Twenty-Two Years, One Open Door
How two decades of home exchange turned a skeptical German village's "why would you?" into our "why wouldn't you?"
Annelies
Sep 30, 2026 · 4 min read
Twenty-two years ago, when we first joined the home exchange community, the idea of letting complete strangers stay in our home was quite unusual, especially in our beautiful but rural area in southern Germany.
At that time, we were the only home listed in our area.
Our neighbours were — and some of them still are — rather sceptical. "But how can you just let strangers into your house?" It's a question we've heard many times over the years.
After 22 years, though, we find ourselves wondering something quite different: why wouldn't you?
We've had so many wonderful experiences, both in Europe and further afield. Of course, you sometimes have to accept that people live differently from you, or that something may not be exactly as you left it. But overall, our exchanges have been about trust, curiosity and the pleasure of opening our home — and having someone else open theirs to us.
For many years, exchanging homes was quite simple. Every summer, we arranged a three- or four-week simultaneous exchange: we stayed in someone else's home while they stayed in ours.
We sometimes exchanged for a week during the spring or autumn holidays, and sometimes arranged a long weekend somewhere nearby. It didn't always have to be a big trip. A few days in another town or region could be enough to give us the feeling of discovering somewhere new.
It was a wonderful way to travel. We weren't just visiting a destination; we were living in a neighbourhood for a while. We shopped in local shops, cooked in someone else's kitchen, found places that weren't necessarily in the guidebooks, and experienced everyday life in another country.
Then home exchange changed
The pandemic was a turning point, both for travel and for the community.
The old model of "you stay in my home while I stay in yours" gradually became less important. New possibilities appeared, including non-simultaneous exchanges and exchanging for tokens.
For us, this has opened up a completely new way of travelling. One exchange can lead to another, sometimes with different people in a completely different country.
The way we exchange has changed, but not what we value most: travelling with a sense of connection rather than simply booking somewhere to sleep.
The biggest constant over all these years is that we love discovering new places — not necessarily the places everyone else is visiting.
Of course, popular destinations are popular for good reasons, and we do love to visit those too. But there's something special about finding a region that hasn't yet become a mass-tourism destination. Somewhere you can wander into a small restaurant, drive through beautiful countryside or discover a village without feeling that you're part of a tourist circuit.
Which brings us to where we are now
We're currently exploring the Bourbonnais, in central France. And what a lovely surprise it is.
The region seems to have escaped the tourist radar. There's rolling countryside, beautiful old villages, historic towns, wonderful food and those distinctive white Charolais cattle in the fields.
It feels peaceful and very French — exactly the sort of place we enjoy discovering.
Perhaps that's what 22 years of home exchange has taught us more than anything. Travel isn't about ticking destinations off a list. It's about staying somewhere long enough to notice things: a village we might otherwise have missed, a market we happen upon, a small restaurant or a landscape far from the usual travel routes.
Twenty-two years ago, we opened our front door to strangers. We had no idea how many doors that decision would open for us around the world.
And after 22 years, we're still opening them — despite what some of our German neighbours might think. 🏡
Comments (8)
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Annalise, how well you have expressed what I appreciate most about home exchange. It has never been about site seeing. It is about opening our home and ourselves to the world. What a positive and powerful difference this has made in my life, in Glenn’s life, and because of the interesting shared experiences, in the life of our relationship. When we began home exchanging the number one question we received was, “Aren’t you worried people will go through your drawers?” Makes me wonder if they think home exchangers planning conversations begin: “Let’s arrange a swap in <insert country name here>. I’ve always been curious about what they keep in their drawers.” 😉 It also makes me wonder how my friends spend their vacation time… 😂 Cheers 🥂
This week I had the pleasure of hosting Cassandra and her 2 kids on the Irish leg of their journey and for 2 nights I got to revel in the joys of discussing travel and home exchange with someone who really gets it. We talked about so much of what you've said and that chance to find the little unknown places is one of my favourite things about exchanging.... among 100 other favourite things 😅. I've only been exchanging for 5.5 years but in that time have done 40 exchanges. A lot of people think it's great and a lot think I'm crazy, they love my exchange stories regardless yet no one has been convinced to try it themselves. They take the website address and are curious but don't follow through. They just have no idea what they're missing!
Hi Annelies, What a lovely surprise to see your face popping out of the window of our home in the Jordaan/Amsterdam. It was such a joy to host you and Winfried last year so you could support your daughter to finish her degree at the University of Amsterdam. And we, in turn, thoroughly enjoyed our return visit to your lovely home in Immenstadt am Bodensee this summer. While we have travelled quite some places in the world, we never took time to visit our neighbouring country Germany. We really relish that visit and stay at your cosy home and garden. Apart from the lovely nature, typical villages, nice wines, good food, bike rides and boat trips, we got surprisingly impressed by the Zeppelin museum and its outstanding exhibition "Gefühltes Wahrheit" , an expo that we list in our top 10. Looking forward crossing roads with you one day. Warm regards, Lizette/Arnold Amsterdam.
We have come to love the small non touristy parts of the world and exploring those beautiful places. Getting to know people is also such a bonus!! 💕
An echo of our experience, from the disbelief of family and friends that we'd let "strangers" stay in our home to the disbelief of a railway station attendant that anyone from Australia would want to exchange to their village ! Our lives have been massively enriched by the people we've met, the quiet ( and not so quiet) corners of the world we've discovered and the incredible adventures we've experienced, few of which would have been possible if not for home exchanging. I'm writing from NZ where I'm staying in an exchange property in Wellington. We've been through Wellington before but never " had time" to explore it properly. But that's what I'm doing. Today was a trip to a beach to search for sea glass and now I'm sitting quietly reading and doing some stitching ! The week ahead promises lots more local bus rides to check out the surrounds, doing some walks, exploring of galleries and perhaps a train ride up the coast for a day trip. We'll see how the weather pans out before making too many decisions.
You know, all our friends think we're crazy! 😂 Let us know if you'd like to tell your exchanging story on our blog too.
I love your story so much! Home exchange has been a big part of my life since 2010. I agree, we're so fortunate! I'm so grateful for all of the opportunities that home exchanging has provided. It's great to have more people like us! Everyday is a school day.
Every day is a school day .. love it! ❤️