COULD THIS BE THE NEXT WAVE IN HOME EXCHANGE?

Judging from the increase in questions I am receiving from new would-be home exchangers, nothing makes the idea of free travel more appealing than a global recession. People who have considered doing a vacation swap are now actively researching our way of traveling.

It is always great to welcome hospitable new swappers to our community. But there is another wave of potential home exchangers on the horizon: retiring baby boomers.

Yes, the commune-dwelling hippies of the 1960's are themselves reaching their 60's. As they do so, who better to turn to home exchange than this independent generation who embraced lifestyle alternatives and brought them into the mainstream. Will they do the same for home exchange?

America's post-war "baby boom" generation is poised to retire. We already see huge numbers of seniors in our home exchange community. Retirees have flexibility to travel that is denied those of us who are tied to traditional jobs. Boomers are reaching retirement age after a lifetime of openness to new ways of living. Home exchange may be just the latest in a string of new ideas the Boomers popularize.

After all, Boomers were born at the same time as organized home exchange. It is reasonable to expect that they will embrace home exchange travel in even greater numbers than the generations which came before them.

People comtemplating retirement naturally want to do some of the exploring they did not have time for when they were working and raising a family. Retirees must also decide where to spend their golden years. Home exchange is the perfect way to meet both of these goals without straining a fixed income.

Welcome Boomers. The doors of home exchange a thrown open to you.