We looked at house swap sites but that only really works for a fixed term ” vacation” a few weeks here or there. Doesn’t work for long term travel although it’s something we may consider if we end up in that situation again, we have a home in a holiday area after all. They seem to need a lot of notice too, they plan these things months ahead. Nice idea if you want to stay somewhere expensive.

I don’t think I’d do it again Anne, I hated having to clean somebody else’s house, particularly as it wasn’t very clean to start with. I wanted to do a good job and couldn’t, which did my head in a bit. I’d rather pay my way and be in a contract with a hotel owner ( where I wouldn’t care if it was a bit grotty as it wasn’t my responsibility) as a customer, so that we all know exctly where we stand. I think Erin’s plan of hiring a cleaner is a great one, but still, I’d rather pay my way. I really wish we hadn’t blown our money on signing up and wasted endless hours looking through the lists, time is really valuable when you’re travelling full time, there’s so much to organise, this extra option was a time waster for us. But some people like it, I get that, I just wanted to put the flip side of the coin out there. Saving money isn’t always the most important factor, your own needs and preferences have to be weighed up too.

All the best with it and it will be interesting to see if your first couple of local ones do open the door to some of the fabulous ones out there!