Jeanine Wanted to See 50 Countries Before She Turned 50. She's on 52

When Jeanine joined People Like Us in January 2021, she had set herself a deadline: fifty countries before her fiftieth birthday.

She is now on fifty-two, and has not turned fifty yet.

So the target moved to sixty. ("I'm aiming for 60 before 50 years old now," she writes, with the breeziness of someone who has done the sums and likes her odds.)

Joe, by her own account, is more of a home bird. He gets dragged along on her coat tails.

The first one was a Dublin weekend

July 2021. A long weekend swap with a family in Dublin. Both couples were complete beginners.

The feedback afterwards read: "It was a fantastic experience where we were all first timers at this gig."

Five and a half years on, Jeanine and Joe have hosted 43 stays at their Belfast home, taken 32 trips of their own, and exchanged with 52 different members. Guests have arrived from 15 countries. Twelve countries have come to them through exchanges. And they have just come home from Bali.

A quiet street, a hot tub, and very clear instructions

Their home is a three-bedroom family house in South Belfast, four miles from the city centre, four minutes' walk to a bus stop, and twenty-five minutes into town. The back garden has seating, an electric grill and a hot tub, under slow, loving improvement for years.

What members write about most is how organised Jeanine is. One guest mentioned the wardrobes were clearly marked for guest use. A French family who came at Christmas said the decorations made the house even more welcoming. A mum travelling with her boys mentioned they felt very safe, and the boys noticed how comfortable the beds were.

And in 2022, when a guest could not get a hire car because post-Covid prices had spiked, Jeanine drove them around Northern Ireland herself.

"Jeanine is passionate about sharing all the cool things Northern Ireland has to offer."

In 2024 they bought a caravan, now on PLU and parked down the coast at Ardglass in County Down, close to the Mourne Mountains and the Irish Sea. When they head off for the weekend, their Belfast home is free for someone passing through.

"We welcome everyone at our home"

Her profile puts their hospitality best:

"We welcome everyone at our home regardless of colour, religion, sexual identity, gender or ethnicity. Humanity, compassion, acceptance and kindness are values I hold on to firmly."

Bailey, Darcy, and now Lady

The pack has grown to three: Bailey the Lhasa apso, Darcy the bichon-yorkie-Lhasa mix, and Lady, a rescue chihuahua.

Guests love them. One described them as "boules d'amour" (balls of love). Another said her own cat seemed ready to move to Belfast permanently after Jeanine looked after him.

Dogs have been part of the house for twenty years, alongside a love of cats picked up through exchanging, and at various points chickens, rabbits, and guinea pigs. Members are welcome to bring their pets, or leave them at home knowing Jeanine will happily care for them.

Every way of exchanging, tried properly

Simultaneous swaps. Non-simultaneous. Hospitality stays when work meant they could not get away. And Globes: five spent on Mexico, France, Finland, Albania, and Bali, plus two Globe guests welcomed to Belfast from the US and Australia.

The year ahead is already full: Cavan at the end of this month, Donegal for Christmas, County Clare in the spring, then Scotland next summer, and Paris next Christmas.

Live Music Lovers

When Jeanine listed what is within two hours of her front door, including beaches, lakes, forests, coastal drives, distilleries, castles, and the Giant's Causeway, she slipped live music in among them.

It is a natural fit that Jeanine is now Community Host of our new Live Music Lovers Community: a home for members who plan travel around gigs, sessions, and festivals, or the kind of evening you fall into because you heard a fiddle through a pub door.

Drop by and say hello. Jeanine will answer. Her response rate is 100% and she usually replies within the hour.

Join the Live Music Lovers Community

"I adore this site and love that people want to visit Belfast." — Jeanine

Nine countries to go. 🏡

Jeanine and Joe have a cosy and comfy 3-bedroom home in Belfast and a mobile home on a caravan park beside the rugged County Down coast in Ardglass, Northern Ireland. Come and say hello!