OK, this may sound weird but we have been looking at those house swapping sites to save money on our summer vacation. You know the deal...you clean up your home (so it looks nicer than it does when you and the family are in it) and let someone else live there while you live in their home for vacation time. (You have to leave the place spic and span too, so you get to enjoy your clean house when you come home:)
Anyway, I found a list on the Independentliving.org site and put our house on that. There is another site called Matchinghouses.com but neither of these has a decent search engine. There are others, of course, but the searching for wheelchair accessible entry to the homes is a nightmare.
SO-o if anyone has done this before, what did you think of it?
Diane/Mtnmama
Has anyone ever done a house swap for vacations?
No, I've never done it, but I've heard about firms that are in the business of connecting people for such swaps - for a fee. Are the sites you listed expensive? I realize you posted here because of the wheelchair, but you might also try putting it the Frugal Living forum.
It sounds interesting, but what if you get people who'll snoop thru your stuff and steal from you or just have a general disrespect for your house? I think I'm too scared to do it, not that my stuff or my house is anything special. But I've learned that a lot of people just can't be trusted.
In theory, it's a great idea. Let us know how it all works? Do you get to interview the people before you swap? Do you get to choose or decline anyone? When will you do your first swap? We wanna know how it goes. What if you must leave your pets behind? Will the swappers feed and water them? It really might be a great way to meet friends who can "housesit" for you every year. Maybe you'll get gardeners who'll weed and water too. Hmmmm, I just may have to sign up! LOL
Hi!
Yuska, both of those sites are free. (Matchinghouses.com is part of a graduate student's doctoral work--he has multiple sclerosis, I think. He will have to start charging after the first year, but it's free for now). The one that has a great search engine but is not free is HomeExchange.com but if you find something interesting there, it costs $25 to join for the purpose of contacting members only--no listing. Listing is more. I joined for the cheaper price but would list the next time (members seem to be turned off if your house isn't listed). I will try the Frugal section here; thanks for the idea!
Butterfly, pets can be made a part of the deal. If you want them to care for yours, you say so on the listing. If you want to bring yours along, you work that out in the back and forth dialogue you have with them. Some listings say they are pet friendly. Pets have been part of our problem (we are allergic to cats...but need to bring my daughter's non-shedding, 20 lb. service dog, so only dog-lovers seem to be a match with us).
You send pictures of your house inside and out and you offer phone numbers of references. (Still, put the precious jewels in a box in the bank or leave them with family...out of the house).
Some folks even offer a car in the trade so that there is no car rental involved in the expense (really). We have offered our Toyota for traders to use. With Maggie's (our daughter) wheelchair and her inability to fly (not enough O2 in the cabin before takeoff--she turns purple and stops breathing/it's a dangerous situation)...we have to bring our rampvan wherever we go, with her.
Oh--and you can ask them to water your plants while they are in your home;) How about that?!
Diane/mtnmama
Diane,
Where are you looking to vacation at? Our daughter uses a power wheel chair. I can't imagine how few homes in the US that would be acceptable / accessible for a family like ours! I have called hotels and explained the situation, been assured that the room would work, called to confirm, re-explained etc. etc. and still have problems when we show up. Traveling sure poses problems... Even though we can fly, packing up a 350 lb wheelchair and then renting something that will transport it at the other end, just seems too difficult.
Good luck, i hope you find something that works for you,
Melissa
Hi Melissa,
I know EXACTLY what you are saying about accessible hotels, motels and rentals. Accessible rooms usually have wider doors in hotels but the number we have been in that have roll-in showers is miniscule. Too, they all have a king or queen bed, and that's all. How is our family of four supposed to do that?? We usually have to settle for a regular room and do all of the lifting (thank God Maggie stopped gaining wt. at 98 lbs.)! They must think all people who have disabilities are retired and travel only with a spouse (with whom they share a bed)?
The MOST accessible room we ever had was in Harrisburg, PA...at a Red Roof Inn. Not really fancy but a GREAT bathroom for our needs! Clean, VERY accessible, slept 4 comfortably and the price was reasonable. We were greatly impressed!
We thought we had a trade going for San Diego but the timing just didn't work out for this year. sigh. It takes real planning to make it all come together for everyone....
Right now, we have no vacation planned. What do you live near and do you wanna swap for a house in Denver? ;)
Diane
Diane,
We live near Reno and Lake Tahoe. Great fun if you like to swim and gamble. LOL We aren't planning any vacations this summer. Our daughter is going to MDA camp for the first time (she is almost 7) luckily the camp is up at Tahoe, or I'd be a nervous wreck. We have some big yard projects, my husband is finishing his Masters thesis and we have 2 surgeries scheduled... Well some of the summer should be fun.
We took the girls to San Diego last summer, if you decide to go anyway let me know. We found a decent (not perfect, but very acceptable) hotel there. It took leaving the one we booked, who LIED about their accessibility. We had a GREAT time there. Tori (our oldest) got to swim with dolphins and feed giraffes. Her baby sister (2 years old) was so jealous. They (sea world) were great about her using a chair and made it really easy. Let me know if you want more details. All in all, San Diego was a great family (wheelchair friendly) vacation. We all had a fantastic time.
Hi again, Melissa,
Camp! Maggie (now 18 y.o.) went to S.K.I.P. camp in Minnesota when she was 5. (We all went, too--it was a camp for medically fragile kids so we were available for her if she "crashed" while there. It was wonderful fun for us all! She didn't crash....) I'll bet your daughter will do better than you will while she's away (parents are SUPPOSED to worry...right?). ;)
I hope all goes well for the surgeries, this summer. Surgeries are a subject you should never get me started on--seen too many of those.
Keep us in mind if you decide to "do" Colorado. Wilderness on Wheels is about 90 min. from here. http://www.wildernessonwheels.org/
It's worth the trip!
Diane
Thanks for the link. That place looks so cool!
My parents did a home swap several times with people in Mississippi and a few times in Hawaii too. They had good experiences with it and had a great time in their "new" area. I know the car was always left for them. Not the most luxurious cars but adequate for their needs.
My cousin got to home swap in Germany in a small castle. I know she said they had recently spent over the equivalant of $4 million to renovate the gardens right before she arrived. The people who own the castle had friend who lived near her own gorgeous home so all were happy.
I have not heard of any thefts but I would take caution and lock up your most valuable things.
Good luck.
Lani
I didn't exactly house swap but I did house sit for a friend in the smoky mountains. We spent 2 weeks there and did all the sight seeing stuff the first week. The second week I got bored and she had this really cool but very neglected courtyard garden. When she got home, I had not only cleaned her house but planted a ton of impatiens in the courtyard. She was delighted and it was one of the best vacations I have ever had. Unfortunately I live in the middle of nowhere now and I doubt anyone would want to swap.
Hi Lani,
The castle swap sounds wonderful! Who would dream of something that cool?
We'll be leaving a car, though it has a standard transmission (a clutch is invaluable on snow and ice, here). Since Maggie (our oldest) cannot fly, we will have to drive our wheelchair van to our destination. (Gas prices will push more and more folks to house swapping, I think). We won't need to borrow a car...just offering one to our trader to sweeten the pot ;) I hope we will have the sort of luck trading that your family has had! :)
Hi Cindy,
The middle of nowhere is just where a highly-stressed exec. type would want to spend vacation. You never know who would want to trade. How far are you from D.C.; the ocean; historical sites? I'll bet you have things to bring folks your direction. Think about it!
Diane
P.S. Cindy--offer out your gardening skills and you might find traders coming out of the woodwork at Dave's Garden!
Diane,
I'm not to sure how skilled I am but I do love gardening. It doesn't take much skill to rake up leaves and plant impatiens. It was fun and turned out beautiful as the courtyard was built of stone and had terraces going up behind it!
I have thought of doing this myself but do it with people I already know.
example: It would be fun to visit the coast of Massachusettes within a few miles of Boston. Well my Aunt ( if she wasn't 88 and partly disabled, would love to see our area). IF she could come this way for a vacation and stay at our house,her house would be empty. If we did the swap we could still meet for a day or two on each end of the vacation and yet see each others area as WE want to see it. Ya know when you visit with others how you always seem to end up doing whatever the host thinks you should see? That could be elimnated to some extent by doing this type of house swap.
Hope that is clear enough for you to understand.
Lani
PS Longing for a vacation in somewhere tropical lol
Hi Cindy,
It's a matter of energy as well as skill--many of us don't have energy! You know what to do to make a place look good and you can follow through with the plan :)
Lani--that's perfectly clear! It would be great if you had willing relatives. Not happenin' in our family, right now. They're happy to offer us rooms but it's like you described....
Diane
Gosh, I feel for all of you. I wish I had stopped gaining weight at 98lbs! My DH carries me up stairs and roller coasters and water slides and all manner of scary things. (I finally had to break it to him that while I was rather impressed that he can still carry me up all the flights of stairs for the water slide, I am terrified on the way down.) We stopped taking the electric WC on trips with us after the time that Delta brought it back to us - in pieces in a box! We got ourselves a new comfy manual chair and take that. By the way, we live a few miles (literally) south of Boston - when did you want to come? I can't imagine cleaning up the house that much, though.
xxxxxxxxx, Carrie
At almost 7 our daughter is 65 lbs. I am terrified of the day i can't lift her! My husband is still able to lift and carry her easily, but i am starting to have trouble. She has extremely low muscle tone, so lifting her is a bit scary at times. She can be a big noodle :)
Carrie, your husband sounds like a truly wonderful man. I hope Satori finds someone so lovely someday!
Melissa
Carrie, sounds great! How would you like to come visit Hell's Canyon, Boise Idaho and this general region? Only thing is my bathroom isn't wheelchair accessable. :( When I had my double knee replacement surgery I would use the walker to the door and then use the counter to the toilet and shower. A shower chair perches on the outside rim of the thing because it is only 32 inches but I managed to get cleaned up with it.
LOL I'll have to hire a housekeeper before I go on vacation to clean up this place so someone doesn't come in and say UGHHHHHH lolol
(not the worlds best housekeeper. I would rather sit in my garden or at the computer) shhhhhh lol
Lani
Lani-
I'm hearing what you're saying, girl. Someone would come in our hovel and call DSS - it's happened before. Also my DH can't usually get more than 3-4 days off in a row. I'm trying to save them for a big trip to Europe this summer, as a posthumous gift from my Grandparents. Maybe next year we WILL trade houses with you! We need at least one big bed for the two of us. If we bring the kids, then two more little beds. What's to do there? Hiking (that's out) and scenery?
xxxxx, Carrie
Melissa,
I hear ya on the lifting business. I am a plus size woman and know that I need to lose part of me to help my future health providers keep their backs from breaking when they help me. Now if someone would only lock me in a kennel and feed me my ration a couple times a day and make me run on a treadmill wayyyyy too many hours a day I might just lose a few. lol
Carrie,
We have tons of scenery places, the Oregon trail went right through this area so there is a National Interpretive site within an hour and a half drive, there is fishing and hunting opportunities, gorgeous mountains not far from us, Hell's Canyon is tremendous and you can take a jet boat down the river there. Lots of other stuff to do around here.
My DH can't usually get more than a week off at a time. He has this vision of driving cross country and go see my Aunt but I know that won't happen till he is retired in a few years. Summer is his busy time at work so when we travel it is usually fall or early spring. Can't complain though at least he has a steady job. :o)
Lani
Melissa--our Maggie is 99 lbs. and holding. I sling her over my shoulder and carry her from room to room in the house though I could transfer her to & from her wheelchair and use that to go from room to room. It's just faster this way. I'm in my 50's and this isn't getting any easier. I know that one day it will happen that I can no longer do the lifting and we will have to resort to using our "barrier free" lifts (ceiling mounts but they don't go through the doorways so we'll have to still use the wheelchair from room to room). My DH does the lifting when he comes home from work so we share the pain in our backs ;) What we will do for love!
Carrie--Our place is wheelchair accessible (roll-in shower or a barrier free lift in and out of the jacuzzi bathtub). Also have a lift over the hot tub, outside. We're an hour from Rocky Mt. National Park and 90 minutes from Wilderness on Wheels (wheelchair accessible boardwalk that goes up a mile into the mountains http://www.wildernessonwheels.org/). If you ever wanna swap....
Lani--I'm a plus size these days. In addition to lifting me I'm lifting Maggie, so I know the need to drop the wt., too. If only I could resist the "siren call" of the carbs....
It's looking more and more like we will be crammed into a hotel room for a vacation, this summer. We don't mind carrying Maggie to the bathroom but it would be so nice to find a trader and have some room to move around at the end of a day of sightseeing. Maybe next year....
Diane/Mtnmama
hmmmmm... it all sounds appealing! Just to be somewhere else. But Diane, would you drive to Boston? xxx, C
Sounds like a swap might be coming between you two Carrie and Diane. Great!
This spring the river flows are huge so the Shoshone Falls about three and a half hours east of us is really flowing huge flows. Its nickname is the "Niagara of the West" and indeed it is. It has a 212 foot drop (65 meter) and stretches about 1000 feet across the Snake River. Gorgeous!!!! It is near the place called 1000 springs where the underground river comes out of the hillside and drops to the canyon floor below. I hear that is extremely wonderful this year also but have seen it in drought years and it took my breath away as it is so wonderful and different. We are a little over 3 hours to Sun Valley which is a great place to visit even in the summer.
Lani
Lani--Your area sounds wonderful. We have a friend who teaches in Sun Valley and lives in Ketchum; we visited her three yrs. ago. I just love that part of the world.
Carrie--We lived in PA for a few yrs. in the '90's (before we knew that clouds could relentlessly cover an area for 6 months or longer each fall and winter. We moved back home for the winter sunshine!) We have friends that we go back and visit in the east, periodically. If you might be interested in the possibility of coming to Denver, let me know and I will share the idea of Boston with my family! (We can email pics and stuff privately...again, if you have an interest).
I was thinking about that a few hours ago because i saw the trailer for the new movie with Camerin Dias and Jude Law and Jack Black. I like the idea but with identity fraud rampant and not a priority for anyone to fix, nor do they care if you prove it wasn`t you, I`d really have to know the people personally and know exactly who would be there. It would be a better idea among friends from different states, I think.
My husband has your same concerns, Hellnzn. He says it will take forever to shred stuff, move papers and get everything out of reach for a trade. Still, there are many people who have done it successfully.
The movie you mention used information from the site we are listed on. Let me know if you would like to see pics of our home and I will send you the link :)
Diane
I just saw the movie today, it was great. I`d love to by the way.