Why would I let strangers live in my house? Aren’t you worried about people trashing your home? Why not just book a room at a hotel and save myself all the trouble? What if the traded apartment turned out to be filthy?
Questions regarding the home exchange experience can go on and on until the end of time, owning to the fact that it is a challenging adventure and every adventure must come at a cost. In this case, taking a leap of faith is the required price.
If you’re not familiar with the house swap process, it’s simply an alternative means of travel accommodation, where you arrange to occupy someone’s home at your destination and in return he or she occupies yours for a set period of time, with no monetary-exchange taking place.
Let me add two more questions to your list, maybe my questions will somehow answer yours:
Why House Swap Might Be What You Are Looking For:
1.Get The Most Out Of An Intercultural Experience.
Staying in a hotel is a nice escape, but it gives you a very different outlook on a place than actually living among the locals who are the essence of any city. The house swap experience immediately makes you part of a new community. Chances are, you and your exchange partner will leave each other’s introductions to friends and neighbors (Not recommended but a nice and smart bonus), which not only yields security but also puts you quickly at home in unfamiliar surroundings and can help you get the most out of an intercultural experience.
2.It Will Save You Money (aka More Fun)
What stands between lot of people and visiting a dream destination is most frequently the expenses. Therefore, subtracting the cost of accommodations from a travel budget can be the magic spell that will turn this dream into a reality. It goes without saying that affordability is what first draws most house swappers to have a go at this experience. It allows them to experience new places without paying for hotels, restaurants or, in many cases, transportation (the use of the family car is included in many home exchanges).
3.Surprise Will Add A Flavor To Your Trip
Even if you’re the best planner in town, from time to time we all need to throw away the pen and paper and dive into the unknown. By planning too much for a trip, sometimes we miss out on the great moments that are unveiling right before us. This adventure does involve a leap of faith. No matter how many Internet pictures have been exchanged, Skype calls, there is always a small rush of anxiety when you open the door to the villa, mansion or apartment concerned, and tentatively walk in, while the children swarm past to claim bedrooms. Yes, you need to stop and smell the roses.
4.It Slows You Down, In a Good Way
As often as not while traveling abroad, we all tend to take in an entire country in one trip. Time is our worst enemy, so we settle for a picture here with that monument, and a day there at that park. We never take it slowly out of fear of missing something. Nothing wrong with that, but sometimes we need to stop and savor the moment. A house swap is the polar opposite of those 7-cities-in-7-days whirlwind tours. Slowing down affords you the luxury of living in your destination not just visiting it, and allows you to enjoy some downtime without feeling like you should be on your way to the next major attraction.
5.It’s Great Fun For The Kids
While adults tend to adore the bliss of hotels, kids on the other side hate it. For them, it’s a big clean room with no toys and no playroom, in another word, hell. Swapping homes with a family, however, will save you from the living hell experience of packing to travel with kids. You can leave the PlayStation behind, have a reasonable explanation why the scooters and the giant bag of Legos should stay at home. The key is to find a family with kids similar in age to your own so that their bikes, toys, books, and DVDs will be well matched for your brood.
Now that we got you dreaming, let’s see how to turn this fantasy into a tangible reality.
How You Can House Swap & What Are The Home Exchange Etiquette:
1.Create & Post Your Listing
First thing first, register into one of the home swap website (Knowing the question that had just popped into you mind, the answers is yes, home exchange is available in Egypt). In your listing and in your offer letter that’s emailed to a potential exchange partner, describe your home and family, your neighborhood, transportation, community facilities and attractions, anything you can think of to make a swap desirable. You should also upload photos of your home to include with your listing, and remember the golden rule is to always be honest about this information.
2.Find Your Perfect Match
Get in touch with swappers who have specified they want to visit your country or city by using the “reverse search” option. Reverse search is designed to look for members who leave in the country you wish to travel to and also who reciprocally want to visit your area. Arrange a Skype video call to get a real sense of who these people are, and also to have a good look at their house and make certain they are no spam. Be open about everything from the very beginning, ask lots of questions and make sure you describe any surprises, such as a temperamental toilet or a noisy street. In exchange you will encourage your swapper to do the same. Honesty is the key to a happy home exchange.
3.Take All The Safety Procedures
Before confirming the exchange screen, check your swapper by reading the users’ reviews to know what past swappers thought of the house and the people themselves. Next step, after agreeing to the exchange, put your valuable belongings in an”owner’s closet,” by attaching a latch and padlock on a closet door. Chances are good that your home will be in good hands, because you will be expected to care properly for the home of your trading partner while he or she is staying in yours. A spirit of trust is an essential part of the home swap community, but these safety tips won’t hurt.
4.Never Underestimate Your Home
Big share of people hesitate taking the home exchange step thinking nobody will like their homes. That’s a big fat mistake. You never know what people are looking for. Some people who live in a big fancy villa seek the simplicity of living in a small apartment for a change; others want to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, and are on the look for a quiet mansion by the edge of the city. That’s the genius of housing swaps; you can stay where the grass is greener.
Ready to plan your trip? Check out these popular home swap websites:
www.homeexchange.com
www.homelink.org
www.domuswap.com
www.lovehomeswap.com
