Those Poor People at the Hilton....

Both pictures epitomize what home exchange offers.   The first picture I saw one day when we traveled through the Karaburin Peninsula in Turkey: a beautiful scene of blooming poppies under the olive trees.  At first, I missed this shot because I did now wish to slow down.   The next day I decided to return to the site in the hope to being able to capture the scene again.... I was lucky.  The sun, the setting, everything was the way I had remembered it the day before!  Those poor people at the Hilton don't have this opportunity.   The other picture is of a meze or Turkish apetizer display with which our hosts in Istanbul presented us when we visited them at the end of our home exchange.   Our host had taken the trouble of copying the menu that the Turkish government had presented to Queen Elizabeth of England on her recent visit.  Sorry, you poor people at the Hilton... this is not the kind of hospitality and thoughtfulness you can expect, except on a home exchange.

Home Exchange is the affordable travel way to go.....!

Who would want to come to Brantford?

That is the question often posed when I try to explain the Home Exchange idea to others in my area.  When I review the number of invitations for an exchange over the past years, it is quite amazing how many people think it would be a great place to visit:  people from France, Holland, Finland, Russia, America, Egypt, Israel, the list is quite impressive.  The point is:  we are too close to the area in which we live to continue to appreciate what it has to offer.  What could be more interesting than for someone from Paris or Holland to visit the Six Nations Reserve near Brantford and to attend the annual Powwow which brings together aboriginal people from all over Canada and the US?  We have so much to offer and are almost too close to appreciate it.

Home Exchange is for heroic people

The other day I listened to an interview of a psychologist who was asked why he thought so many  passengers on the cruise ship "Costa Concordia", including its captain,   pushed aside even children and the elderly, concerned with only saving themselves and why so few were able to be heroic, thinking of others first.  He offered an interesting suggestion:  perhaps most people going on a cruise were not the adventurous types,  looking to be fed, entertained and pampered but unwilling to risk and venture into the unknown.

Recently, I have found that when trying to explain the concept of Home Exchange, I get this dazed look from people, as if it's something so strange and alien that they could never think of themselves doing it.  The most common reaction is: "Are you not afraid that someone is going to walk away with your possessions?"  They just can't conceive the idea of some stranger coming into their home and living there for a while.   What they forget, of course, is the fact that they are, likewise, strangers to the other people.  

The point is:  some people are just not the types to ever consider the idea of a Home Exchange.  They would rather sit on a cruise ship where everything is arranged for their entertainment and appetite.  Happily, there are many others who have that sense of adventure that allows them to believe that the trust that is expected of them is also given to them by others.

Affordable Travel - How it Works

We have joined three Home Exchange sites as well as the Affordable Travel Club.  Each site charges a nominal fee, ranging from $60 to $100, for an annual listing.  On the listing, you provide all the information which would be useful to potential visitors:  pictures of your home, preferred dates, destinations etc.  Once you have registered with an agency, you will be provided with weekly emails which will inform you of new and updated listings of other members who have indicated their preferred destinations which coincide with yours.


The listing agency does not do any vetting of the integrity of the individual listing.  It is up to the individuals to develop that sense of trust.  The underlying assumption of course is that you will take care of the home of the other people as they will of yours.   Arrangements regarding an exchange of cars,  care of pets, accommodation of children,  etc. are all negotiated by the people interested in the exchange.  Our experience has been in the positive without qualification.  One tends to get people who are professional and like-minded.  To this day, lasting friendships have developed because of our home exchange experience.


In the case of the Affordable Travel Club, no exchange is involved or any responsibility to reciprocate.  


Both, the Affordable Travel Club and Home Exchange Agencies list people who are interested in house sitting or pet-sitting.  We spend six wonderful weeks in the Basque Country of France, looking after four cats, when no reciprocal arrangements were negotiated. 

I have selected this picture of a typical Turkish meal which was offered by our home exchange hosts in Istanbul.   It illustrates the fact that a home exchange gives one an opportunity to savour the life-style of another culture in a way that is rarely possible through other means of travel.   I have a cookbook,  Extending the table of the World.  That is what home exchange offers:  an opportunity to extend one's experience of the colour and diversity of another culture different from one's own.  Food is a wonderful way to do just that. 

Don't pre-judge the possibilities...

We often wonder:  "Why would anyone want to come to Brantford?"  It's hard to imagine why anyone living in Paris or St. Petersburg would want to spend time in our town.   But then, again and again, we are surprised by the number of people, living in what we consider "exotic places", want to do just that!  I guess we are too close to the place in which live to appreciate its attractiveness to others.


Recently we received an invitation from a couple living in the heart of New York city to consider a home exchange with them.  We are now in the process of working out the details of that possibility.    Imagine, living in that exciting and vibrant city for a period of several weeks!  But the other people are probably saying the same thing:  "Imagine, living in Brantford with its hiking trails, wild life, proximity to vineyards and live theatre, fishing, sailing, golf,  for a period of several weeks"


The point is:  Don't pre-judge the possibilities of a home exchange.  

Recently we had an enquiry from a couple in Holland who wanted us to do a home exchange.  Unfortunately, we were not able to consider because we had other plans.  We suggested that they might stay in our home in Canada while we are away visiting relatives and friends on the East coast, with the understanding that at some future time we might stay in their home in The Netherlands.   It's a kind of "I owe you" idea which seems to work quite well  in a home exchange. In other words, home exchanges don't have to be simultaneous.  The same idea works quite well when someone has a second home, a cottage or whatever.