Sabbatical Homes

Blog | Stories & Spotlights

Discover the people and stories behind SabbaticalHomes.com. Explore member spotlights, founder updates, academic journeys, travel experiences, and community connections that bring our global network to life.

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  • House Share London England

    House Sharing Option a Hit with London Traveler

    Sam Hickey recounts his first trip to London using SabbaticalHomes’ new House Share feature, landing a budget-friendly central flat and welcoming housemates who made him feel at home.

    • Stories & Spotlights
  • Home Rental France

    French Dream Home Created by Bicontinental Couple

    Ian Johnson and Ien Ang split life between Sydney and France’s Perigord region, renting out whichever home they leave behind to fund the adventure at the other. They share how they renovated an 18th-century property, one building at a time, and their tips for a dual-continent lifestyle.

    • Stories & Spotlights
  • lacressonniere

    DesignMom.com: Finding the perfect home in France

    Gabrielle Blair runs DesignMom.com, a favorite at the intersection of motherhood and design. This year she is moving her whole family to France, where she found the perfect home in the beautiful Normandy region. She shares how it came together.

    • Stories & Spotlights
  • Deike Peters

    Notable Member: Bicontinental Professor Deike Peters

    Professor Deike Peters splits life between Berlin and Los Angeles, renting her Berlin home to academic families for the school year. On her fifth successful rental, she shares how to find the right renters, set clear expectations, and protect yourself with the right paperwork.

    • Stories & Spotlights
  • Benjamin Franklin's House

    Would Benjamin Franklin have used SabbaticalHomes.com?

    Touring Benjamin Franklin’s former London home, now a museum, SabbaticalHomes founder Nadege Conger imagines the great mind as a modern member. His planned 8-month sabbatical stretched to nearly 16 years, a reminder of how scholarly journeys can leave a lasting legacy.

    • Stories & Spotlights
  • Notable Members

    Notable Members: Professors Konrad and Hannelore Jarausch

    UNC-Chapel Hill professors Konrad and Hannelore Jarausch have rented their Berlin condo to academics for years, and this time they searched for a place of their own. They talk about vetting renters, juggling calendars, and the value of dealing with a fellow academic rather than an agency.

    • Stories & Spotlights
  • Notable Member: Debra Deliso

    Notable Member: Actor, Teacher, Director Debra Deliso

    Actor and teacher Debra Deliso found more than a quiet place to write when she took a SabbaticalHomes home sitting opportunity. Her connection with member Michele Druon grew into a friendship rooted in a shared love of theater.

    • Stories & Spotlights
  • New Zealand

    Explore Australia: Mi casa es su casa (for a price)

    Last January, my family spent a month in Vietnam while a family from Christchurch, New Zealand holidayed in our home. We had never met until they collected the key. This is the story of that exchange and what it taught us about opening our door.

    • Stories & Spotlights

  • Compagnon-Parfait: Home, sweet home sur SabbaticalHomes

    On SabbaticalHomes, thousands of people look for a house or apartment to exchange or rent on the other side of the world, often for a sabbatical year. This French-language feature revisits the site more than a decade after its launch.

    • Stories & Spotlights
  • Home Away from Home

    McGill News: Home Away From Home

    Five years ago, Nadege Conger and her husband, former McGill management professor Jay Conger, began traveling regularly from near Los Angeles to London, where Jay held joint appointments. Their experience abroad became the seed of SabbaticalHomes.

    • Stories & Spotlights
  • Fugitive Denim

    Notable Member: Journalist Rachel Snyder

    When SabbaticalHomes first featured Rachel Louise Snyder, she was an international journalist researching stories around the world. Today, the longtime member is an award-winning author, professor and journalist whose acclaimed books include No Visible Bruises and Women We Buried, Women We Burned.

    • Stories & Spotlights

Member Spotlights

Brian Thompson

Notable Member: Earthen Vessels Founder Brian Thompson

Founded in 1980 by SabbaticalHomes member Brian Thompson and Marie-Claude Thompson, EVkids has grown into a thriving Boston nonprofit supporting young people through tutoring, mentoring, college guidance and summer camp.

  • Stories & Spotlights
Morgan O’Hara in her New York City Studio.

Member Spotlight: Morgan O’Hara

We first profiled artist Morgan O’Hara in 2017, and she has kept expanding her work since. She catches us up on her activist and experiential art, including the ongoing Handwriting the Constitution project that continues to draw people in.

  • Stories & Spotlights
Alex Carballo-Dieguez at the Teatro Colón Opera House in Buenos Aires Argentina.

Member Spotlight: Alex Carballo-Diéguez

Alex Carballo-Diéguez, PhD, spent an active academic career at Columbia and used SabbaticalHomes to find apartments while traveling for conferences and lectures. Now retired, he reflects on his research, his travels, and the stays that supported them.

  • Stories & Spotlights
Katherine K. Merseth headshot.

Member Spotlight: Harvard Educator Katherine Merseth

Harvard educator Katherine Merseth has been called an academic entrepreneur for the inventive research and teaching that shaped her 40-plus-year career. A longtime SabbaticalHomes member and Harvard Professor of the Year, she shares what has kept her work fresh.

  • Stories & Spotlights

Fulbright Scholars: Interviews & Advice

Each year scholars travel to new universities as visiting researchers, and Fulbright awards remain among the most sought-after honors. Fulbright alumni share their experiences and advice, offering a window into the work and the journeys behind the fellowship.

  • Stories & Spotlights
NadegeConger_ToniDevreaux_HuntingtonLibrary_Pasadena

Founder on the Move: Helping Find Homes for Huntington Scholars

On a bright and beautiful spring day, I had the pleasure of meeting with one of our wonderful members, Toni Devreaux, at the Huntington Library, Art Collection, and Botanical Gardens in Pasadena, California. We were surrounded by lush plants and creatures that seamlessly existed among…

  • Stories & Spotlights