Freedom

House exchanging is about freedom. The freedom to be yourself. For decades I had wanted to go to France and just sit for a month in a small town, drink espresso and play boules (sometimes called petanque. . . or bocci). That was my dream. My field of dreams. My individuation. But I couldn’t figure out a way to pay for this. My wife Jan did. House exchange. The cost for the house: $0. Many exchanges later. I am hooked. Where should you go? Exactly where you want to go whether that is a small village in Europe or a busy city in the East. Fontenay-Le-Fleury, France, like myself, or Hanoi, Vietnam? Or domestically, say, Peoria, Ill,. or , Maine. Africa or Russia? Antanarivo, Madagascar, or Buenos Aires, Argentina? My first exchanges (Silverthorne (CO), Fontenay-le-Fleury, (France), Los Angeles (CA), Atlanta (Ga.), Sullivan’s Island (S.C.), Ogunquit (Me.), Laval (Canada), South Salem exchanges are typical of first-timers and my experiences will help you get started. Over the course of the exchanges, my wife Jan and I got to know a retired pilot and his wife in Colorado, a car sales executive and his retired, school teacher wife in France, a retired social worker and her photographer boyfriend in Los Angeles, a Realtor and his family in Atlanta, a retired IBM executive and his retired, school teacher wife in New York, an M & A attorney and his wife in South Carolina, a Harvard IT manager and her Harvard professor husband in Maine, an investment broker and his wife in Canada, and a Yale IT manager and his nurse oncologist wife in Connecticut. Among others. My mantra now: House exchange with the world, making friends around the globe. So many people want to get to know America. You should live the future of travel. Enjoy the fun and freedom of other cultures. Become a global-lister. A global-lister. List your home on a global exchange. And go. Live like a local, not a tourist. Stay for free, as long as you like.