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CA51873

Toronto, Canada

Bronze

Member since

2023


Open for exchange
Exchange dates Duration
January 01, 2025 - November 30, 2025 2 weeks

For 2025, we are available from February onwards with one exchange already booked for mid-summer. We would love to exchange in the spring (April, May) and also potentially in the fall (October/November) Ideally we are hoping to spend 2-4 weeks in a destination. But we can be flexible. Anywhere in Europe would be amazing. We can do non-simultaneous exchanges during the months of June or September. The rest of the calendar we are looking for simultaneous reciprocal exchanges.

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Inviting home in one of Toronto's best neighbourhoods

OUR HOME is a 2 1/2 story century house that we completed renovated in 2007. Henk is a contractor and I am a creative director so the home was rebuilt to the highest standards, equipped with every convenience, and beautifully decorated with objects and artwork that we have collected on our travels.
Inside you will have access to 3 floors of living space (basement with guest suite, bathroom and laundry room, main floor with kitchen, living room and dining areas, and second floor with 2 more bedrooms, main bathroom and library). There is a third bathroom on the third floor as well. (Our 3rd floor also has our offices, but they are not available to guests.) Outside there is a large furnished deck right off the kitchen and a private garden just down the stairs below.

NEIGHBOURHOOD: We are in one of the city's most beautiful neighbourhoods, with plenty of mature trees, quiet residential streets and friendly neighbours. Most of the homes are single-family homes, so you aren't surrounded by asphalt and skyscrapers, yet we are only about a 15 minute direct subway ride to the centre of the city (Bloor and Yonge Street) where you will find some of the best shopping, restaurants and attractions in the city.

LOCATION: the best of both green space and urban culture: we are a 15-minute walk to the largest park in Toronto (High Park) and only 10 minutes in the other direction you'll find one of the trendiest neighbourhoods in the city (the Junction) with restaurants, cafes, shops and more. Which means you can go for dinner, have drinks, do some local boutique shopping, and never have to worry about needing a car. There is even a large grocery store that is only a 6-minute walk from the house.

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Our Family

  • 2 Adults
  • 0 Children
  • 2 Exchanges made

Occupation

  • Henk is a retired home contractor, Jane is a freelance Creative Director and travel writer

Our Home

  • House Type: House
  • Environment: In the city
  • Bedrooms: 3
  • Bathrooms: 3
  • Sleeping Capacity: 6
  • Living Area: 185 m2
  • Total Area: 185 m2

References

In my house

  • Pets - Not allowed
  • Small children - Not allowed

Exchange Types

  • Long-term exchange wanted
  • Non-simultaneous exchange
  • Home exchange

Indoor

  • Free internet access
  • Air conditioning
  • Central heating
  • Fireplace
  • Washing machine
  • Dishwasher
  • Clothes dryer
  • Television

Outdoor

  • Garden
  • Terrace or deck
  • Bicycles: 2

Facilities

  • No smoking

Our Destination Wish List

  • Thera 847 00, Greece
  • Iceland
  • Cape Town, South Africa
  • Tokyo, Japan
  • Kyoto, Japan
  • Switzerland
  • Bath, UK
  • Paris, France
  • Madrid, Spain
  • Barcelona, Spain
  • Province of Siena, Italy
  • Florence, Metropolitan City of Florence, Italy
  • Province of Lucca, Italy
  • Rome, Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Italy
  • Italy

Spoken Languages

  • English
  • Italiano

Our Neighbourhood

Nearest Airport: Pearson International Airport - 17 kilometers

We are in one of the city's most beautiful neighbourhoods, with plenty of mature trees, quiet residential streets and friendly neighbours. Most of the homes are single-family homes, so you aren't surrounded by asphalt and skyscrapers, yet we are only about a 15 minute direct subway ride to the centre of the city (Bloor and Yonge Street) where you will find some of the best shopping, restaurants and attractions in the city.

Our home is also in the perfect location if you want the best of both green space and urban culture: we are a 15-minute walk to the largest park in Toronto (High Park) and only 10 minutes in the other direction you'll find one of the trendiest neighbourhoods in the city (the Junction) with restaurants, cafes, shops and more. Which means you can go for dinner, have drinks, do some local boutique shopping, and never have to worry about needing a car. There is even a large grocery store that is only a 6-minute walk from the house.

TRANSIT: When you do want to go explore more of the city, there is a bus stop at the end of our street that is about a 3-block walk. Or if you prefer to walk to the subway, the Keele subway stop is only a 15-minute walk away and puts you on the major east-west line.

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Occupation

  • Henk is a retired home contractor, Jane is a freelance Creative Director and travel writer

Children

  • No children will be traveling with us.

Pets

  • We do not have pets.

About Our Family

We are a couple in our early 60s (no children) who love to travel and immerse ourselves in different cultures. My background is Italian, and because I lived in Rome for 2 years when I was in my 20s, I speak Italian (although I am a little out of practice!) Henk was born in the Netherlands, and does speak a little Dutch.

Henk retired this year, while I continue to do freelance work as a Creative Director in advertising. We also work together producing content for our travel website, GrownupTravels.com, where I am the writer and Henk is the photographer, and we are both members of the Travel Media Association of Canada.

We are looking forward to the home exchange opportunity so we can spend longer time in a destination and really get to know it more like a local than a visitor. And because we love our own home, we will treat yours with the same care and respect.

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Lifestyle

Henk and I love to travel and now that Henk is retired and we have more free time, we are hoping to do more 'slow travel' so that we can immerse ourselves in a destination beyond just the tourist sights. We both love culture, art and history, and because of this, we like to explore cities. At the same time, we love nature's beauty, and enjoy getting outside to go hiking, kayaking and swimming.
As a travel writer and photographer, Henk and I always look for opportunities to discover hidden gems, connect with locals and take beautiful photos, of course!
When we aren't travelling, Henk pursues his hobbies of photography, astronomy, electronics, computers and more, and I write travel articles for our website to help other travellers get inspired by our experiences.

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References

This member has completed 2 home exchanges. Those referenced below may contain feedback/impression from its exchange partners: