Hi there,
In this post I’m going to tell you about the first part of the home exchange that focuses on the Durham house where we spent 25 days.
Heidi was one of the first people who contacted us about doing a home exchange and she had many reviews of previous exchanges.
As we did not know yet how the procedure to close the exchanges was, she guided us a little. We both looked for flights and once we agreed on dates and times, we closed the exchange.
We arranged for both parties to find a clean car, a clean house, a little grocery shopping for the first meal, etc.
As for the car, we had agreed that Heidi would leave her car at the airport parking lot, and she would take an Uber to our house.
Her house is about an hour and a half from Boston airport and our house is less than 30 minutes from the Porto airport. For her the cab was going to cost at most 15 euros and for us it was going to cost hundreds of dollars, so we arranged it that way.
Heidi was leaving a few hours after our arrival in Boston and was waiting to meet us.
Of all the good things and benefits I find at home exchange, what was a big change for me is not being terrified of what I’m going to find. Normally when I book on Airbnb or booking.com I always go with the anxiety and fear that it is going to be dirty, that the internet is going to fail, that I am going to have problems, etc.
For this exchange I was calm and confident that I was not going to have any problems. Diego was a little afraid.
Although in general it was a good stay, here I am going to put the good and bad things about the house in my opinion and in comparison with my house in Porto.
The good things
Views and location
The house is in the middle of nature, overlooking the river and the forest. This was the most significant thing with respect to our house in Porto.
Heidi’s availability and kindness
From the beginning Hopi was a kind and available person.
Reception
The arrival in Boston was excellent as she waited to meet us, left the car at the airport, left snacks in the car and left a small arrangement of flowers at the house. This in addition to the grocery shopping that both parties had left.
No neighbors
If in my house in Porto I feel lucky not to have wall to wall with any neighbors, in the Durham house it was a blessing to be able to be in a house without seeing practically no human beings.
Car suited for the place
The car was perfect and very new. Also, it was adequate if we wanted to go to the mountains or if we had to drive in the snow.
Well insulated for noise
The house is right next to the road and logically there is some noise from cars. Inside the house was fine with respect to outside noise as the sound insulation is good.
Decent pillows
We had foam/viscoelastic pillows and believe it or not, this gives quality of life after the ratty pillows we have encountered in hotels and Airbnbs.
Spacious and well-equipped kitchen
The kitchen was gigantic compared to ours and although it had no doors, it was well separated from the rest of the house. It also had every possible appliance for cooking. Although we didn’t use any of them, it is an added value.
Large spaces
Compared to our house, we gained space here.
Comfortable sofas
In the living room we had 2 sofas that were very comfortable and clean.
Excellent internet connection
As is always a problem in tourist accommodations and even in 5-star hotels, it should be noted that the internet never failed.
Ozone water filter
Although tap water is drinkable, there is an ozone filter to improve the taste and purity of the water.
Huge washer and dryer
The washer and dryer in the house are huge and work well. The only bad thing is that the dryer was dirty and had sand in it and I had to clean it. Although I am not a fan of dryers, I must admit that they make life easier, especially during the winter.
Garage
We leave the car on the street because our house doesn’t have a garage. Durham’s house has a covered garage.
The downside
No storage space
Our closet was left practically empty, but we found ourselves a completely full closet, so I had to use a bed from another room to put clothes on. Heidi tried to make some space but it wasn’t enough.
For a 25-day exchange this is no problem, but for a longer exchange it probably is. Also, there wasn’t storage space in the bathroom either.
Cleanliness
If I had paid for accommodation, I would have done a thorough check of everything, but here I didn’t even bother.
The owner paid a cleaning person who as far as I could tell did a basic bathroom cleaning, changed sheets, and cleaned the kitchen.
My house is always squeaky clean, and it is unrealistic to expect to find a house that is as clean as mine; besides, I don’t have kids or dogs and that shows in how you find a house.
This house in general was dirty and you could tell it had not been cleaned well for many years, but the areas I was going to use were moderately clean and for a 25 day stay, I was not going to be mortified.
Soft mattress
The mattress in the Durham house was softer than my mattress. I like hard mattresses.
The last week my back was hurting and I don’t know if it was from the mattress or from working on the dining room chairs.
Old house
In my house everything was new and freshly painted. Durham’s house was older and something I didn’t expect was that the shower had a curtain.
Heating
First, the air conditioners are old and quite noisy.
I would expect that in a place where it gets below freezing, the heating would be by boiler. The air conditioners when it was very cold outside were not sufficient in the large spaces and in the living room, you had to help by turning on the fireplace. Also, if you must turn the air conditioner up too high, it gets very dry and uncomfortable.
Work areas
Our house has two proper work areas: desk + office chair.
In this house there was a desk that was very tall, and you could only work standing up, so it was of little use to us. Then there was another desk in a room that was not bad, but there was no office chair. In the end, the most comfortable thing to do was work at the dining room table.
For 25 days there is no problem, but for longer stays we should have bought 2 office chairs. Sitting 8 hours a day in an inadequate chair takes its toll on the back. Diego says that what he missed most from our house in Porto was his chair and work screen.
Need car for everything/scarce public transportation
It is a normal thing all over the United States to have limited public transportation. Here we were an hour and a half drive from Boston airport and the car is needed for everything. There was a train, but to get to the station, you needed a car.
Noisy appliances
This is something I have also found in many tourist accommodations. The appliances, being old, start to make noise and then there is the noise of the air conditioners.
In our house this does not exist because the appliances are one year old and work perfectly.
The dishwasher does not work well
Coming from having an almost new dishwasher that leaves everything squeaky clean, it was also a change for the worse having a dishwasher that left things half washed.
The robot vacuum cleaner never worked
I didn’t know the house had a robot vacuum and I was shocked to see it in the kitchen because there were many areas of the floor that were dirty with dust and shouldn’t be that way if you really use the robot vacuum.
I tried to use it and it didn’t work. It was reset and started working, but it cleaned the kitchen, stopped and never worked anymore.
I didn’t care because it wasn’t in my house and because there were other vacuums to use. But you guys just think, in my house I have a new Xiaomi robot vacuum that also mops. I set it for 2 times a day in each space and I don’t have to worry about anything else. Here, having to do everything manually, cleaning was down to once a week.
The TV is downstairs
Although the house is huge compared to ours, we only used the upstairs. The TV is downstairs and since we found it annoying to go downstairs and it was quite cold there, we never used it and we used Diego’s computer to watch TV series and movies.
The fridge was full
In our kitchen there was plenty of storage space and the fridge was empty so she could put all her stuff in it.
On the other hand, we found the fridge almost full and the freezer so full that nothing could fit in it. The kitchen cupboard was also full, and we had to rearrange everything to make some space.
The kitchen has no extractor fan
We use the extractor fan in the kitchen every time we cook because otherwise everything smells of food. There is no extractor fan in the kitchen of this house.
The stay in general was good first because Heidi was a nice person and very available.
After traveling as digital nomads since summer 2020, I can say that I will stay a thousand times with Heidi’s house than with any tourist accommodation I have ever stayed. Although we found aspects that could be improved, we had the minimum needs guaranteed. The tranquility of being in a place where you have no problems, changes your life.
In the next post I will tell you how the experience ended badly as I found my house dirty and with multiple damages.
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