by Chris and Hannah
When we joined HomeExchange.com in 2010 we had no idea just how frequently ‘too good to miss’ opportunities would PING! into our inbox. If, like us, you can be flexible with your travel plans, set up your laptop anywhere and call it your ‘office’, and love the unexpected, then anything is possible. Here’s the year where we proved it!
February 2012
We’d always wanted to snowboard in the USA for the so when we were offered tickets to attend a conference in Salt Lake City, Utah we jumped at it. A last minute exchange appeal on homeexchange.com yielded not one but two exchanges! We agreed a non-simultaneous exchange in a stylish apartment overlooking the city and mountains courtesy of kind schoolteacher Scott who stayed with friends during our visit. The second week we went rustic with a beautifully renovated cabin at Brighton ski resort. With snow 10 feet deep in places it was exactly the type of winter wonderland we’d been dreaming of.
April
We were back home in the UK but it was time to reciprocate our non-simultaneous exchange with the family from Utah. As they spent a week in our apartment over Easter, we made the most of the opportunity to hit the road and visit family in the Scottish Highlands and South Gloucestershire.
June
At the end of June we arrived in Los Angeles at the self-contained apartment in the home of Lovorka and family, keen home exchangers and warm hosts. The visit was a whirlwind, including a trip to the legendary Magic Castle with Ed Kushins (founder of HomeExchange.com) and glamorous HE team, tacos in Hermosa Beach, meeting traveller friends at Laguna and a nail-biting hike through California’s mountain lion country!
July
We had another conference to attend and we’d struggled a little to find a home exchange to fit. Lucky for us first-time home exchangers Tricia and Charles offered us their comfortable basement apartment in a leafy street in Portland, Oregon. While we were there, Scott from Utah enjoyed the jubilee and Olympic festivities in our UK home. With 12 hour days at the conference we sadly didn’t get to see much of our hosts although we were delighted with the home-made British flags their boys had pinned to the front door in welcome! We did manage to share a cocktail or two courtesy of mixology maestro Charles and were able to return later in the month to oblige with a spot of pet sitting while the family were camping out of town. The second half of July saw us arrive at our home exchange in Sun River, Central Oregon, at the same time as the owners of this lovely river house arrived in Bournemouth at our home. We arranged the rendezvous with their previous exchange guest at a Portland airport hotel and voila, we had a car and the keys to our new home!
