Watch life go by sipping wine in a bar in a medieval European street

Tennessee local news has come up with a great concept for something that sounds like very avoidable boredom. “Stay-cations”.

The inhabitants of East-Tennessee, because of the credit-crunch, are taking vacations across town, rather than across country or continent. The local business owners have said that the increased interest in local tourism by the local inhabitants has lead to a spurt in business.  People still need to keep their kids entertained, even if they have near-on empty pockets.

This is where the concept of home swap is screeeeaming out to you. If you’re not averse to taking a few days out in the summer with your kids, to go for ice-cream or to a gallery, then you could do this for absolutely no cost with home exchange, apart from the travel expenses.

Rather than stay in your local area and go to the sites and parks that you’ve already been to hundreds of times, you could do a free home exchange and have a brilliant time not spending any money.

Let’s not forget that we live in the era of cheap flights and budget airlines, and these low-cost travel opportunities are soon to be offering cross-atlantic flights.

So when it comes to “stay-cations”, you just don’t have to! Go and spend your preciously saved summer pennies in a different part of the world or country, where you can really enjoy the parks and cafes and galleries on a real holiday, at an exceptionally low cost without any accommodation costs!

So, it looks like the credit crunch is making quite a few changes. Belts are tightening, purse strings are being bound to the point of breaking, and it´s all getting a bit depressing. It´s not only those who face the horror of job loss that suffer. There are a whole variety of problems to confront right now, with the current economic situation. But cutting down on holidays is, thankfully, not something you have to put up with!

When we have to cut back on luxuries, you would think that holidays would be one of the first things to go. They are certainly something that we tend to spend a lot of money on.

But it doesn´t have to be like that. When you do a home exchange with HomeForHome, the only thing you have to pay for is the transport. Other than that, you will have the same living costs as if you were staying at home. And whilst we are living in the age of cheap flights, now is the time, more than ever, to take advantage of what is available.

Let´s say that you book a cheap flight well in advance of the proposed holiday. So you get the cheapest offer available. And then when you get there, you do a vehicle swap with the family or person that you are exchanging with. The biggest cost of a holiday is often the accommodation. So, with the right organisational skills, you could end up paying very little for transport, and not a single dime for the accommodation. The savings would be enormous. That is why, in this particular economic climate, the home exchange opportunity is riper than ever. It can be the difference between having a substantial, wonderful holiday in a foreign country, or not having a holiday at all.

When you see it in this light, it´s all the more appealing. All you need to do is get yourself registered, upload the details of your own home, and then start looking for locations around the world that you´d like to spend your holidays in! It´s very exciting, and it´s certainly the smart choice to make. This economic crisis might cost us a lot, but we here at HomeForHome make it still possible to go have your dream holidays.

So how´s that for sending a bit of sunshine your way?