Home Exchange Article: space and convenience for families with children

Families with children form a large part of the growing number of regular home swappers worldwide who enjoy having the space and the convenience of staying in a real home. Exchange with a family with children of a similar age to your own and your children will have a whole new set of toys, books and videos to occupy them while you relax! Other young families will have homes suitable for the needs of children (along with the usual baby and toddler gear), which enables you to pack much more lightly than is usually the case when traveling with babies and toddlers. Exchanging with a family often has extra perks like local babysitters and playmates for your children.

Staying in a hotel can be very costly for a family. Home exchange enables you to cut down on expensive meals out as well as to at least occasionally choose free ‘home entertainment’.

Not everyone exchanges with families similar to their own and, provided you make certain that the home will be suitable for children before you agree to an exchange, there are no restrictions on who you can exchange with. Experienced home swapper Jo Piercey (an American who lives in a small village in rural England with her husband and three children) writes:

‘'We chose Cape Cod for our second retreat with our son now two and a half and our daughter, a mere nine weeks. We were a little hesitant as our exchange partner was a bachelor (would he tolerate children?) and he was exchanging his second home with our primary one. We did the usual swapping of photographs and chats on the phone and decided he was the chap for us. We asked him where we could get certain items to save us from lugging them on a long-haul flight. "No problem", he replied. He is a rabbi and asked his congregation for any unused baby paraphernalia. Overnight we had a cot, a car-seat, a pushchair, a playpen and a bag of toys - magic!’

Jo continues:

‘By the time we exchanged in Florida we were pretty experienced at cleaning houses and turning over stones (Jo's suggestion for new exchangers - Ask as many questions as you can. Do not leave any stone unturned.). It was a fabulous exchange with a couple who had two sons. Their home was beautiful and it included a swimming pool, Jacuzzi and the use of a small motorboat. They also owned a much larger boat and, although we couldn't take it out, they had arranged for a friend to come to us and take us fishing. He came three times and on each occasion we caught our own dinner and grilled it as the sun set over the back garden. I say this because the back garden happened to be the Intercoastal Waterways and the sun is particularly beautiful when it sets over water. My son, all these years later, still occasionally asks me when we are going back to The Pink House as it is affectionately known! I do hope they had as good a time in our humble cottage as we did in their splendid Florida paradise.’

Those of you with older children and teenagers will know that family relationships are less fraught when your children ‘have their own space’ and that this is often difficult to achieve on vacation. A home exchange on the other hand enables each family member to have time off to relax between joint activities and outings. Older children can also take an active part in the exchange arrangements and the preparations beforehand can be an important part of the whole exchange experience. Tom McGonigle from Belfast, Northern Ireland, describes his family’s first exchange to Texas in summer 2000:

‘Ultimately we had three possibilities, with Austin, Texas proving to be most compatible in terms of child-friendliness and dates. Having set up the exchange in December 1999, we really enjoyed the long lead-in. Communication by e-mail and phone reassured us that we were dealing with responsible people who shared our priorities and interests. The children enjoyed getting to know each other via e-mail, planning theme park visits, comparing toys and games, favourite things to do locally and preferred restaurants. The sense of anticipation was enhanced by exchange of photos and books about local activities, and organising flight arrangements.

Our family had a marvellous time in Texas. The different way of life engendered a sense of fun, education and adventure. Besides driving a large van with automatic gears on "the wrong side of the road", we swam in creeks with turtles and catfish (while buzzards hovered overhead!), ate BBQ, rode all the nearby roller coasters, shopped at Outlet Stores, listened to Tex-Mex music and the Austin Symphony Orchestra, won the prize for "Most Patriotically Dressed" at our local July 4th Street Party (definitely a rigged vote by hospitable neighbours!), and of course visited the Alamo.

The home in which we stayed was large, well equipped, and very suitable for our four children, especially as we were enrolled at the nearby swimming pool. It was pleasant to chill out indoors with the air-conditioning and fans (no central heating radiators here!). The children enjoyed the range of different toys, videos and books, and found it novel to watch a sprinkler system operating, and the squads of Mexican workmen from "Perfect Lawns of Austin" tending the grass. The local daily newspaper - the Austin-American Statesman - provided a good flavour of local issues and concerns. Prices were quite similar to those in Ireland - apart from petrol, which is only a quarter of the price that we pay! We ate out frequently, sampling a range of Mexican food, though resorted to burgers and "fries" on a few occasions to placate young palates!

Flexibility and readiness to compromise are required for a successful home exchange. We had to adapt dates and shorten our ideal length of stay (though compensated by making a four day stopover in Boston on the way home); it was difficult to obtain insurance cover for Americans to drive vehicles in Ireland, whereas it proved very straightforward for us to be insured to drive in Texas. However there is no doubt that the advantages significantly outweigh any inconvenience, and detailed planning reaps its reward. It was very interesting and enjoyable to meet people in their own community, staying in a home where children and adults could be comfortable; we affected major savings in accommodation and transport costs. In addition a wider circle of our family and friends shared this holiday experience. In particular the friends and relations who met each family at airports (in our case arriving four hours late - at 3 am - into Austin airport), and those who organised day trips or evening meals all gained from the experience by making their contribution, and are consequently more interested in seeing the photos and video to learn how the other half of the exchange worked out.’

Both the Pierceys and McGonigles are members of Home Base Holidays (London). Home Base Holidays has provided a home exchange service since 1985 and offers a choice of Internet and directory membership options. A large percentage of members now have Internet access (and email makes contact between potential exchange partners very easy) but the directory option enables the many members worldwide without Internet access to take part. Visitors may view all current exchange offers (often with photos) and join Home Base Holidays on-line for instant access to member contact information: http://www.homebase-hols.com Home Base Holidays also publishes a free bi-monthly newsletter, Home Swappers. You may view all editions at: http://www.homebase-hols.com/news.shtml (check issues 2, 4 and 6 for full reports on the Piercey and McGonigle exchanges).

Further Information

Contact Lois Sealey at Home Base Holidays: homeexchange@btinternet.com or by phone +44(0)20 8886 8752