When Nancy Cross Shimmel, freelance editor and member of the Digsville Home Exchange Club, was asked what the top advantage of home exchange was to her, she had an answer at the ready:
I can think of no greater single application for home exchange than traveling with children. For those of you who don't know about home exchange (and your numbers are dwindling), let me first briefly describe.
What is Home Exchange?
The short answer is: you stay in my home while I stay in yours. This arrangement can be anything from a month-long stay half-way around the world, to a weekend retreat a short drive from home. The dates and length of stay are mutually agreed upon, arrangements are made (usually with neighbors or friends) to pick up keys and you're off! Now that you have a clearer idea of the big picture, let your imagination take you on a vacation that's kid friendly and anxiety-reduced. Here's how:
Over-Excited Kids on Vacation (sound familiar?)
You've done a full day of museums and landmarks and the last thing you want is to dress up and cart the kids to a restaurant where mayhem is certain and the cold stares of the wait staff is your personal, private hell. You do what any normal family would do--order take-out. The fun part? This take-out's in Morocco, and the food is great because your home exchange host has left you a list of his favorite spots!
Another scenario: your four-year old had an unhappy mix of chicken chow something and a revolving ride at the theme park and your two-year old has responded sympathetically by forgetting all of her toilet training. No problem for the home exchange traveler. Even far from your own home, a washing machine and dryer await you back at the exchange house. And at 3:00 am when the eldest child has recovered her appetite and demands her favorite juice drink, you are not at the mercy of a room service that can't accommodate you anyway.
Get What You Want -- Exactly
When you enter a home exchange community such as Digsville, you're given the opportunity to exchange homes with people who share common interests with you. Digsville also provides you ample opportunity to be very specific about yourself and what you seek in your your exchange. This ensures amenities (and necessities) such as child guards on windows, stairs, and cupboards, toys designated for sharing, sports equipment and videos. Phone numbers of babysitters, physicians and other service providers are also commonly swapped.
The Other Bottom Line
But these things simply address the convenience factor and that represents only a fraction of the benefits to be had. The gold is in the cultural experience you can offer your family. When you bring your child to a real home in a real neighborhood 180 degrees away from what they commonly know, you bring them the world. Go ahead and leaf through the restaurant folder your exchange partner left of her personal recommendations and treat your family to dinner in your chosen exotic destination. This vacation you'll not only feed the body, you'll nourish the soul.
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Helen Bergstein, founder of www.digsville.com, the Home Exchange Club, is a life-long home exchanger herself. An acknowledged expert, she is regularly featured in major media worldwide talking about traveling the 'home exchange way'. Discover the travel lifestyle where hotel bills don't exist!
http://vacationhomeexchange.blogspot.com/
The Digsville Home Exchange Club
http://www.digsville.com
Your Vacation Just Got Better.