tried swapping?
Filed Under Tips & Tricks | April 14, 2009
Okay, we’re going to try a little thought experiment here. Here’s the thought: you, sipping champagne on a Parisian balcony. Your best beloved nearby, slicing a baguette and assembling a plate of artisanal cheeses. Your children, dozing peacefully under lavender-scented French linens in a nursery down the hall.
What’s that you say? Nice thought – except for the part where you’re missing the million bucks that could make the dream a reality?
Think again. There is a way to have your patisserie and eat it too when it comes to affordable, exotic family vacations: it’s called home exchange.
It took us awhile to figure out how to get our family over to Europe without taking out a second mortgage. But last summer, after one perfect month in central Paris, in a family-sized flat on the banks of the Seine just a 10-minute walk to Notre Dame – we became converts to the cause, and we’ve been evangelizing the benefits to as many young families as we can in an effort to further world peace – or at least, domestic peace.
It’s as easy as one-two-three:
- Sign up on-line with a reputable home exchange agency such as HomeLink or Intervac. Sure it’ll cost you, but at under $150, an annual membership is less than the cost of a small hotel room for one night.
- Buy a bottle of wine and spend an evening cruising the site with your sweetie, scoping out potential swaps, and sending emails to potential exchange families. Sell the benefits of your home and location – and remember: a crib, car-seat and toybox can be a feature, not a drawback. Respond promptly to queries from other families – and be open to destinations you hadn’t originally considered.
- Repeat as necessary until you find the perfect match.
Okay, so there’s a little more to it than that, but not much. With a little flexibility and trust, you can enjoy a rich family vacation even in this poor economy.
Julie Ovenell-Carter is a mother of two and an award-winning travel writer living on Bowen Island. You can find more home exchange tips (and a chance to win a one-year home exchange membership) at her web site: www.theseboots.travel
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