Mum who home schools her five kids saved family £3k by swapping their home to travel Europe on the cheap

A mum who home schools her kids saved her family £3,000 last summer by swapping their home with other families across the globe to travel cheaply outside school holiday time.

Gillie Cox, 45, a former nurse who now educates her children at home in Bristol, discovered a home swapping app when looking for budget ways to travel around Europe.

As her children, Gracie, 14, Josiah, 12, Caleb, 11, Joel, nine, and Noah, six, are educated at home, the family are free to travel during school time and Gillie discovered that using Home Exchange meant they could afford to spend weeks abroad, letting people stay in their Bristol home while they were away.

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After spending last summer travelling between Germany and France, the family hope to eventually take a road trip across America and this year will see more of Europe, visiting the Netherlands and Sweden.

Gillie, who started home schooling in June 2016 and lives with her husband Matt, 47, a graphic designer, and their children, told PA Real Life: "We had friends who had home educated their children and so it was always a possibility for us."

"Our eldest daughter went to school for almost two years and then we took her out, the four boys have never been to school. It came from a place of Christian conviction, wanting to raise our children from a biblical worldview and also wanting to give them a lot of free time and play-based learning.

"It does take a while to adjust, but we feel privileged that we get to spend so much time as a family and learn together, and with four boys, lots of active and outdoor time."

While Gillie has said that greater holiday flexibility is not a reason she would recommend home schooling, she admitted it is a bonus.

She said: "It is a complete lifestyle change and mental shift and it's hard work you need to be certain you really want to do it and it's right for your family. We are able to go on holiday when suits us, and obviously it is cheaper to go outside school holidays."

The family were not frequent travellers before finding Home Exchange, but Gillie was inspired to start travelling more after studying French artist Henri Matisse.

She said: "I had this idea that I would like us to do a European tour and I found that down in the south of France there is this beautiful chapel that Matisse helped to design. It is stunning, (and) has this beautiful stained glass and kind of Matisse style. I had it in my mind that we could travel for six weeks but my husband didn't think it would work."

Home schooling their children meant the kids could be educated anywhere in the world, freeing the family up to travel more regularly, but money was still an obstacle.

Gillie began searching online for options including pet sitting for people abroad.

She said: "I looked into pet sitting, where you can stay at people's houses and take care of their pets, but somehow when I was looking for different budget ideas, I stumbled across Home Exchange and I didn't actually know anybody at that point who had done it before.

"I thought it was amazing and as soon as I started looking, I saw that there were so many houses throughout Europe available. I just thought that could save us a lot of money."

But while Gillie said she liked the idea of staying in other people's homes while travelling, her husband was harder to convince.

She added: "My family has always been very big on hospitality. I grew up in Africa and would have stayed in lots of people's homes before that we didn't really know that well, so I guess for me, it wasn't an uncomfortable thought. My husband though was less comfortable."

Despite Matt's reservations, the family were persuaded to give Home Exchange a try after seeing the guarantees, including a deposit for belongings in the property.

Gillie said: "It's a system built on trust and that's really what I've come to discover... this idea of 'we will look after your property just as we would expect you to look after ours'."

"I think Matt eventually realised that we probably wouldn't be able to do this trip without joining Home Exchange so we did and just went from there."

While waiting for their big adventure, Gillie and her family housed holidaymakers at their home in Bristol through the website before setting off for mainland Europe in June 2023.

During their trip, the family stayed in four different houses using Home Exchange, two in Germany and two in France, as they visited the Rosary Chapel designed by Matisse.

Gillie said: "If we wanted accommodation for seven with a pool and lots of bedrooms, which is what we are looking for this summer, I would suggest we would save around £4,000 to £5,000 for two weeks. For a large family, using Home Exchange is a significant saving."

The difference Gillie finds is that when they stay in family homes, they have children's toys and entertainment immediately available, as well as outdoor equipment.

Talking about their time in Bavaria in Germany, Gillie added: "At one place, there were enough bikes for our whole family and you just felt like you were part of the community getting out on your bikes and exploring.

"We discovered lakes and they had little areas set up to swim in which the kids absolutely loved. Now we look out for homes that offer bikes."

While they were away, a family from Costa Rica stayed at their home in the UK and Gillie recalled how the experience was "enriching" for her children.

She added: "I believe that learning isn't just about sitting down with books, it's also about getting out on a bike and seeing places, and we did have some real opportunities along the way.

"We went to a couple of good museums, we learnt about the printing press at the Gutenberg Museum, and we did get to go to the Matisse chapel, which I was very excited about and the kids were too because they recognised it. It was brilliant and as soon as we got back, we were like, 'let's plan our next trip'."

The family hope to take their travels further afield, setting their sights on places like North Carolina.

Gillie said: "I would really like to go to America and do a road trip there but financially it's not affordable yet, obviously as you still have to pay for the flights. This year we're hoping to get to the Netherlands, maybe the north of France, and I would really like to go to Sweden as well."