exchange with us.  However, we have had some very nice exchanges with people who wrote to us first.  We prefer to do exchanges simultaneously because we don't have a 2nd home.  Some people have vacation homes and want to come to your house at one time and you go to their vacation home at a different time.  Also, if they are in our home, we want to be in theirs - not their vacation rental home.  There is a difference: vacation homes are not as "homey" - many times they are rentals and sparsely furnished with minimal amenities.  A person's home is more comfortable and we are able to exchange the use of basic cooking condiments and help ourselves out of the pantry and fridge but just agreeing to replace things when we leave.

Castle near Aberdeen

Back to the current arrangements.  Last fall we received an inquiry from a couple wanting to exchange for their home in Aberdeen, Scotland.  That is what got us talking about going to Europe again.  Since we have never been to Scotland, it sounded interesting.  So, I said, why not line up something in Germany (John's favorite country in Europe) after our Scottish exchange.  I started searching the 100's of home exchange possibilities in Germany on Homelink and Homeexchange.  Fairly soon I received a positive response from a couple near Rudesheim on the Rhein.  It was a lovely house and we are familiar with the town.  We made the commitment with them to exchange.  Then I started looking for a 3rd exchange after Germany (why not?).  Eventually, I found an exchange near Bordeaux, France - wow this sounded really good.  We were set - well, not quite.  About 2 months after the agreement with the German folks, they cancelled - arrrgh.  Back to the drawing board - actually the Internet.  I wrote to a zillion Germans looking for an exchange.  Had a couple that were pretty hopeful but they didn't work out for one reason or another.  Meanwhile, the exchange to Bordeaux fell through.  Arrrrgh.  This was becoming very frustrating.  (Meanwhile, Scotland was totally confirmed, exact dates set and they had already bought their tickets).  Then, I hit the bullseye in France - a charming house south of Carcasonne - an exchange with a semi-retired couple who had actually been to San Miguel a few years ago and loved it.  She is a travel writer and photographer and he is a psychologist.  We had a stream of back and forth emails and I knew this was the right one and it was going to work out.  Yes!

Vineyards and Magrie, France

We would go from Scotland to France - 2 weeks in Scotland and 3 weeks in France.  But, we still wanted to do something in Germany so back to the Internet and more emails.  I finally kind of gave up on Germany and sent a few to the Netherlands.  Bingo!  A couple in a little town called Doesburg responded favorably.  After a few back and forths - it was a deal.

Now - all of our exchange partners have booked their travels and so have we.  I'm happy - John's happy and our exchange partners are happy.  There are no gaps in our transition from one exchange to the next.  We'll fly non-stop from Mexico City to Amsterdam and then to Edinburgh.  We'll spend one night there and take the train to Aberdeen the next day to our exchange.  At the end of that stay we'll take the train back to Edinburgh, spend the night and then fly to Amersterdam, change planes and down to Toulouse, France.  Our exchangers there will leave their car for us at the airport and we drive to their house in Magrie.  At the end of those 3 weeks, we will fly back to Amsterdam and take the train to Doesburg for our final exchange.  At the end (early October) we may go visit some German friends and relatives near Bremen before we return to Mexico.  We are excited and leave August 19th - less than four months from now.

Doesburg, Netherlands