A woman has revealed how she’s travelling the world while in retirement and saving £20,000; swapping her home with strangers.
Before retiring, Liz and Ivan used to go on two small trips per year to satisfy their travelbug.
But after quitting their 9-5s, the pair longed to explore the world – though without a huge budget, the dream seemed unlikely.
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Until Liz started swapping their family home with complete strangers in different countries.
Now, they’ve visited over 21 new Locations, all while saving a whopping £20,000 on accommodation costs alone.
“I worried at first if my home would be damaged, if there were any scams or if the homes I exchanged with would be OK,” Liz, from North Yorkshire, told Luxury Travel Daily.
“But travel has always been a passion for us, experiencing different cultures and new places, so that was a driver.
“In our view, it’s better than staying in a hotel or AirBnB, as that’s getting quite expensive, especially when there’s just the two of you.
“If it wasn’t for swapping our home, I wouldn’t have been able to afford and fulfil lifelong ambitions that I have dreamed about since I was little.”
Liz, 70 and Ivan, 72, started off with listing their former four-bedroom, three bathroom detached home in Buckinghamshire.
For their first exchange using the website HomeExchange, they decided to go to Perth, Australia, for two-and-a-half weeks.
Both families not only swapped homes, but they also took on each other’s cars – and numbers – making friends that they’re still in touch with today.
After that, Liz and Ivan were hooked, with the pair visiting Locations such as Florida, South Africa, Alaska, Washington D.C and Vancouver.
And they’re now taking trips up to five times a year, with the average cost just £800 for them both.
She said: “We go away more frequently now and for longer.
“It did feel strange the first couple of times; but we’ve never had a bad experience.
“If it had not been for HomeExchange, I wouldn’t have gotten to walk with reindeers for my birthday or seen a black bear looking under rocks for some dinner.
“We’ve taken a flight over the mountains in Denali National Park, as well as going on two trips to Australia, which our bank balance would’ve never allowed before.
“I’ve been able to see the Beluga whales and polar bears in the wild – and the Northern Lights.
“It’s enabled us to travel more in retirement and enriched our lives.”
Now, they’re hoping to return to Australia for the third time, as well as going to Hawaii next.
And while Liz and Ivan are living the lives they once dreamed about, they say there’s a few important factors to be mindful of.
She added: “You have to have the right mindset to be a successful home exchanger; you’ve got to be flexible.
“Communication is key, as getting to know the family coming to your home and you going to theirs will give you more confidence.
“And be clear about how you expect them to leave your home.
“It’s not a booking service, it takes effort to arrange the right exchange.
“But when you do, it can be the start of a life-changing journey.”
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