Such an awesome opportunity and great video! I believe you guys have a dog, what accommodations were needed to be made for her / him?

Pretty neat idea with the Home Exchange program. A great way to save on travel lodging expenses while your home is empty.

Doug and Monique, we appreciate you sharing your Second Half of Life with us! Due to you and It’ll Be Fun, we added 5 days onto the end of our guided tour of Portugal and will fly from Porto to Madeira today. Without your videos, Madeira would not have even been on our map and as Beth and I plan our retirement, we have been so impressed with how you have executed yours. We hope our paths cross, maybe even on this trip if you have returned from Lisbon. Thanks again for all the work it takes to produce these videos and know it is so appreciated.

Thanks for the continued look into living a great second half of life. I’m wondering did you board your dog during the swap or are they taking care of him as well during your guest’s stay at your place? 🐶

We plan to come for a week in April. We also plan to stay at Quinta da casa blanca. It looks non americanized and is a moderately short walk to central Funchal. Is this a good spot?

My husband and I hope to be moving to Madeira in March 2023. We are super excited and can't wait to start our 2nd half of life! This is a great idea.

Whoa…are you still there? We were in Parque das Naçoes from late Sunday afternoon until we checked out Monday at noon to fly home to Chicago! Easy walk to the ibis hotel from Oriente, where we got off the AP train from Porto. Thank goodness we walked around then to see the neighborhood and Vasco de Gama mall even though we were pretty tired, rather than in the rain on Monday morning. We had a fantastic meal at Tacho do Pescador along the river. I completed my goal of eating "the Portuguese Seafood Trinity" of octopus, grilled sardines, and choco frito there, as we couldn't find choco frito in Porto. Soup, two large meals with a big mixed salad, served with more fries and rice than we could finish for €33. It's such a contrast from the Parque Eduardo VII/Avenidas Novas area where we stayed for 4 nights before heading up to Porto.

It’s brilliant! Our neighbors have done this stateside and overseas several times and have had wonderful experiences and saving a lot of money.

Stories from the Isle (seat) – all puns intended. Loving your positive energy – also acknowledging what you have learnt from your host in Lisbon. So generous and humble. Here's to many more Happy Trails at TUD🥂

Ooooh bike rental! Let me know how that goes, Monique! 😉

House swapping is very interesting. We also chose to be minimalist in furnishing our second home in England. When we aren’t there, we rent it out fully furnished. But we do have an owners closet where I keep our personal stuff locked up for the 8 months tenants are living there !😉
But I don’t think I could manage to get our home in Texas minimalist enough to rent out. I have been considering it though! Great video! Made me think. 🤔
Cheers! Dara

Doug & Monique, thanks for sharing another informative video. Home sharing seems like a great idea to aid in traveling expense! I especially like the tips you learned from your home exchange friends! All those little touches to welcome those who are staying at your place as you stay at theirs. Very nice.

What a great idea! You two continue to ace early retirement. Your ability to shift to minimalism and keep Villa Doce easy to "lock and leave" are a great fit to home swapping.

Really great, you two! We’ve had similar ideas and plans ourselves! In Lisbon, you’ve already likely been there, but in case you haven’t – do check out Time Out Market, which is a fabulous food market. Honestly, the best Pastel de Nata I’ve ever had. All chef-run food outlets. Definitely worth a visit! Looking forward to more reports of your travels! A really fun video as usual, Doug and Monique!

I am curious to learn more about home swaps as you discover more about the process. I had thought that might be a good way to travel.

I had seen a couple who travels and cares for other people’s dogs through a pet sitting service… so that definitely interested me as well. They suggested taking gigs more locally to help build up reviews. There is a fee for the service they use… but I think you could quickly recoup it off one stay.

Interesting concept. Does it mean your visitor has to take care of your dog? Or does Madeira have a pet hotel nowadays?

Excellent move (home swap). Kindly share the company you will use for organizing home swap. Great tips guys. Keep on enjoying your second half of life. You two are an inspiring force.

So interesting. We travel a lot, a lot. I’m a retired teacher, my husband is soon to be retired, so this is a great idea for us too. Contact us if you’re interested in a house in the beautiful southwest of Ireland, 45 mins from a big airport, panoramic Atlantic Ocean view in an old town.Sinéad

Hi our lovely chums. Good to see you thinking about home Exchange, we've been exchanging since 2014 with the company 'home exchange' so would recommend them if you do decide to go that route? I've noticed that if you use the code yvonne-63ca9 they'll give you quite a few free points to get you started. I'd say it's worth a go. Look forward to catching up in December. Keep them coming!

My wife’s immediate reaction: “I love it. We’re going to be best friends when we move T Madeira. They are my style.” I guess she wants a Patreon subscription for a gift. One issue for us: getting off the island with a small dog… 🙂

Parque das Nações is really good and the mall Vasco di Gama is nearby. Plus, the advantage of the Oriente bus/train/metro station. Usually, our entry point to Lisbon if we're going shopping or to the airport.

Our world keeps getting bigger and bigger! This is “the freedom that comes with it” 😊 Please like, subscribe, and let us know your best house swap ideas. Have a great weekend and, as always, Track Us Down! – D & M 🌎