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In the age of the Internet, house exchanging has grown up.
In 1991, still the era of snail mail and high-priced international phone calls, I wanted to exchange my home for one in Europe. But few people wanted to come to Minnesota. Finally, I found a family in southern Sweden, and we went there for three weeks in July. In July, Sweden is practically deserted because everyone is vacationing in Spain and Italy. It drizzles nearly every day.
Fast forward 15 years. The world has opened up. Everything happens on the Internet, including home exchanges. I type in “Minnesota’’ on the HomeExchange web site and find 10 families who want to come here. They’re offering a beach condo in Venice, Fla; a ski chalet in British Columbia; a flat in Barcelona; a bungalow in Ireland; a waterfront home in Sydney, Australia; and homes in Philadelphia, New Hampshire and California.