Exchange homes and cultures

KAREN GINSBERG SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

Today's travel costs pose a serious constraint to many families doing the sort of travelling they would wish to do. Last summer, when my husband, Ted, and I took our younger two children – Erin, 24, and Stephanie, 16, – to London, England, for a week's holiday, we discovered the comforts and real savings that a house exchange can provide.

Our London hostess, Sara, and I knew each other through a business connection that had developed into a more personal relationship. I knew that Sara's eldest daughter was planning for her "gap" year and that coming to Canada was something under consideration – the "gap" is a year that many British high school leavers spend travelling, working, volunteering or developing their special interests before heading to university. With this in mind, I sent Sara an e-mail last winter, asking whether she and her family might like to vacation in Canada. They were excited by the idea.

Over the months leading up to the actual holiday, we sorted out by e-mail the time constraints we each had, as well as how many from each family would be coming. We agreed that we would each leave a car available for the other and, in turn, assure that the appropriate insurance was in place for the new driver. As one of our family has cat allergies, Sara's family agreed their cats would be boarded while we were there and we agreed to pay half for the "cat hotel."

Sara had more vacation time available so we agreed that she and daughter Amy would arrive in Canada first and we would spend a day together orienting them to Ottawa and, at the same time, get their advice on how to get the most out of our time in London.

Sara had arranged for a minicab to pick us up at Heathrow Airport. When we arrived at her home, we found that they had left us a thick folder of subway maps, all the major attractions in London and even included their favorite Chinese and Indian food restaurants. As well, the basic food essentials were waiting for us in the fridge.

Some helpful Web sites

If you don't have any professional connections, there are many Web sites that can facilitate house exchanges. In addition to bringing together interested parties through extensive listings – for which there are membership fees to have your house included or to access a complete directory of available properties – the sites offer plenty of free advice.

Luckily for us, it seems, we managed our exchange pretty much as recommended. If we had not known our exchange partner personally, we would have asked more questions about the ownership of the property or car in question, even requested photocopies of ownership documents. We would have also asked for photos of the property and been more inquisitive about their neighbors.

HouseWeb Ltd. (www.houseweb.co.uk/house/exchange/index.html) advises people not to book anything until all the travel dates are confirmed between both parties – and to write down all these details in an e-mail, fax or letter, in case of a dispute. The site reminds people to arrange for the key exchange and return, as well as let each other know about any alarm systems or special features of their homes. Get the name of a local contact person who can help out in case of difficulties and a list of repair and service providers and other useful phone numbers. As well, make clear arrangements about the use of the phone.

HouseWeb also suggests some house exchange etiquette, such as letting your neighbors know that people will be staying in your home, making a welcome package for your visitors (instructions for appliances, tourist maps, some food, spare change of the local currency, etc.) and leaving your house tidy. When departing your exchange accommodation, you should leave some groceries for the owners, a gift of thanks and a clean house.

Another site to check out is www.homeexchange.com; its Trading Places Guide goes through the ABCs of a home exchange, describing the concept, how to prepare for the swap, sample letters and agreement forms, etc. For other options, simply do a search for "home exchange" on any search engine. HomeLink International (www.homelink.ca) has a Vancouver office you can call for more information at 604-987-3262.

A wonderful vacation

While all that planning may not sound fun, it definitely helps. Our house exchange was a total success. Sara and Amy enjoyed the quieter pace of Canada and got to do some very interesting things. Our family thoroughly enjoyed museums, art galleries, the major tourist sights such as Westminister Abbey, Buckingham Palace, the buskers in Covent Garden and hours of walking London's streets. We managed five plays in six days, including one at the newly refurbished Globe Theatre.

We all agreed that being in homes, rather than hotels, meant a more relaxing start and end to each of our days. From a cost perspective, the savings were considerable – with no hotel or car rental costs and fewer restaurant bills. It was a great way to share with our children new parts of the world and new cultures.

Karen Ginsberg is a writer and visiting scholar at Carleton University's School of Public Policy.

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