Testimonial from Maria vanHarten
Our first home exchange was in 2008.
We wanted to bring our two young girls to see the Netherlands where my husband’s grandparents emigrated from after WWII. In the one photo, my husband is standing in front of a home formerly owned by his ancestors in Holland.
In the other photo, the girls and I are in front of the Batavia ship in Lelystad, Flevoland.
We chose to arrange a home exchange because living out of suitcases and always searching for restaurant food appealing to young children didn’t sound like much fun. An exchange allowed us to settle in (baby gear and all) to much roomier accommodation, enjoy private gardens and do our own cooking. We included cars in the exchange which allowed us to see parts of the country not easily accessible by train or bus, especially if you’re pushing baby strollers. The family we exchanged with even had the same kids cutlery and plates from Ikea that we had back at home in Canada! We are still friends with the family we did the home exchange with – we visit them every time we go back.
