This Man Gave Away His House - Then Fell in Love With His Home!

I know a man who left house and home in Connemara, handed the keys over to a perfect stranger, and took his family to England. He didn't receive a penny for his beautiful home, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, at the foot of the Twelve Bens.

Okay, so he only gave his house away for a week and actually exchanged it for a beautiful home in England that he came across on a 'house-swap' site, but listen... there's a wider point, and it should serve as an eye opener to community leaders out West.

Part of the 'House-Swap' deal included sending your swapping partners some key information about the area in which you live - activities, places of interest, etc.  He received his own list first and it really whet the appetite for his English holiday: a half hour from London, an hour from the Cliffs of Dover, Legoland, this site, that site... you name it.  On reading the longlist of places and sites that lay in store for him and his family he was giddy with excitment... and then immediately felt guilty - 'surely the list we prepare for our swap-partners will pale in comparison?', he thought...

However, when he actually sat down and started scribbling, he began to view his own area with the eyes of a wonderstruck tourist:

- short drive to the Burren/Galway City/Westport & Clifden

- the amazing Skye Road

- a hop across to the beautiful Aran Islands

- wonderful beaches at the tip of each road on his peninsula

- Pet farms, heritage sites, Museums and Interpretive centres throughout the region

- Michellin star restaurants nearby

- Food festivals & arts festivals either side of them!

and on and on and on!!!

'We actually began thinking about a holiday at home sometime!', he said, 'It's the perfect base for visiting the mountains, the sea, and all the cute little towns, villages and cities around the West.'

HERE IS THE MESSAGE:  Don't underestimate your area - it isn't just about the immediate experience - little towns and villages around the West can work as bases to experience the magic that's all around.  

At WestExpo we're challenging community leaders to promote their area in an exciting way - a way that includes the culture, heritage, craft, music and sites that are an integral part of who we are.  

You don't have to give your house away - just get in contact with the WestExpo team about joining our project and making a big splash in the RDS in February 2015.  Contact us now on info@westexpo.ie