We have loved the idea of staying in someone else’s home for about 30 years.
Back when we first started to look for a place to stay, it was called, “sublet.”
Dell was working on his doctorate (DMin. at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, MN) and we needed a place for our family to stay for 4-6 weeks while Dell took a summer course. A family lived in an apartment near the seminary and their apartment was vacant for the summer while they attended a summer course at a seminary in California.
This was all “pre-Internet” and “pre-email.” Remember those days? We had to write our information on a 3″ x 5″ index card. We mailed this to the seminary with the request that someone post it on a bulletin board. Next, we waited and hoped that someone would happen to see it. Then, to negotiate arrangements, we had to depend on the U.S. mail and long-distance telephone calls (which we paid for by the minute).
Well, we managed to arrange the desired sublet and our family had a place to stay.
Today, home exchanges make it so much easier to find another home in which to stay for a short-term sabbatical or vacation.
Home exchange clubs on the internet today offer thousands of interesting home swap opportunities. Usually a small membership fee is required–probably the equivalent of one-half of a typical night’s vacation lodging cost. What a small price to pay to open up a world of adventure!
Today, one can often find these same home exchange clubs offering a free guest pass trial period and a discounted annual membership fee. The free guest pass and the discount help you take the first step into the wonderful world of vacation home exchanging.
One site, https://christianhomeexchange.com currently offers a free guest pass as well as a 25% discount for annual membership in the HomeExchange.com international network. This discount results in the low membership fee of only $7.46 per month for access to over 40,000 home exchange listings for an unlimited number of home exchanges in a 12-month period.
I sure wish that 30 years ago we had the option to join a home exchange club–along with the speed and versatility of the Internet and email. We managed just fine. But, I’ve always considered we were the fortunate ones. How many others did not even attempt a similar advanced degree program because they couldn’t imagine how it could be managed?
The world sure has changed.
Today, not only can you pursue online degree programs, but you have the added opportunity of online home exchange clubs that offer a discounted membership fee.
