Stepping into the Unknown

The above is the title of a recent article about home exchange in the Evening Standard Homes and Property magazine, published on 5th September. Although the article emphasises London's global popularity and that therefore home owners living there should find it easy to swap their homes and get their dream holidays free, it is a way to make the most of your investment in your home wherever you live. While those living in London and the home counties have easy access to a choice of airports to take them to such exotic destinations as India, Brazil and Costa Rica;



in effect a veritable worldwide choice of exciting destinations to be found when browsing through the lists of swaps on the Green Theme International Home Exchange web-site, those visiting the capital on a home exchange basis will be saving enormously on their costs too.

The article quotes "The hurdle is accepting people you have never met will be living in your home, eating off your china, and possibly, even driving your car, if that is part of the deal." People who are having difficulty facing up to this might find it encouraging to obtain a copy of the Home Exchange Academy e-book that I reviewed yesterday by Athena Rickby who has had experience of more than forty exchanges over 25 years.

Lastly, there is, of course the cost of membership of one of the many home exchange agencies now in existence, and which of them to choose. Home-swap companies annual charges range from £25.00 to more than £100.00, depending upon how many photographs you want in your listing. But there is more to consider than just the fees charged, as Athena helps you to discover.

ENTER OUR HOME EXCHANGE COMPETITION - Closing date: 30/09/2007.

GTI Home Exchange is offering the prize of a free year's membership of Green Theme International Home Exchange chosen at random from entries identifying which of the companies mentioned in the Contact List published in the Homes and Property article charges just £25.00 for a 12 month membership subscription. Just forward your name and email address and your answer to admin@gti-home-exchange.com. A runner-up prize will be a copy of the Home Exchange Academy e-book reviewed yesterday on the GTI Home Exchange Travel blog.

Who will descend your Home Exchange chimney this Christmas?

Father Christmas did not always have the appearance that he has today. In fact, as nobody has ever seen the real Father Christmas it is difficult to know what he is like. In each era and in every country children and adults alike have tried to guess his appearance and to give him a name: Father Christmas, Saint Nicolas, Santa Claus. The first traces of Father Christmas as we know him today originate from the United States about 173 years ago. This version of Father Christmas is in fact a synthesis borrowed from each tradition and belief in the world.

In Germany, Belgium, the German part of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Austria, north and east France, Greece and Slovakia, children have already received their Christmas presents on the 5th December, St Nicolas day. But that is not so very surprising when you know that for a long time Christmas was not celebrated on December 25th.



Jul Tomte - or Little Christmas elf - is the Swedish vision of Father Christmas. He is a small thin little man, half imp, half gnome. He has a long white beard, a little pointed red hat, a coat and wooden clogs.

In France, before being known as Père Noël, the mysterious person was also known as 'le bonhomme Noël'. He gave treats and presents to good children on Christmas Eve. He wore a large cloak with a hood, often covered with snow, and had a long white beard. He was always accompanied by 'Père Fouettard' who dealt out dizzying blows to the children who were not good enough.

In Savoy and the south-east regions of France there was also 'Le Père Chalande' who came down the chimney on Christmas day to leave presents for the children. He, too, had a long white beard and a pointed hat.

If you're away from home on a home exchange this Christmas and receive a visit from a mysterious figure who ressembles Father Christmas, but is not quite the same, do write and tell us about him.

The Holiday - romantic comedy on home exchange

After including an article on GTI Home Exchange weblog some time ago entitled "The Romantic Angle on Home Exchange", a new film, The Holiday, featuring Kate Winslet as Iris and Cameron Diaz as Amanda, is about to bring holiday and home exchange into the limelight. Without disclosing the plot, the romantic comedy revolves around a Christmas home swap arranged on the internet through a fictional home exchange agency, and reveals what happens when Iris and Amanda, each in need of a refreshing change of scene, find themselves transplanted to another person's world. A short preview of the action may be found at IMDb where you just need to click on the hyperlink View trailer, but you might prefer to wait until the UK release date for the film at a cinema in your area on 8th December.

The Romantic Angle on Home Exchange

This is not the first time that I have written about their being the possibility of a romantic angle on home exchange. Way back in the Green Theme International Home Exchange newsletter of March 1996 I included a little snippet entitled 'Love is in the Air' when a GTI home exchange member told us about her exchange partner from the States who decided to look up an old flame while in England. It wasn't long before romance was rekindled and this time the couple decided to tie the knot.

I have now been asked by a journalist if I can find any other GTI members who have a romantic story to tell:

"I'm not sure if you can help me, but I'm a multi-published freelance writer looking for true love on home exchange stories for potentialarticles in national magazines (and perhaps even a book if response is strong enough).

I believe there will be sufficient media interest in this idea, as it will tie into the upcoming romantic comedy 'Holiday', starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet. (In the movie, two single women arrange for a 14-day exchange of their L.A./London houses and each meets a man, and becomes romantically involvedwith him--on the wrong side of the Atlantic, of course!)

If any of your members have arranged to swap homes, and then got into a relationship - I'd ask that you provide them with my contact informationfor interview purposes.

Many thanks for your consideration.
Best regards,
Stephanie Olsen Founder/Owner Family Life Abroad
email address: editor@familylifeabroad.com "

A Fishy Tale

In answer to the question on our membership registration form, 'Where did you hear about Green Theme International Home Exchange?', I was surprised to see someone had entered Carp Magazine. Whilst we receive much good publicity in all sorts of magazines, this was not one which had immediately sprung to mind, even though I know that angling is a very popular pastime. Great, I thought, our Themed Holiday Search in Advanced Search must really be reaching its target if we are being mentioned in such specialist publications. Still a little bemused, I thought I would try to find out a little more about Carp Magazine and perhaps even read the article. Imagine my embarrassment when on looking for information on Yahoo I found that CARP in this instance actually stands for Canadian Association of Retired Persons and the magazine referred to was the Carp 50+ Magazine.

At GTI Home Exchange anyone wishing to conduct a search based on a particular holiday theme may do so by clicking on Advanced Search , and then clicking the Theme drop down menu offering the choice of boating, fishing, golf, horseriding, skiing, tennis, walking.

Summer Silly Season

Although we are not in the midst of a heatwave/canicule, it seems nevertheless that we are in the midst of the Summer Silly Season. This week brought a spate of enquiries from people who seem to think that an exchange can be arranged at very short notice: for example, an enquiry from a young Italian lady who was interested in a hospitality exchange for a month to any city in the UK, but wishing to travel within the first few days of August; another from a young French person who very specifically wanted to visit Sitges for the month of August. With home exchange it is very necessary to think and plan ahead, and there is almost no chance of making arrangements for either home exchange or hospitality exchange at such short notice. Whilst this may appear to be discouraging, we nevertheless prefer to be honest and not mislead anyone on their chances of arranging a successful exchange unless they are prepared to give it adequate advance thought and preparation.

We also received an enquiry from a journalist at Le Parisien asking if we could put her in touch with someone who was currently on an exchange in Paris. Whilst I could put her in touch with numerous French GTI Home Exchange members who live in or around Paris and are offering exchanges to Paris, it is very difficult for us to know at any given point in time who is actually on an exchange in a specific location unless they have sent us a copy of their home exchange agreement. We do invite members to complete a brief home exchange agreement and to send us a copy in the event that they might wish to refer to it if they should ever need confirmation of their home exchange arrangement for travel insurance purposes for example, but very few members do take this precaution, and consequently we do not know who is where and when. A great pity as it would have been lovely to have been able to fulfill the journalist's request and have received the resulting publicity.

So, if there are any GTI Home Exchange members who are currently enjoying an exchange in Paris (and thankfully not during a canicule, as it can be very hot in Paris in August), or any Parisien members who are about to welcome home exchange guests to their home, please contact Violette Lazard at Le Parisien infos_actu@leparisien.com, or contact me, so that I may pass this information on.

Join the Summer Holiday Swap Shop

So you want to have beach views from a Sydney apartment, be seconds from snow-covered slopes in a Swiss chalet or paddle in the pool of a villa in Provence? Well, pick your fantasy picture postcard and bag a free holiday home. From Parisian studio apartments to 10-bedroom Moroccan villas they won’t cost you a penny. The catch? While you’re living the high life in a free luxury pad, your own home is under siege back in Blighty.

Welcome to the worldwide home exchange club where it’s estimated more than 250,000 swaps take place every year, according to Channel 4 Homes. Some just exchange house keys, but others trade cars, pets, gym memberships and even best friends to create a budget holiday that includes every luxury.

And with more people surfing the internet, the worldwide swap shop is growing. For the humble price of membership, online exchange agencies facilitate holidays as far afield as Asia, Iceland and Australia.

Cut-price airfares and the absence of hefty accommodation bills can take you further around the globe – and ensure your spending money lasts the distance.

This is a quote from an article in The Scotsman - 6th May 2005
By Lisa Haynes, PA Features. Click here to read the full article

My Place for your Place.....

This week we were delighted to receive a letter from Nancy Dunnan, publisher of Travel Smart, advising us that Green Theme International Home Exchange is recommended in their current issue.

TravelSmart selects Green Theme International as “having the most imaginative search and match services: boating, fishing, golf, horseback riding, tennis, walking, car exchange disabled access, pet care, seniors”, to name but a few .

The article errs on the cautious side of home exchange and suggests, “if you wish to eliminate hotel bills by exchanging your home or apartment for someone else’s, start well in advance; it can be a lengthy process. And keep in mind that although a picture may be worth a thousand words, a picture can also be deceiving. So ask questions. As for additional photos. Ask for references. And, if possible, ask a friend to check out the house or apartment in person".

TravelSmart, in its 29th year, is the oldest consumer travel newsletter in the US. “We tell savvy people how to travel the world. We do not accept advertising and therefore report about travel issues without prejudice. As a result, our readers trust (and act upon) our recommendations and we have an unusually high renewal rate – over 60”.”

Thank you, Nancy, for the recommendation, and we are pleased to link to your web-site:
TravelSmart so people can get additional information.