The Grown-Up's Guide to Running Away from Home, Second Edition: Making a New Life Abroad (13 page)

Rooms in private homes are often less expensive than hotels. They offer the added benefit of personal attention from your hosts, who can provide useful tips about the area.

Overseas, bed-and-breakfasts go by different names. In France they’re called
chambre d’hote
; in Portugal,
quarto
; in Spain,
casa particulare
; and in Germany, Austria, or Switzerland,
zimmer
.

You can find books listing them. The Karen Brown series is an outstanding example. We’ve always been happy with the places we’ve stayed—from an eleventh-century chateau to a converted abbey to a simple farmhouse complete with a country farm dinner.

You can usually get names of local bed-and-breakfasts from the tourist bureaus located near the center of the city. In some locations, small street signs point them out. And you can find some of them on the Internet.

Most people think of hostels as limited to travelers in their teens and twenties. In fact, most hostels accept travelers of any age. Most hostels offer basic accommodations in dormitories for men and women; some now offer private rooms for couples or families. For information or reservations, contact Hosteling International at (202) 737-5537; website
www.hiusa.org
.

Camping is extremely popular in many areas overseas and offers an affordable, enjoyable option for the outdoor type. I admit to not being one of these, but don’t let my own preference for four walls influence you. Actually, many campgrounds are extremely well-equipped, with showers, washing machines, pools, restaurants, and other amenities. Find lists of campgrounds through travel guides, tourist bureaus, or the Internet.

One way to have your home and drive it too is to rent an RV in Europe. You can park it in campgrounds, then pick up and drive off when you’re in the mood to move on. You can rent RVs from most major automobile rental companies, including Avis, Hertz, and AutoEurope, plus local rental agencies.

When you decide to stay in one place for several months or more, long-term housing cuts your costs considerably over tourist accommodations. Not only is the average nightly rate less, but generally you’ll have more space and a kitchen, so you can cut down on expensive restaurant meals.

If you want to find an apartment or home to rent before you leave the States, start several months in advance. Find a large newsstand that carries papers for your destination and check the classified ads, or have anyone you know at your destination copy those pages and send them to you. From the classifieds you can get a general impression of prices based on the descriptions of the number of bedrooms and amenities. Not being there, however, you can’t see the places in person to gauge relative value. Even though two descriptions may sound the same, there may be reasons why one two-bedroom apartment is $200 less a month than the other, whether it’s location, decrepit plumbing, or a bed that wouldn’t support a flea (or worse, does!).

If you know anyone in the locale, they may be able to personally review the possibilities. Next best is to request photos; just be aware that camera angles can be chosen for the best views, and your next-door neighbor may be a factory.

Several international message boards list holiday homes and apartments, including many offered by individual Americans who use the places part-time and rent them when they aren’t there. Write them and ask for photos and information on the local area.

You’ll see ads for apartment and home brokers in various travel publications and on the Internet. They handle home rentals and can help you find a place long-distance, but this method is more expensive, since you’re paying for the service of the middleman, and brokers usually handle only the more expensive, higher-commission places.

Another way to find housing overseas is to make a trip right before moving to find a place to live, then return to the States and pack up. Most people we know visited their destinations to get a general idea of what was available and at what price. We did the same thing on vacations to our destination, but we didn’t make a specific trip right before moving, for one reason: we hated the idea of spending the airfare when we were going to be there permanently in a few months. Also, most places advertised for rent are available immediately. If you find a place on an exploratory trip, chances are it won’t be available unless you leave immediately—or you’ll be stuck paying an extra couple of months’ rent to hold it while you close up shop in the States.

All in all, it is easier to find lodgings for a few weeks and take your time finding a good value for the long term. Check local classified ads and bulletin boards, ask other expats, or find a rental agent. Once you’re onsite, you’ll see what you’re getting for your money.

When you look at houses and apartments to rent, find out exactly what is included in the price. Often, lodgings overseas are not furnished as completely as Americans expect. Kitchen appliances, in particular, may not come with the deal. If they are not provided, you must furnish your own by buying new or finding good used ones. Look for bargains on bulletin boards in supermarkets or train stations.

Exchanging your home with someone abroad saves each of you the high cost of housing at the new location. Sometimes the deal even includes the use of cars or bikes, plus arrangements to meet neighbors and friends of the people you’ve exchanged homes with. You can arrange home exchanges through friends of friends, classifieds, or professional home exchange directories or agents. You’ll find many exchange offers on the Internet and in travel magazines and newsletters.

Naturally, you’ll want to trade references with the person you’re exchanging your home with, though there are some who claim that since
they’re in your home and you’re in theirs, it’s of equal concern. True, but nevertheless, be thorough in checking financial and personal references—and set in advance such parameters as the length of the exchange, whether car or bikes or boat are included in the offer, and how many people will be using your home (personally, I’d weed out the couple with six-year-old twins who were diagnosed as pyromaniacs).

The following are a few professional home exchange services:

International Home Exchange Network
. This site lists home exchanges and private rentals in areas throughout the world. Post your home and review other offerings, then handle the negotiations yourself. The site also offers hospitality arrangements (the owners host you while they’re still in their home) and vacation rentals. $39.95 covers a year’s membership. International Home Exchange Network, 118 Flamingo Avenue, Daytona Beach, FL 32118; telephone (386) 238-3633. Email:
[email protected]
. Website:
www.ihen.com
.

INTERVAC
. This worldwide agency covers more than eleven thousand listings in fifty countries, with residences from apartments to mansions. It’s designed for home exchanges, but also offers options in house-sitting, hospitality, bed-and-breakfasts, and rentals. Includes hints on preparation, insurance, and exchanging references. INTERVAC U.S., 30 Corte San Fernando, Tiburon, CA 94920; telephone (800) 756-HOME. Email:
[email protected]
. Website:
www.intervacUS.com
or
www.intervac.com
.

HomeLink
. A membership fee of $90 includes your home listing and access to all other listings with the online directory, plus a listing in the printed optional directory that some people request. HomeLink, 2937 NW 9th Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33311; telephone (800) 638-3841. Email:
[email protected]
. Website:
www.homelink.org
.

Seniors Home Exchange
. This service is designed exclusively for the over-50 set. The properties range from small apartments to large estates; the use of a car, bicycle, or other amenities may be included. A membership is currently $79 for a three-year registration on a property for exchange; a lifetime membership is $100.

People who live overseas often travel more frequently than in the United States. Of course, they get at least six to eight weeks’ vacation. They also tend to leave for longer vacations; a month is not uncommon. Along with extended vacations comes the normal concern of leaving a home unattended. Break-ins are a rising problem in many areas, and owners would prefer a reputable person be in the home to give it that lived-in look.

This is good news for you if you can connect with the right person and you are willing to curtail your own schedule enough to meet the responsibility
of house-sitting. You will live in the home and oversee it for several weeks or months while the owners are away. The “job” may include watching pets or watering plants. We house-sat on Portugal’s Algarve for a month one summer. Our jobs were walking the two dogs and skimming the pool. The maid did everything else. We were very aware of our responsibility, however, and though we enjoyed ourselves, we curtailed our explorations of the area enough to ensure that we were at the house more than away. But, then, with a private pool in August, who’s complaining?

Your next question, of course, is how to find homes to sit. Word of mouth will sometimes suffice. One couple in Atlanta has had a house-sitting arrangement in Florence, Italy, for several years running. It’s always August when their Italian friends leave and always hotter than blazes, but these two are artists; they couldn’t care less about the heat as long as they’re near the Uffizi gallery. Incidentally if you can house-sit in Europe during July or August, you’ll improve your chances of finding a place, as that’s the time of year when virtually
every
European takes vacation.

You can find house-sitting opportunities through friends of friends, the Internet, or by placing an ad in the
International Herald Tribune
or the local paper of the destination you prefer. You can also sign on with a service that specializes in house-sitting: The Caretaker’s Gazette, PO Box 4005-M, Bergheim, TX 78004; telephone (830) 755-2300. Email:
[email protected]
. Website:
www.caretaker.org
.

Some people who travel to a specific area find they like it well enough to stay for years, so they decide to purchase a home. The key is that they know the area. Don’t purchase a home overseas without having lived in the community at least a year. OK, so we broke this rule—we purchased after six months. But we’d traveled the area for five years on vacations, and we spent a long time researching, reviewing different properties, and agonizing before making an offer. When we found our place, we knew it would meet our needs affordably and comfortably.

In Portugal, Bob and Anne were object lessons in patience. They rented for two years and got to know their neighbors. As it turned out, they were able to purchase a three-bedroom home in a top location overlooking the Algarve beaches at far below market value. Why? Because when the house went on the market, the octogenarian American owners were returning to the States and preferred to give Bob and Anne a good deal rather than sell to a developer.

Be sure to see the locale in all seasons—not just for the obvious reason of weather, but also to note any changes in the character of the community or the neighborhood ambience. What seems charmingly pastoral in summer sun may seem deathly quiet on drizzly winter nights—or vice versa. You may like a location in winter but discover that tourists overrun it in summer, creating conditions closer to New York City than the bucolic countryside you expected.

Understand the complexities of purchasing property overseas and do not assume anything. You’ll be dealing with different laws and customs and perhaps a different language. If you’re to the point of wanting to purchase, search for specific advice in books on the country you’ve chosen. Contact a qualified attorney and real estate agent. In fact, contact several real estate agents so you can see as many different properties as possible and weigh all the comments together. Often overseas real estate agents don’t share multiple listings as agents do in the States, so each agent will have different properties.

Talk to people who have nothing to sell you but know the area well. They will round out your impressions to help you make a better decision. We knew we liked the general area where we ended up buying, but my hairdresser, of all people, offered a salient comment that we realized was valid. She claimed the countryside where we were then renting was
triste
(sad) in winter. Thinking about it, we realized that she was right. All the summer people would be gone back to Paris or London or New York, and the property was isolated. Instead, we bought in a small town nearby and were happy with that decision.

On the other hand, Gail, a single expat who’s been overseas for more than a decade, lives “as far as I can get from town” and relishes the space for a big garden and room to roam with her two very large dogs. She’d hate being where we are, so to each their own.