Spain has the largest number of listings in HomeForHome. We have previously featured Barcelona and Malaga, two highly desired Spanish destinations, but there are several other pleasant destinations just waiting for you. An advantage of such an exchange would be the opportunity to practice a foreign language. We said it almost a year ago:

“The best way to learn a language is to get yourself in a country where it is spoken. This way you really drench yourself in the culture, you are constantly absorbing new vocabulary from the road signs, the posters, the conversations you over-hear on the metro – and most importantly of all – you make friends you can talk with.” (28-01-2009)

To maximize the gain and fully absorbs the daily conversations, it would be a good idea to start the immersion in advance. Fortunately, the Internet provides us with such wonderful tools these days, we can do this at home.

For example, for those wishing to try home exchange with someone in Spain or other Spanish speaking country we found this great website called Lenguajero, that not only allows you to practice your Spanish skills but also has some great tools and resources to help members expand their vocabulary and improve their writing. Lenguajero allows English and Spanish native speakers to interact and have conversations in both languages.

Lenguajero has a growing community of over 4000 members, split equally between English and Spanish learners from USA, UK, Canada, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina and other countries. If you check out this site and its blog, you may also find some advice on living and travelling (maybe through home exchange) to South America, so it’s a learn-learn deal!

Taking time off to enjoy a relaxing vacation is not the only opportunity to exchange homes, as we have mentioned in previous posts. This time we will highlight one of the many situations in which home exchange may simplify things, not only from an economic perspective, but also for its practical advantages.

There are thousands of short educational alternatives these days, from short seminars to congresses and continuos development courses. Many of them offer a great opportunity for people looking to build up their careers and are most likely to take place in a different city or even a different country. As in most trips, lodging may end up accounting for an important part of the cost.

Home exchange benefits potential students in a number of ways:

1. It eliminates lodging expenses.
2. It lowers extra expenses that arise when other alternatives are chosen, like buying meals/refreshments or even local transportation if car exchange is included in the swap agreement.
3. It opens the possibility for the family to tag along, and maybe even enjoy a relaxing weekend away after the course is completed. For those that need to travel with small children, contacting your exchange partner in advance may offer the possibility to get ideas about trusted day care facilities or babysitters that could be useful while you are attending the event.

HomeForHome offers thousands of worldwide exchange opportunities for you to match your needs.

If you’re a student or just someone who is interested in doing some temporary work aboard, the internet really is the best way to go about organizing your trip.

To start with, home exchange can cover your accommodation. If you’re thinking of staying abroad for a few months, you’ll have to make sure that you search for people who are interested in a medium-term exchange too. It depends on where you want to go and how long exactly you’re planning to be away. It’s best to try and be flexible and open to different ideas. At the same time, don’t be afraid of making suggestions to other users about longer term exchanges.

In order to find yourself a job, you can have a look on some of the international websites that offer job listings. It’s a very simple process, and all you have to do is put up your CV and fill out some personal details. For example, http://www.infojobs.com can help you find jobs across Europe and South America. It’s a great resource to have if you’re looking for temporary work.

So if you’re planning to work abroad for a few months, get planning straight away! The internet puts the world at your feet.

Depending on which country you come from, television and film abroad can be riotous.

Alternatively, they can leave you flabberghasted, wondering, “Do people actually watch this stuff?” I often wonder how anyone can enjoy a TV film when there is a commercial break that lasts up to 25 minutes half way through. 25 minutes!!!

But one of the brilliant things about being abroad, from a lanugage perspective, is that you have such ample opportunity to listen and practise the foreign tongue.

You can relax at home in the house of your exchange partner, with a deliciously home-cooked dinner, bursting with freshly picked out local ingredients… and the simple exercise of watching TV at home will be transformed into a new cultural experience.

In the same vein, if you’re a lover of cinema, there are plenty of international picture houses across Europe. You can treat yourself to a genuine romantic cinema experience in a foreign country, in a foreign world.

Another great idea is going to a film festival during the summer. If you’re a cinema fan, there is no greater pleasure than sipping a chilled beer on your deck-chair, surrounded by palm trees gently swaying in the night-time breeze, absorbing to your heart’s content 7 varieties of short films from all across the world.

Films and television are a couple of the many media through which you can practise and learn a new language. All made that little bit easier through home exchange.

Depending on the time of retirement, sometimes it can be difficult to maintain the speed and activity of your social life. If you are amongst the first of your friends to retire, it can feel a little isolating.

Conversely, finding the pace and rhythm of life that suits you the best can often be trying. It can be question of getting around to doing those things that you never had time to do during your working life. Or it can involve enjoying your interests, pursuing leisure or educational pursuits.

Getting involved in new communities and making new friends who are at a similar stage of life is also important. As is travelling. As a home-exchanger, one of the fruits of the process is that you come across a rich variety of people from all walks of life. But as a retired person, it can also be a way of finding new friends within the retirement community, across the globe.

Not only will fellow retired exchangers have the same time flexibility as you, but they will also be able to take longer exchanges. This can easily result in a close and worth-while friendship.

It can also be a way to aid with other common retirement goals. Study of a foreign language, architecture, history, sports, writing, or photography for example. Overseas travel can aid all of these activities by providing ample space and opportunity to develop new skills, draw inspiration, and find new subject matter.

Friendship and personal development are very important concepts throughout the whole of life, but in retirement specifically. Home exchange is a great way to expand upon these within a friendly and worldwide community.