Personal experience: How to go on vacation and not spend a cent on housing

Natalia Zusmanovich, the creator of the project on the exchange of houses My Holiday Exchange. Photos from the personal archive

The idea of ​​my project was born in early February of the distant 2011 year. It was the last day of our trip, full of fabulous impressions, to Amsterdam. The next trip, in which we did not suffer in hotels and did not spend a lot of money, because it is possible not to pay at all and enjoy life in complete comfort. We once again exchanged houses and lived in a renovated state-of-the-art science and technology. After this trip, I sat down and for an hour wrote a story in which I tried to convince the reader that, apart from the financial side of the issue, there was something special about such exchanges.

The story was published on the website of the “Unforgettable Travel Club” project. After that, I began to receive a lot of letters with questions: how to find an exchange, what sites do I use for this, isn’t it scary to exchange like that, and am I afraid that my apartment will be torn to pieces during my absence? Here I always answered that the only thing I’m afraid of is that in another house everything will turn out to be so perfect that I will feel awkward, because in our house everything is more or less simple, also convenient, of course, pleasant and all that, but we are still very far from such standards of living. When there were too many questions, I decided to start my own service and talk about their experiences.

My family and I offered two houses for exchange. First - an apartment in Iceland, in the suburbs of Reykjavik, in a beautiful place on the top of a hill, where a beautiful view opens from the balcony. And then we moved to Tallinn and offered a similar apartment, but in the center of Tallinn. The first time we exchanged with London. We found two houses: the first week we lived in a small studio in the very center, and the second week we spent in a large Victorian house in the suburbs.

The first experience was successful and we continued, collecting new amazing impressions.

When agreeing on an exchange, the owners always specifically left free shelves in the closets for us and explained where they could find, for example, beach blankets or extra towels. In fact, almost everyone already had a complete manual prepared on how to properly use the various electrical appliances in their apartment, where the nearest grocery stores, parks and everything else we might need were located, as well as their personal advice and brochures on everything interesting things to see in their area during our visit. Many people left some special local food, drinks, or, at the very least, a few jars of homemade jam for us - so that we would be as deeply imbued with the culture of their region as possible. Once in Rome, relatives of our hosts (and guests at the same time) took us to a home concert of their friends, where we were introduced as friends of the house and were treated, among other things, to various types of homemade chocolate.
In general, at first it seemed so surprising to me - that these families were so careful that we really received maximum satisfaction from the exchange with them (some, after the end of the exchange, left some special candies or CDs with music for us local musicians they liked are already at our home! - well, just so that we return home and feel good...). Gradually, I also learned to respond to them in the same way and, I must say, this had a very positive impact (I don’t know how) on my attitude towards our own place.
This is completely standard behavior in these types of home exchange communities. Sometimes we drew up a mutual agreement on the conditions of staying in each other’s apartments. Some websites have ready-made forms for such agreements, where you just need to enter specific information - there you can indicate what you do not allow your guests to use in your apartment (for example, a telephone) or whether you give them the right to ride your bicycle, etc. etc. You can also enter the phone numbers of relatives, friends, neighbors, to whom, if necessary, you can turn for help.

On holiday in Ville de Morges. Photos from the personal archive.

We usually sent the keys to the apartment to each other by mail (they were always accompanied by a cute card or, in extreme cases, some kind of elegant ribbon), and at the end of the exchange we either left them in the apartment in a visible place or threw them in the mailbox. Sometimes we visited our new acquaintances the evening before they were leaving for us - then we had the opportunity to get to know each other and quickly get to know the rules of operation of various equipment in a new place. Sometimes they and we left the keys with neighbors who knew about the estimated time of arrival of the guests... There were cases when one of us forgot some of our important things in the other’s apartment, and always at the first request, which was accompanied by a willingness to pay for everything postage, they were sent.
In one of the exchanges, for example, when we lived in Amsterdam in a house built in the 24th century overlooking the canal leading from the central station to the New Market (one of the most not so much prestigious as bohemian places in this city, where life does not stop at all minute 8 hours a day), our guest Frank forgot his favorite shirt at our house. We had to go to the post office and send it to Amsterdam, and, of course, we refused the XNUMX € that Frank offered to transfer to our bank account as compensation for postal services... After all, without any doubt, a week of relaxation in his charming house, among many interesting paintings (Frank is an artist) and fresh flowers growing right on the walls of the apartment (some kind of new method of interior design), which, by the way, we didn’t even have to water, because there was an automatic watering mode, were much more expensive.

Cons of the exchange, I do not see. However, before leaving your own apartment, you can not throw everything at random, you must give everything as pleasant as possible.

It is necessary to plan a trip for the exchange of houses in advance. If you plan to exchange somewhere not too far, then, on average, it takes four to five months. For long-distance travel, it is better to choose housing for eight to nine months, and even better for a year. It is not necessary to immediately buy plane tickets, but it is already important then to find people who are interested in your offer and will also start preparing for this trip.

For me personally, the most important advantage of the exchange of houses is the huge savings in finances, I generally don’t like to go anywhere for less than ten days. To get the full pleasure of the trip, I have to slowly go around and travel around all the interesting places around, visit all the most famous theaters and concert halls, all castles, palaces and parks, and, preferably, not once. Of course, if I go somewhere where I have been before, it can be a week, but even in very familiar places (say, in Amsterdam, where we once lived for three years), I will always find some new impressions and I will never be bored there ...

Then, of course, living in a normal, fully equipped and comfortable house is much more pleasant than in a small hotel room or apartment, where all the furniture and other furnishings were chosen not for your loved one, but for a pleasant appearance - and that’s all. It’s also interesting, of course, to feel at least a little bit like a “local resident,” you know, when you have at your disposal not only the most basic necessities, but absolutely everything and even more; when, even for a short time, you can join local life - go to some completely “non-tourist” shops and shops or go, on the recommendation of the family with whom you are exchanging, to some exciting event (a home concert or a chocolate tasting a local enthusiast whom I would never have known about); or instead of the apartment owners, go to some farm warehouse to buy organic vegetables by subscription, and much more like that.

You can go on a journey, changing homes, even with small children. Photos from the personal archive

Personal tips on how to search for a home exchange

1. Register on the home exchange website. Recently, I became a big fan of http://intervac-homeexchange.com. Although before that, we found exchanges exclusively on free resources, such as http://geenee.com, for example. But they have too many irrelevant ads.

2. Create a personal page with descriptions and photos of your home and its surroundings, visiting of which you might be interested in potential candidates to exchange with you. You can also add photos of the family itself.

3. Write your exchange offer, specify when and for how long you plan your trip. And send this offer to those whose profiles you liked. If you are interested to see what exactly is written in such sentences, then on my website, where I tell about our travels on house swapping (my-holiday-exchange.com), you can find several such examples - both mine and those that I received from others.

When choosing a house or apartment for an exchange, I would advise you to pay attention to the following points:

— If you don't drive a car, make sure there is public transport nearby.

— If you have small children, then pay attention to the safety of your home. Make sure there are no too steep stairs, balconies or terraces with low railings.

— If you do not tolerate hot climates well, check for air conditioning.