For over two years, we’ve used home exchange as our primary method to take advantage of our location independent status.

It’s been a huge success, and a whole heap of fun, so mixing things up after Zero Waste Week, and even although Organic Fortnight is still on the go, I would like to share with you my other passion

I prepared this mini guide on house swapping especially for the wonderful resource that is Location Independent.

If you have any interest in pursuing a location independent lifestyle but are not sure how to get started, then this site is a must have bookmark. Head over for the house swapping guide first – then scroll to the top navigation bar and choose “Start Here”. Enjoy!

This is the question you hope you never face when you’re house swapping. It is certainly the question you really hope you’ll never face when you’re on a home exchange sequence and the partner pulling out is the third in a sequence of four and you’re already far, far away from home with only a few days left of your second exchange.

We were faced with just such a dilemma this year.

We’d already spent five weeks of happy travelling which included two very successful house swaps in Spain. Honestly, things couldn’t have been going better. There was sun. There was sea. There was siesta. There was the World Cup!

Spain for the Cup!

Just a few days left of our second swap in Catalunya and we were were preparing to give up our languorous lifestyle and head north via friends to stay in the Charente for our third house swap. This would involve two weeks of ‘getting back to work’ and implementing all the plans that had miraculously appeared in the space we’d made for them during our rest and recuperation on the beach, in the pool – oh, you get the picture…

We were a little apprehensive about swapping for holiday homes.

To be honest, I had been a bit apprehensive about organising the first two house swaps of the summer with second homes – but  I am delighted to report the two home exchanges we made in Spain were a resounding success! This was of course partly due to not having always on internet access. No WiFi whatsoever – just an occasional trip to the internet cafes.

To be honest, it was so hot and I was having such a fine time that the trip to the cafe (which involved having to wear actual clothes rather than beachwear and having to cross a railway line) seemed like too much of an effort – I mean, what could possibly be happening in the world that could top me chilling out to the sound of the ocean?

our ocean view

Thankfully, I slipped into some shorts, donned a hat and made the trip the day before we were due to leave for France, just to make some final preparations. And there was an email I could so easily have missed:

“we are unable to go to Scotland”!

*Blink*!! *DON’T PANIC*

The next line was somewhat more reassuring;

“But, our house will be open for you”…

And there you have the open mindedness and generosity of house swap folks – even when this family were unable to come to Scotland due to family problems, they were vacating their home for two weeks in order that we could live in it – rent free – with no expectations and no clauses.

The email got us thinking (quickly). We had already planned to spend a few days catching up with some friends we’d made on our first summer of house swaps, so there was actually no rush to arrive at the next house. If we combined those few days with another few days visiting some other friends we’d made on another house swap, then we would be able to give our family more time in their house.

The idea that grew into a big plan.

This thought began to grow legs… We’d been having such a fantastic time and were utterly and completely satisfied with our ‘holiday’ – our first in three or four years – and were quite eager to get on with work. Perhaps our trip had already given us everything we’d needed? Although we’re set up to work completely location independently, there was some work with a couple of clients who would very much appreciate the effort to be physically closer to them for a short while.

Certainly our recently turned 12 (going on 16) year old, Ruaridh – for whom the relentless summer sun is always a challenge and who was beginning to miss his mates -  jumped at the suggestion of returning home earlier than planned. After two years of unschooling and three years of house swapping, he was beginning to have serious thoughts about returning to school and staying at home for the year ahead and was keen to have the opportunity to spend some of the school holidays with his pals.

Was this trip then, to be the Spanish Trip after all? France, just a country we’d traverse to make our way home? Questions, questions, questions …

It’s all about the people, stupid!

It turns out the answer was yes! The next week was spent revisiting some of our favourite French places and French people. Friends we’ve made who have shown us the utmost generosity and kindness, whom it seems we will never be able to repay, reminding us why we love France so.

pool acrobatics in Montauban

Happy days. Happy times.

Annick & boys in St Sornin

Lots of them.

Antony and Ruaridh play vintage MasterMind

Next thing I know, we’re hammering up the motorway away from our beloved St Sornin in the Charente Maritime, hoping to make the 6pm ‘Vomit Comet’ sailing from Le Havre to Portsmouth. We usually travel slow. This all seems wrong – it’s 33 degrees C, the sky is the deepest azure. The sunflower fields are golden and singing and the wheat fields are being harvested under our very noses. Why are we doing this again?

Sunny Scotland …

Twenty four hours later and we arrive home. The countryside is sunny and the trip from Abingdon through the South Lanarkshire countryside remind us how beautiful Scotland is. There are many big plans and many changes to our lives and businesses ahead. We’re eager to get on with them, yes! But as I write this under relentless grey skies I am pining a little for France and imagine cycling through a vineyard under the bluest of skies and the brightest of suns. To hear the sweet music of the language drift around my ears as I enjoy a petite cafe on the pavement…

And so, the next trip must be arranged We welcome house exchange family 2010 no 4 on 3rd August. We’ll stay with them for a couple of days and feed them haggis and stovies and pretend the weather is always sunny, why this must be a blip, then we’re off heading south. Not to France, unfortunately, but I have a plan. And a big to-do list to get through.

Viva Home Exchange!

Alcossebre isn’t in Lonely Planet’s guide to Spain. It’s no surprise, really… it’s not a whitewashed village or a cosmopolitan city.  It is a village inhabited only in the last century or so – and mainly by Spanish retirees. It is a village of second homes and holiday apartments on the Costa Del Alzhar.

Our home exchange was located just a few hundred metres from the best beach in town and we arrived there on narrow, twisted back roads through groves of oranges and olives until suddenly we arrive in a small city of apartments.

The car safely locked behind our remote control operated iron gates, we were on the first floor overlooking our spotlessly clean pool and small garden meticulously, if not lovingly cared for by our serious and unsmiling gardener.

The view from the block was quite spectacular, especially if you ignored the surrounding apartment blocks, some of which reminded me of a prison. A jolly prison, for sure – and one with a bright blue swimming pool that shimmered in the sunshine, but something of a prison just the same…

What price our security? Never once did we imagine our safety here in Alcossebre would be compromised. Our fellow holiday makers were mostly retired or young families.. Absolutely zero pan handlers and I can only recall seeing two touts of the ubiquitous sunglasses and handbags that appear in every coastal location. We had free and secure parking and the streets and beaches were amongst the cleanest I’ve seen.

Our stay was relaxed – especially with no WiFi – and the apartment contained everything we needed. Travelling a 1000 miles plus the ferry journey ensured we had no desire to take any trips outwith the area, and we really had no need.

But I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something slightly out of kilter with this small town. Something slightly Stepford Wives about it… and then we met up with our home exchange host Maria a week or so later in Valencia, and she mentioned an occasion forty years or so ago, in Franco’s time when she was walking alone in a busy part of the city (it may have been Valencia, I can’t recall) at no risk of any harm  and an American had warned her that one day she would be aware that the country had exchanged its safety for its freedom.

On that note – our week in Alcossebre was perfectly pleasant. We slipped into step most easily and enjoyed days on the beach, playing in the pool and siestas. We ventured up a mountain with 20% inclines once more to visit a church which was closed and clung on to each other in what seemed like tropical force winds. We walked north along the coast in blistering heat to discover a jewel strewn pebble cove on the edge of the wilderness and walked south to discover another Fort and church and tropically beautiful shorelines.

We even imagined our own second home here, all safe and secure. A lock up and go apartment. Easy to clean, easy to heat. And easy to imagine we would wake up one day and discover we were in prison after all. A prison of our own making – but a prison, all the same. Safety for freedom, anyone?

The journey here was quite something. We started off in grey skies in rush-hour Bilbao in the Basque country. It’s always slightly nerve-wracking leaving the ferry and this time even more so as we hadn’t planned the next part of the journey whatsoever! No Google Maps or road atlas prep – and no rough idea of how to get to our destination other than an address which didn’t even register in Doris, our faithful GPS who was busy “searching for satellites”.

 Now, this goes quite against the grain for me, for my PeopleMaps personality report extract hits it on the head “I’m well-organised and like to take control”! But this section of the trip was under Martin’s lead and he’d elected to abdicate it mostly to fate…

 Doris got it together pretty soon, and off we set under ominous, pregnant dark grey clouds. Passing through Rioja country – the vineyards laid out in orderly procession across rich burnt orange earth – the predominant wildlife, undetermined birds of prey.

 The scrubland looks like its made from the same materials used to construct model railways through the neighbouring region of Nevarra. At mid-day, it’s only 18 Celcius, but there’s a residual heat here in this land of earth which is a deep yellow ochre, with silver broom and giant wind turbines in the aqua blue sky with long, flat cirrus clouds. The Nevarra mountains our constant companion, as are the birds of  prey.

 And onwards, into the badlands of Aragon, we detour past Zaragoza – a huge metropolis in the midst of a desert, not stopping to enquire about the mega Casino project underway, even when Doris loses track of all the new developments and we set off determinedly in the wrong direction along the AP2 motorway (accompanied by her cries of protestation to take the N232, through the mountains).

 After an hour or so, and a conversation with a local at a service station we give in to Doris and head back towards Alcaniz, expecting Cowboys and Indians to appear at anytime. Slowly and uncertainly we make our way along the N232 in 24 Celcius afternoon sunshine, the toffees and caramels of this land combined with the dark green punctuations of cactus clinging tenaciously on precarious root systems reminding us of ever more of a wild west panorama. Tumbleweed rolls across the road to add to the effect.

 Next to come are the El Maestrazgo mountains, a steel grey sky and heavy rain. Spectacular views, despite the weather and we know we’ve probably added at least 3 hours onto our journey (perhaps the motorway was the quickest way after all) but oh, it is worth it – tiny villages cling on to the mountainous terraces, tiny flashes of white in an ocean of green tree-tops. It’s quite chilly now and the rain is lashing down when we come upon the magnificence of the medieval fortress town of Morella. We don’t stop to visit the town, topped by its impenetrable Castle where the regions of Aragon, Valencia and Catalonia meet. It’s late, we’re tired and it’s very, very wet.

 Another couple of hours and we’ve made it to this holiday town of apartments upon apartments, lots of beach and the welcome of Carmen, her sister and mother. Elegant ladies from Bilbao, they give us the key to our 8th house-swap apartment and after a quick supermarket shop (there ain’t no organic specialties here) we retire gratefully to our new beds. Our home and place of respite for one week. Sun? Check. Sea? Check. Tapas? Check.

Wish you were here …
Julie

We were surprised to learn that the route from Portsmouth to Bilbao across the Bay Biscay is home to one of the world’s hotspots for whales and dolphins – and that it was very likely that we would be able to spot said wildlife from the ferry. Over a quarter of the world’s 90 recorded species of whales and porpoises have been recorded in the Bay of Biscay!

Clive Martin is the charismatic Director of UK based charity Marinelife (www.marine-life.org.uk) and uses the Pride of Bilbao ferry crossing to introduce the work of the organisation to those passengers that feel so inclined. His lively presentation introduces us to some of the species we’re likely to see on the trip and gives just enough detail about the research work they carry out on board the vessel – the world’s longest running deep sea scientific whale and dolphin monitoring programmes. And we all get terribly excited when Clive announces that he’s organised for a slight detour of the ferry, towards the Carribean (huzzah!) and some deeper waters more suited to whale-spotting.

Emotions (and expectations) are raised amongst the captured audience – most of whom were completely unaware of this unique opportunity to spot whales and dolphins in the wild beforehand – and it’s satisfying to see the long snake of passengers ready to part with much needed funds for the charity, in exchange for a few fluffy dolphins and fridge magnets.

Of course, we are also in the queue, with a fluffy dolphin and some other promo goods tucked under our arms. And a request for an interview with Clive – a very busy man!

We don’t have time for a video interview, but via a brief chat are able to gain a deeper insight into the passion this man has for the wildlife and the research that his programme undertakes. With a core team of professional staff and trained volunteers, Marinelife works on a number of  projects including;

Balearic Shearwater: distribution and fishery interactions of critically endangered seabird.

Cuvier’s Beaked Whale: habitat use in Biscay by this poorly understood seep sea species.

White-beaked Dolphin: photo-id and population study.

Western Channel Survey: in-depth survey of cetaceans (dolphins, whales, poprpoises) and seabirds.

Clive explains that as with most NGO’s (Non Governmental Organisation) they are particularly strapped for cash – and fund-raising is one of their uppermost priorities (after the research and education, of course). The pride of Bilbao will stop being a functioing route after the summer and so he has to work out which vessel to move the research and presentations on to. But the work will continue – and so the funds still need to appear!

Anyone over 18 can volunteer to participate in the research – and after some intial training, you can get yourself on the boat and spend the day spotting whales and dolphins from the very top deck of the ferry (equivalent to an 11-storey building).

We were on top deck afterwards, and thrilled to spot the antics of common dolphins as they charge into the ferry to play in the bow waves. Gasps of awe and emotion emit from everyone that has braved the elements to go see. After Clive’s lesson we can now spot a common dolphin from quite far away, with it’s distinctive yellow patch on the side, but without our binoculars (locked in the boot of the car) we’re unable to tell the calves from the adults. It’s still pretty special, though. As Clive said, “you see a dolphin and you can’t help but smile.”

There was also a few sightings of sperm whales and minke whales, but alas, we were in the wrong place and without the proper training to identify the great beasts. Still, even to know they were swimming underneath us was wildly exciting -  such was the emotion stirred by Clive’s presentation.

So, what can you do? There’s still time to book a special mini-cruise – from Portsmouth to Bilbao where you can spend your weekend sighting cetaceans for only £99 per person. Apparently, the cruise northwards offers up some splendid species close to Bilbao. There are also some special ID cruises available – and worth checking out.You can also set up a monthly standing order (I will be).

As an Organikal, you will probably already be contributing in a small way as Pollution is one of the biggest issues facing these fantastic creatures. Marinelife explains that “chemicals, heavy-metals and plastics cause dangerous algal blooms, impact on cetacean immune systems and cause direct damage from ingestion.”

By-Catch and Over-Fishing are two more issues which you can directly affect by making Organikal choices about the type of fish you eat. Did you know that every one in two catches contains a dead dolphin? Check out the MSC list of sustainable fish and make sure the fish you eat is not harvested by harmful trawling nets. Line-caught fish is the way to go, if you want to see these species preserved (or better still, don’t eat anything with a mum and a bum).

Lastly, global-warming may be forcing “changes in the distribution of cetaceans and seabirds, to areas with unsuitable habitat or fewer food sources”. Every individual really can make their contribution to fighting global warming. You know it. Every time you leave an extra light on, or your computer on stand-by, think of the dolphins and switch-off

Thankfully, there are organisations out there doing vital work to help understand and preserve these magnificent beasts. They could use your support www.marine-life.org.uk

Martin and Ruaridh at Chah with Bubble Tea

Day 2 of our house swapping Grand Adventure saw us in Leamington Spa, purchasing Ruaridh’s birthday iPod Touch. As such, we were frequenting a shopping mall, when we passed this tea stall, Chah. We were first enticed because they offered free WiFi and organic tea and coffee but we were soon doing a wee happy dance when we discovered they also offered bubble tea.

We hadn’t seen bubble tea since we were last in Vancouver. Haven’t come across it yet? Bubble tea was invented in Taiwan. The variety we were familiar with was iced green tea, flavoured with a fruit syrup. The bubbles? Well that comes from tapioca pearls which float about and are sooked up using stupidly big straws. Obviously, we love it for its sheer novelty factor – we wouldn’t usually demand gelatinous balls of tapioca in our drinks!

The Mandarin speaking owner of Chah had lived in Taiwan for some time and is passionate about tea and assured us that his bubble tea was exactly as it tastes there. This variety is milky tea, served with a flavoured syrup (chocolate, mint, almond … you get the picture), iced and satisfyingly resplendent with tapioca perals.

chocolate bubble tea from Chah

Such a novelty and bringing back memories of a happy trip to Vancouver, we were thrilled with our bubblelicious tea.

Team Fundergibbon Go Houseswapping

At last (or so it seems) we departed for the 2010 House Swapping adventure yesterday. You can tell we’re heading south because Martin has his Indiana Jones hat on

It really does seem to have taken a very long time to get everything ready for this year’s marathon home exchange. Don’t let me ever tell you that it ‘s a piece of cake. Many hours of preparation did it take to get to the point that we were ready to leave. I guess that’s only to be expected: I worked out yesterday that in total this summer’s trip involves at least 10 families and five countries!

Anyway, I’m happy to report we’ve made it to stage 1, which is a stopover with family in the UK. A nice and easy one to start with, we’ve got wireless broadband and all in a beautiful setting upon the River Avon. We’re going to spend some time here catching up on some work for CareerPsychometrics and checking out the delights of Leamington.

How did we get here? Down the M6 in our big car. (Yes, we have a big car – especially for organic eco types – and there’ll be a post soon to explain why and what we do to lessen its impact).

Can you be organic on the motorway? You can if you take packed lunches, of course – but with a house swap to organise I didn’t manage to make us a picnic. So, what to do? If you’re like me you’ll hate those homogenised service stations with their rip off prices. There is an alternative. Check out http://www.offmotorway.com/ for some local independent businesses offering food and accommodation.

As it happens, we only made a couple of stops, once for fuel and the other for dinner – and my choice for dinner was the fantastic Tebay Services at Westmorland, resplendent with farm shop. Was it entirely organic? No, unfortunately not – but there was a large amount of veggie options and free range and organic snacks and all the tea was fair trade and organic. I enjoyed some really delicious minted pea and watercress soup, whilst Martin opted for spring vegetable variety. Ruaridh can’t see a macaroni cheese go past his nose, so that sorted him out for the rest of the night.

Tebay Services at Westmorland

I love Westmorland. Browsing their farm shop (they even have a local butcher counter for all you meat eaters) and gift shop breaks up a trip nicely. Of course, I succumbed and bought some organic cake and juice and biscuits to offer our hosts here in Warwickshire  :-) But I don’t feel ripped off here. Nor do I feel dirty, like every other service station seems to make me feel.

Westmorland has recently been refurbished and I don’t know their financial situation, but if one service stop can be owned by locals and offer up quality local goods and services, I don’t see why more of them couldn’t. It would make travelling all the more pleasant for everyone and contribute something more valuable to the local economy than a few poxy Little Chef jobs.

Just 7 days until we embark on the summer 2010 house swap! Not that I’m panicking

So, exactly how much effort does it take to plan a marathon house swap and then to get ready for it? At this stage of the game, I’m pleased to say the major stuff has been organised;

1. After at least 89 emails starting February 2010, I just signed the last of four contracts for this summer’s swaps last weekend – phew! The contracts are a great way to set out the exact dates/times/contacts for the trip – and also, to provide an agreement about what’s expected of each other. We print them off and keep them with our travel info folder, for easy access on the road.

2. For this trip, we’ve organised 4 house swaps, 1 outward ferry, 1 overnight stop with family, 1 organic farm viewing, 1 meetup & stayover with prospective swappers for 2011, 1 meetup with more prospective swappers for 2010/11, 1 stayover with previous house swap friends, 1 get together with other previous house swapping friends, 1 catch up visit with newly married French friends and 1 stayover with old British friends.

We’ve still got a few overnight stays to arrange in between the 1st and 2nd swaps and the return ferry, but that can wait until we’re on our way… it’s always good to have some flexibility after all!

2. The Organikal Home Exchange Manual has been updated with this year’s information, including a re-write of the personal introduction to our home and area. We’ve been collecting tourist information for months, and it took me about 4 hours to re-compile the folder with that and to re-write the household instructions/welcome pack last weekend:

house swap manual & local info

3. I’ve finally managed to organise the gifts we leave for our home exchange partners. We opted for Scottish wine from Cairn o’ Mohr and my personal favourite Hebridean oatcakes. I also made a double batch of chilli jam to add in. The jam takes a couple of hours from beginning to end, but the wine and oatcakes were by mail order and veg box delivery respectively, so I can’t really claim much time for them.

I did spend some time choosing the tartan ribbon to tie off the wine. Us Scots folk may have a dislike for tartan, but for our foreign visitors, it’s quintessentially Scottish, so I opted for my family tartan “Anderson” to add a personal touch:

scottish wine & oatcakes

4. We haven’t combined camping with our house swaps before, and we’ve really no idea how we’re going to fit it all the extra stuff in. We’ve started gathering it all here, where it way stay until the weekend when there is talk of perhaps having a trial run to see if the space can accommodate everything:

camp, beach, play

This pile will just keep growing over the next week. My idea of camping and boys’ idea of camping isn’t the same, so I’m hoping lack of space will justify alternative arrangements

5. And amongst all of this (and the eco cleaning) is work. Work, work, work … We’re running 2 whiteboards, double-sided to make sure we’re on top of everything :

white board planning

This probably takes most of our time, as you’d expect. Because we’re mostly location independent, we can usually just carry on as normal whilst travelling and during the swaps. This year we’re going a bit radical and have planned to take at least a week’s holiday. There’s no permanent WiFi until house exchange no 3, either. Talk about a shake up!

6. And the Grand Adventure master plan with all the little details? Yes, that’s covered by a whiteboard, too. I’m always pleased to see more ticks than not, but even as I look at today’s version I know there’s stuff that isn’t on the board that still needs to be tackled;

master white board

7. Entertainment. We’ve discovered we don’t need a lot of it, however books are such an essential part of our lives, that we’ve previously found ourselves packing 2 large bags of them to take with us. It’s mainly down to Ruaridh. He can tackle a single book in one sitting! So, in combination with our audio books and ebooks, full of motivation and inspiration, we usually assemble a large selection of ‘holiday reads’.

second hand reads

I managed to grab four books for £2 at Suzanne’s fund-raising tea party (I was especially pleased with the Spanish dictionary) and Martin bought a few more from the charity shop for £2 each (the Baldacci, Connelly and Crichton selection obviously his – I’m sure he’s read them before, but who can tell?). We do have an order ready to go on Amazon (it’s tough to find books I like on the charity shop shelves) and we bought a load from Waterstones for Ruaridh, but we know there will just never be enough space for all of the ones we’d like to take.

T-7. Crikey, I’d better get on …

House swapping - a window to the world

For some people, the very idea of inviting complete strangers to stay in their home invokes absolute horror, but for the house swap community it’s a low-cost ticket to travelling the world.

Home exchange is basically like online dating – for houses. You upload your profile to your choice of home exchange websites, and promote its best features. Input basic information  such as how many bedrooms and bathrooms and the better websites will allow you  to indicate deal breakers such as; children/no children; pool/no pool; internet/no internet and so on.

And in just the same way as you might meet your perfect match through a dating site, there will be a perfect house swap for you. We’ve been surprised and delighted with each of our house swap destinations – all of which have been a mystery to us beforehand. One of the most exciting benefits has been to visit locations we’ve never heard of, and would never have considered for a more traditional vacation.

Can Anyone House Swap?

the world in your basket

We’re often asked if you need a fancy mansion in an exotic location to enjoy the benefits of home exchange. We can tell you from experience that you sure don’t! We’re an average family, with an average house, in an average location -certainly not renowned as a tourist haven.

There really is something for everyone out there. From studio flats which double up as holiday lets, through to whole holiday resorts! There’s countryside farmhouses and downtown apartments, beach front shacks and suburban semis. Sure, you’re unlikely to secure a swap with a grand chateau if all you have to offer is a two up two down in a new town.

Swappers do it for different reasons, too. Some swappers will be looking to take their family for a two week vacation to a new country, and hoping to save on accommodation costs.  Some will be travelling the world and looking to join up accommodation dots. Others will be returning ‘home’ to visit family after an emigration. There’s as many reasons as there are people …

What if Something Goes Wrong?

Nothing has gone wrong with any of our house swaps so far. I think the closest was when Doris (our GPS) took us to the correct address in the wrong town. For a brief moment, my stomach dropped to the floor as I considered we’d been sent to a false location. But, of course, it was a simple misunderstanding and resolved in less than an hour.

Many house swap membership sites offer some form of insurance which you can use to protect yourself from any mishaps that may occur.

Top Tips to Getting Started

the road ahead

1. Investigate a range of house swap sites and choose a few (possibly as much as 5) to register with. Some sites have more traction in specific countries. We’re currently members of the following sites;

Home For Exchange
Guardian Home Exchange
Geenee
1st Home Exchange

2. Prepare some photographs of your home’s interior for uploading to your profile, but don’t forget to include some of the outside space, the area you live in and some must-see visitor attractions. Some sites only allow a limited amount of photos, so choose those that let your swapper see your living space – photos of individual furniture and wall decorations are not so helpful. Including a photo of you and your family/fellow travellers will personalise your profile and add more credibility.

3. You should also think of yourself as a mini tourist board, describing local areas of interest and must visit attractions in your profile, if there’s space. The aim is to make your house sound attractive enough to appeal to a diverse range of visitors from your preferred destination.

4. Include some personal information about yourself and your fellow travellers . For a lot of house swappers, it’s important to make a personal connection with the people you’ll be swapping with. After all, sharing your most intimate space with strangers is not something you’d wish to do with people whose fundamental personalities and beliefs you find uncomfortable. Link to your blog, Twitter, Facebook and Flickr profiles – or whatever you have - make it easy on yourself.

5. Investigate property profiles in your preferred destination and approach every property owner that meets your requirements. If you don’t speak the first language of the property owner, use a programme like Google Translate to prepare your introductory request in their first language in addition to your own.

6. Respond promptly and politely to all incoming requests, even if you wish to decline the offer. Occasionally we have  found ourselves following up an enquiry that we initially turned down.

7. Once you’ve agreed a swap with a contact, re-confirm dates and arrangements for handing over keys and try and stay in touch as often as is reasonable.

8. Make use of any contracts/insurance facilities provided on the swap website. These can make your life easier, and offer as much or as little reassurance/protection as you need.

9. Prepare a House Swap Manual for your guests. Include basic contact information for Emergency Services and other useful contacts like doctor, dentist, pharmacy and such. Remember other useful instructions such as rules for refuse disposal, acceptable phone usage, fuse box and stop cock locations.

10. Your manual should include Things to Do, including where to eat. Don’t forget to include information on activities and locations not published in the tourist guides – sometimes a secret beach or little known pub could be the making of a holiday for your swap guests.

11. We often prepare a gift for our guests, and have been delighted recipients of the same at the other end. Put together a small welcome gift, perhaps with some local produce and you’ll kick-start their adventure on a genuinely positive note. We try and leave out the haggis what with it being date sensitive and all

12. Most house swappers expect to benefit from their exchange partners’ store cupboards to some extent, but don’t take it for granted. We’ve been offered full use of drinks cabinets and freezers in some locations, and found there’s no toilet roll in others. Each will be different, but if you’ve a definite no-share policy or otherwise, then make it clear in your Exchange Manual.

What Happens Next?

stairway to holiday heaven?

13. Enjoy, enjoy and enjoy. Engage with your surroundings and the people in them. Inject yourself (and your cash) into the local economy, safe in the knowledge that you’re not lining the pockets of any faceless corporation. Take care of your surroundings – this is (usually) someone’s precious home.

14. For certain, you should leave their house in the same state you find it. For us, this has always meant leaving it clean and tidy. When we haven’t had time to wash and dry bed linen or towels, then we’ve made sure the beds are stripped, at least, and the dirty laundry beside the machine.

15. Once you’ve completed your swap, don’t forget to ask your exchange partner for a recommendation/testimonial for your profile, if your membership site has such a facility. Providing comfort from past swappers for future swappers can only increase your rating score! I usually write our recommendations first, then send a polite request with a link and suggestion that they do the same.

And if you like, do keep in touch. We’ve made some life long friendships through house swapping – and we’re looking to making some more.

House swapping is a wonderful way to travel the world, and you can make it as big a journey as you like. Flexible family travel – without costing the Earth.

For some people, the very idea of inviting complete strangers to stay in their home invokes absolute horror, but for the house swap community it’s a low-cost ticket to travelling the world. Attracted to a long hot summer without peak season accommodation prices, we set out on our first house swap in the summer of 2008 and haven’t looked back. Seven swaps in and we’re hooked – with up to six months of the year assigned to the activity.

Home exchange is basically like online dating – for houses. You upload your profile to a choice of home exchange websites, and promote its best features. Basics such as bedrooms and bathrooms are dealt with, of course, but you will also be acting a little like a tourist board for your area, describing local areas of interest and must visit attractions. The aim is to make your house sound attractive enough to appeal to visitors from your preferred destination. In addition to choosing your destination country, you will also get the chance to indicate deal breakers such as; children/no children; pool/no pool; internet/no internet and so on.

And in just the same way as you might meet your perfect match through a dating site, there will be a perfect house swap for you. We’ve been surprised and delighted with each of our house swap destinations – all of which have been a mystery to us beforehand. One of the most exciting benefits has been to visit locations we’ve never heard of, and would never have considered for a more traditional vacation. Spending the summer under blue skies and a hot sun with a foreign language as a soundtrack can’t be recommended highly enough. To combine that with our work and the family’s education – we’re living the dream, oh, yes we are!

Our very first house swap in 2008, was in the mountains of Catalonia, about 30 minutes west of Dali’s birthplace, Figueres:

We arrived to our location and saw this romantic building

Uninhabitable, we were glad this old house in the garden was not to be our home, and instead, we were staying in this altogether more modern bungalow

It was nestled in the mountains in a beautiful location

Nearby breathtaking mountainside villages such as Els Hostalets d’en Bas

And an hour away from this beach

We’d made the trip to Barcelona city centre before, and when Ruaridh was only one, we spent a week on a very cheap package deal in the Costa Brava – but neither of those experiences could have prepared us for the Catlonian house swap. We were in the mountains – in a tiny village without even a bread shop. This was going to be all about getting in touch with a simpler life. Time here just slowed down – it was magical (and helped along by a power cut!)

We’d been on a very tight work deadline prior to leaving for this first swap, which we’d just made by the skin of our teeth – but we couldn’t rest on our laurels and needed to get straight onto the next part of the project. Only a few days in, on a particularly electric weekend, we lost power. And that was when it hit us. You don’t travel all the way to this beautiful highland village with free range cows, chiming their bells outside your door and expect to keep up a frantic pace. So, prevented from working online due to the power cut, we chilled out – and looked around us. We took lungfuls of fresh mountain air. We played rounders, football and badminton in the vast garden at our disposal. We burnt pizza in the BBQ oven. We read lots of books, and we danced and played limbo in the tiny living room at night. We laughed a lot – and we relaxed.

Our second home exchange found us crossing the Dordogne north to the Mayenne region of France and the small village of Chemaze:

Where we played in the fountains

Challenged the locals to Ping Pong

Resisted chocolate temptation extraordinaire

Visited the most amazing museum

And went bike riding almost every day – braving thunderous storms

Travelling so far north was delayed a little with some visits to friends in Bordeaux and a detour to visit the folks we’d be swapping with on our 4th swap, so we were very ready to get online and connected again. Fortunately, the house was fully equipped with an office for two, and a hard wire to the Broadband for each of us. Better still, the village was abundant with children on holiday, and all ready to play with Ruaridh – the exotic visitor from Scotland. This northern village was on the outskirts of the attractive town of Chateau Gontier, and the theme for this swap was work and play.

The location was actually so similar to our home set up that we vowed not to do this type of swap again – and instead look for something different – but what we took was far more important than that, we discovered how we would like to live when we were at home in the UK. Not a bad result!

Montauban, 30 mins north of Toulouse was the location of our third home exchange in 2008:

A beautiful town on the River Tarn

In a 50′s town house

Where we relaxed in the pool

Spent a lot of time in the medieval town centre (cake, coffee, tea, more cake …)

Enjoyed an abundance of art – even in the countryside

And made lots of new friends with whom we went kayaking

A town-centre location, this swap took place during the month of August and because Montauban is not known as a tourist centre, it was so empty we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves! Having access to deliciously cold dipping pool in this urban garden was a great touch, in the high summer heat – and we made use of it almost every day the sun was beating down. We also took advantage of the multiplex cinema (in French) on the outskirts of the town; the numerous cafes and bars in the town centre; and drank in the breath-taking scenery of the Aveyron, whilst kayaking with some great new friends the day before we left.

We loved Montauban and the families we met there so much that we went back to stay with them in 2009, where Ruaridh went to school. Just one of the long-lasting friendships we’ve made during our adventures – where the people have become so much part of the learning and growing experience.

Our fourth house swap in 2008 was on the Atlantic coast, just south of La Rochelle in an area famous for its mussels and oyster farms

Where we stayed in a 2 hundred year old restored Charentaise farmhouse

On the edge of a nature reserve

Where we fooled about in the hot tub

Raided the vegetable garden for fresh, juicy, ripe produce

All near the ancient village of St Sornin, famous for its church

Where we rounded off the trip by getting married

The wedding itself was organised almost in its entirety by our swap host couple – even so far as providing the witnesses!

We rediscovered our love of the coast during the month or more we spent in this wonderful farmhouse. During September, most of the holiday makers have packed up and headed home, and so our greatest pleasure was the ability to enjoy the wild, ruggish land in peace. To visit the coast was only a 20 minute drive from the tiny hamlet nestled in glorious woodland in which we stayed for the duration. And to cycle to the small village of St Sornin amongst the blackening sunflower fields, on the tiniest of roads built upon the reclaimed marshland was as romantic as it sounds. The locals would probably not be so happy to hear of their village described as such, but to us there was the definite feel of the wartime France. Without any of the horror, distrust and other associations, but with all the romance.

Our hosts went beyond the call of duty and we were introduced to many fine people, both locals and ex pats, and the ease with which we find ourselves being married made the experience absolutely unforgettable! This year we hope to return for a visit, as one of the swaps this time around is only an hour and a half inland. Yes, the world is a big place, and there’s plenty of other locations for us to visit as we did last year, but these locations and the house swappers we have met along the way are so very special and have made such an impact on our lives, that we cannot help but return, share stories and enjoy the good life.

We’re just about organised for our third season of swaps – 12 weeks of sun, sea and people and experiences we hop we’ll never forget… You’ve still got time to arrange yours! We can gift  you a voucher for trial membership of one of our favourite sites. Just leave a comment at the bottom of the article and I’ll get it organised for you.