We have completed home exchanges with four different Montreal families. Any of them would make great repeat home exchange partners. So why have we never swapped with the same Montreal family twice?
MOVING
The first place we used was a sleek Asian-inspired apartment across from a pretty park in the Plateau area. The location was perfect for accessing the best shops and restaurants. Newly-renovated, the apartment was a jewel box.
When we asked to swap with the Asian-apartment couple it turned out that they had fulfilled their goal of purchasing an apartment in Manhattan while visiting our home. They no longer needed to exchange.
FAMILY CHANGES
The next swap home was an atmospheric place located in the oldest building in Montreal. It was charming, with interesting features like a sauna room. The location, in Old Montreal, was fun for exploring the city's history, tho parking was a bit of a challenge.
That place was a one-bedroom and there was no place for our two kids to sleep, except for an oversized walk-in closet with windows and ventilation. One child fit in there but we had to tiptoe around after we put them to bed at 7pm.
LAYOUT
The third home seemed bigger than its square footage because it was an open loft space. The only door inside the apartment was between the bathroom and the main living area. There was a sleeping area but it was delineated with furniture, not walls.
Loft living appeals to many but the openness that makes an apartment look bigger also makes it noisy and crowded, at least psychologically. It was an impossible set up for our 2-child family.
SWAP RELATIONSHIPS CHANGE
When we first arranged non-simultaneous swaps with all three Montreal couples, we were child-free. By the time our turn came to complete each exchange we had a son, and later a daughter.
If we had stayed childless we would have been happy to exchange our home every year with any of these couples. But our life circumstances changed and that meant their homes no longer suited our needs.
If you want the option of developing a long-term home exchange relationship with your swap partners, consider your on-going needs before you send the first offer email.
Waiting a bit longer for the right home or family could pay off in an on-going friendship forged over multiple home swaps.
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