There is a way of traveling that few still know, and I am amazed to have experienced it for the first time only this summer: the exchange of home. This is not a simple “green” alternative to hotels, for rent apartments and the loveourism, but of an experience that radically changes the way of living their holidays and travel.
How does it work? Unlike when you book accommodation on traditional platforms or hotels, the relationship is not one -way here. You are a guest but at the same time you also open your home to other travelers. This does not necessarily mean a direct exchange and in the same period, it can in fact take place at different times and with different families, which makes the experience much more flexible.
As you can imagine, it is more than a simple stay, it is an extraordinary opportunity to completely immerse yourself in the everyday life of people, in their spaces, in their habits.
In the small details of the houses you can read stories of families and lives often very different from ours, but at the same time so surprisingly similar. We must all eat, sleep, we have companions, wives, perhaps children, animals, plants, photos and many objects sometimes useless but that tell our life, our experiences, what we like, who we love.
This summer I was able to fully experience this great opportunity: I started a month with my family, finally exploiting the advantages of smart working. Two weeks I worked, and two I dedicated them to travel and real holidays, one on the outward and one on the way back. Almost 6,000 kilometers from Italy, passing through France, up to England, final destination: Liverpool.
Before I had hosted only a few families in my house – Spanish, Italian, French – and already that experience had made me understand the value and potential of this type of exchange so “intimate”. I bet you are wondering how I found my home on the way back? Well, always well clean, well -kept, with watering plants, small thoughts for children, thanksgiving messages and the promise to return, because Rome – beyond its many defects – is an objectively incredible place.
But then my turn finally arrived. Thirty nights of exchanges in houses that I could never find (or book) on other platforms. And feeling at home in distant and unknown places is a really strange feeling. When we arrived in Liverpool I found a perfect, super colorful house, full of tea and biscuits that the owner had left for us together with homemade bread. Small precautions that make you feel grateful to be in a world where kindness and sharing still exist.
Throughout the stay we wrote and we also quickly managed to meet while we left and they finally returned home after almost 20 days. I don’t know if I am able to list the many advantages of this experience, still too fresh and alive, but I try to synthesize them.
Live like a local
This is the true heart of the home exchange. You feel a little less tourist – even if you are basically – because you live like a local family, from the inside of one of their homes. Shop in the shops in the neighborhood, walk through roads that you may have never seen, observe how people live in their homes, what they use and what they don’t. All this allows you to get to know better, more closely, the place and the people who live in it, grasping habits, rhythms and small details that otherwise would escape you.
A world opens you
One of the most extraordinary advantages of the home exchange is that you really open a world, indeed the world! From Italy to Europe, from Asia to the USA, etc. There are houses scattered everywhere, obviously not always available, but there are. Often there are also the possibility that traditional tourism does not offer, many have housing in minor city, small villages, angles of unspoiled nature or little known neighborhoods. Each destination becomes an opportunity for discovery, even in places that you would never have thought of visiting.
And when does something go wrong? (Because we know it happens). There is good support. We happened that an exchange was canceled at the last minute, but the HomeExchange team (the platform to which I am registered and that I used to plan the trip) immediately found an alternative solution, allowing us to continue the journey without problems. Having this constant support allows you to face the experience with a little more serenity and security, especially if you are very far from Italy.
Travel at low cost
Economic savings are undoubtedly one of the most immediate and concrete advantages of the home exchange. No more expensive hotels or short -term rentals, what you save you can invest to live in the place you visit, taste typical dishes, hiking or simply keep it aside. Having a kitchen all for you is then another huge advantage, you can in fact prepare meals with fresh place ingredients and, in many countries, this means cutting the expenses considerably.
Friendships and cultural exchange
One of the most beautiful parts of this experience was to meet new people. During our trip we met 4 of the 6 families who hosted us, and with one of these we shared food, chat and good music, moments that remain impressed in memory more than any tourist attraction.
Practice languages
Practicing languages is another great advantage of home exchange, obviously if you choose to go abroad. In fact, it is “forced” to communicate to plan the exchange, to know the details and rules of the house and, in the lucky cases, spend time together meeting the host family. Many people thanks to this experience have built solid and lasting friendships.
But it’s not for everyone (maybe)
But let’s make an important thing clear: the home exchange, perhaps, is not for everyone. In France it is widespread, while in other countries – including Italy – it still remains little known and there is a certain distrust. Not everyone feels at ease to leave home and things to strangers, even if HomeExchange offers reliable reviews and the possibility of choosing carefully who to host and who does not. For most users, the exchange takes place in the main house, but nothing prevents us from using a second home, and many actually do it.
Another fundamental point is that looking for a home exchange is not equal to booking immediately finding what you are looking for on a booking platform, but requires time, attention and a little patience: you have to look carefully, send targeted messages, be flexible and sometimes settle for initially unexpected destinations. Still, it is precisely this opening and flexibility that can give extraordinary surprises.
At the end of the accounts, having overcome the fear of what is unknown, the most significant part of this experience is undoubtedly sharing. Looking back, I only see advantages but the biggest one is precisely the possibility of opening up, trusting and receiving confidence. In an increasingly individualistic world, in which we care so much about what we have, of what we risk losing and of course money, the exchange of home becomes an opportunity to break the patterns and change mentality, a new way of living, knowing and loving the world.
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