House swap anyone? From Sweden to Singapore
I got this letter from a reader, and thought it was such a fun idea that I really wanted to help her out.
In short: she and her family want to swap houses with a Swedish family for about 3 weeks this summer, and they are offering their own in Singapore for The Swedish family to vacation in.
“Hello!
We’re a family of Australians living in Singapore. We’re embarking on a trip to Sweden this summer, and had an idea. Perhaps instead of booking a hotel, we might find a Swedish family who want to visit the tropics while we visit their place – a house swap is what we had in mind! I am wondering if you might know any Swedes who would be interested, either amongst your friends or through the web site?
Here is some info and photos of us and our home.”
“We are Karen and Richard, and our kids are Finn (2yo) and Anika (4mo).
We live in a “black and white” house in Singapore, which refers to colonial-style bungalows built in the first half of the 20thC.
We have a large back yard and a swimming pool, and since there are kids in the house, there are loads of toys, plus cots, high chairs and other kid-friendly stuff.
One of the biggest advantages of borrowing our house would be that we have a lovely live-in maid and nanny, Jean, who will be at the service of our houseguests (provided she is treated with respect, of course). Here’s Jean with Finn and some wild chickens that sometimes roam through our yard:
We love our little home, and think it would make a great pad for a family holiday. It’s just west of the city, near Alexandra Rd, if you want to look it up on Google Maps. You can make quick trips to the Singapore Zoo, Sentosa and other such
There are three bedrooms currently set up with beds, but there are an additional two rooms that could be set up. The house is split across two small buildings, the second of which has two spare rooms + Jean’s room. Both buildings have a bathroom, with a tub in the main house.
We are hoping to stay in Sweden for two to three weeks, and are open to different locations. A home that is reasonably child-friendly, and could sleep the four of us is what we seek.
Anyhow, it’s a long shot, but worth a try :-)!
All the best to you,
Karen and Richard”
Contact: karenlgould
@gmail.com
15 Comments
Join the discussion and tell us your opinion.
that’s such a cool approach to a family holiday abroad!
i’m afraid i can’t help since i have a small apartment in berlin, but wanted to say how much a love this story and the portrait of the family and their home. cool stuff!
and good luck, i bet it works out!
wow, sounds interesting! we have a large house in stockholm (with three bedrooms, kitchen and a large livingroom) not too far from the center of town. i don’t know where in sweden you want to stay? and of course i have to check with my boyfriend (and our two-yearold) if they are interested. if not this summer maybe some other time, i really love the idea of swaping houses :)
/Annika
This is one of the reasons I love the blog community :)
What a brilliant idea – I would love love love to stay in your house! Unfortunately, although I’m Swedish (and was born in Singapore :-)), I don’t live in Sweden so don’t have a house to swap with you. Good luck, and I hope it works out! Maybe you could place your request on this website: http://www.hemutomlands.se/ (…just had a look and it seems they are currently working on the site so not taking ads at the moment, but hopefully this will be completed soon)
I’ve always wanted to do this! I think is the best way to travel with a family. Have you tried the home exchange website? (http://www.homeexchange.com/). Good luck!
Elena
When? What weeks? Swedish family here with apartment in Stockholm city! Sens us an email!
/Marie
Hi all, thanks for the comments!
Annika: Stockholm would be wonderful! Let us know if the family is keen.
Anyone else who is interested or wants more info, please drop me a line at karenlgould at gmail.com :-)
Thanks again to Jenny for the post!
Marie!
I approved your comment after Karen had answered.
Send her an email. karenlgould at gmail.com
how fun.
Good Luck!
Hi Karen (and Jenny),
I got your adress Karen and I’ve written you an e-mail. We are a family with 3 kids that have been sporadically looking for the same thing a house swap in Singapore. We have a lovely house w 5 bedroom, big living room, big kitchen along the south coast of Sweden with only 25 meters of green gras to the ocean (if you call the Baltic sea an ocean!!) from the garden.
Hope you find our proposal interesting and love to hear from you over the e-mail/xxx Marie
This is such a great idea or traveling with family!
Thanks Elena for the homeexchange site, I hadn’t come across it before, and it looks great!
Good Morning!
This makes me very happy. I feel like a match maker =)
I am looking forward to seeing how this turns out.
/Jenny
I’m from Singapore – and I must say that’s one of the nicest houses you will be able to find here in our tiny country! (:
I love house swapping, we have done it for 3 times already and it’s such a great way to travel with children, we are still looking for a swap for this summer!!
What a lovely idea!!! xxx
PS: we don’t have a house in Sweden, but a large apartment in Copenhagen – very lovely area! If you are interested, let me know…