First step: Top 13 sites

No matter whether you are planning to exchange your house with someone in the U.S. or abroad, the first step is always getting yourself listed on a house exchange site. Just putting your house up as available should not cost you anything, but without the dialogue with likely candidates, your effort may be hopeless. To get a house exchange, you will need to join some group. I think there are 13 important sites to visit to make your decision. However there are countless house exchange sites and new ones every day. The top 12 that I would recommend are homeexchange.com; intervac.com; ivhe.com; guesttoguest.com; ihen.com; homelink.org; homeforexchange.com; homeexchange.com; homeexchange50plus.com; seniorsHomeExchange.com; exchangezones.com; homebase-hols.com; and LoveHomeSwap.com. And one especially for singles: singleshomeexchange.com. If you plan eventually to live outside the USA, you should definitely visit first. And the easiest and best way to visit to prepare for living abroad is to exchange your home with someone who lives there already for a period of time of at least a week but, probably, no more than a month. You should be able to make a decision by then. There are hundreds of thousands of homes available worldwide – in nearly 200 countries -- when you combine the offerings of more than one of the home exchange sites. When you become a global-lister. What distinguishes each site? What are the pros and cons of each one? Which one is for you? This book will answer those questions. And there are other sites. New ones all the time. You are sure to find something good, if your goals are realistic.