"The Holiday"

In the movie, "The Holiday" Cameron Diaz's character in California swaps homes with Kate Winslet's character in England.  They both had hit some rough spots in their personal lives and needed an escape.  Although life has been good for me, recently, I too felt I needed an escape.  Moving home to Charleston last May, participating in several weddings, and teaching full time was difficult for me.  Don't get me wrong...my school is fantastic and I love my students, colleagues, and boss.  I love my friends too, and being part of their weddings was an honor, but life was hectic and it was rough for me going back after the carefree year abroad I had in 2011-2012.  So hard in fact, that I booked my flight to Ireland just 5 days after school let out for the summer, and I booked my return for just a couple of weeks before school lets back in in August.  I decided I'd take my own "Holiday" and I'm actually following quite closely in the footsteps of the two previously mentioned characters. 

For a few years now, I've been part of a group for home exchanges. I have had several families from New Zealand, Argentina, England, and the US swap homes with me.  Only once have I actually been to any of the homes myself.  That was the fantastic trip I wrote about in November of 2011 when my friends Kit and Jamie accompanied me to Tuscany.  Fortunately, I'm back in the house exchange business.  I'm currently in Galway, Ireland.  Mom and I arrived this morning! 

Our trip started on Tuesday when my dear sister, T'Lene, drove Mom and me to Charlotte, NC to catch our flight.  Charleston doesn't always offer great deals, but we were able to get an inexpensive ticket on Aer Lingus leaving from Charlotte so we drove up a day early.  We spent the night in Charlotte on Tuesday, then took a shuttle to the airport on Wednesday morning.  We then flew to Boston where we were put on an earlier flight (thank goodness) to Dublin.  We arrived in Dublin this morning, Thursday, at about 5:15 and then got a coach (a three hour drive) to Galway.  We arrived here without too much trouble and unpacked our things in our new home.  You see, for two weeks, the owners of the house in Galway are on holiday with a home exchange in Italy.  We're here until they return.  We'll actually stay two extra nights once they get back to become better acquainted, and then we'll go on our way for the remainder of our vacation.  Next year, the couple from Galway will come to Charleston. 

There are many perks to this set up.  The major plus is that we don't have any accommodation costs for 13 nights.  I pay a yearly cost of about $60 to have access to the home exchange site.  There is no more money involved with the swap.  We have a car (their BMW) which I've already successfully driven to the market.  We have a beautiful house (three bedrooms, four full baths, two living rooms, den, kitchen, a laundry room, and a spacious back garden).  We have friends now in Galway for any future visits, and we have peace of mind knowing that we can come and go without lugging our suitcases in and out of hotels and racking up some huge bill for eating out every meal.  I already cooked us dinner tonight and we'll have breakfast here in the morning! 

It's honestly like I have a second, third, indefinite vacation home all over the world.  There is no limit to how many places you go or how you plan your exchanges.  It doesn't have to be simultaneous, and in my case, it doesn't even have to be in the same year.  In 2011 I had two families visit from New Zealand.  I've never been over there, but I know that when I'm ready to do so, I can call them up (or email in most cases) and they'll honor it.  Actually, one of the NZ families wrote me earlier this spring and asked if they could go back to Charleston for another visit.  If we were to swap again, this would mean I'd have another opportunity to go to New Zealand to stay in their home again.  In some instances, like my friends with whom I swapped in Tuscany, the family has more than one home around the world which they swap out, so you might have more opportunities within the one exchange.  That family has a place in California too, and I've been invited there as well!

With this exchange, and for a total of three weeks that Mom is with me in Ireland, I've only spent about $300 on accommodations!  With some insight into how to do it, the European holiday is quite feasible.  I'm thrilled to pieces to be back in Ireland, absolutely delighted to have Mom here to share it with, and excited for the adventures that lie ahead.  Thanks HomeforExchange...I couldn't have done it without you!