A work exchange program changed the life of a college graduate my family knows. In December, our friends' son graduated from college with a degree in radio and television. But we live in a mid-size community and there's not much work available for on-air personalities which is what he wanted to do. There really wasn't much work of any kind for him to do except McDonald's which was hiring. He didn't want to keep living with his parents until he found a job in his field so he decided to move to find work. The problem was how would he support himself until he did?

Gary started learning about this host home concept in which he could be paid for some type of provided service with free room and board. I thought, at first, he was crazy for wanting to share space with strangers and offer some kind of free in home care for them. But then we heard about his success.

A couple of nights ago, Gary's parents came over for dinner and were talking about his experience. He moved to the capital of our state which was about six hours away to a host home that needed an elder care companion. Apparently, the patriarch of the family had recently lost his wife to cancer, and he wasn't taking it so well. He had to move in with his kids, give up the home he'd shared with his wife, and spend hours alone while everyone else was working or in school.

As Gary was providing in home elder care for the family, he was also able to start submitting resumes. He could have done this from back home, too, but traveling six hours to get to interviews would have been impractical. Now he was just a hop, skip, and a jump from lots of potential jobs. And the family understood if he needed to leave for an hour to hit an interview. Plus, he didn't have to worry about taking on another job that would interfere with his job search. He provided in home elder care for this man who really needed a friend.

In this economy, the host home makes sense for lots of people. It seems like a win-win experience for everyone.

Five of the best benefits for using a host home for your job search.The story about the friend of the family made me decide to write down some of the great reasons I can see for choosing to live in a host home and to be part of a work exchange program like this one.

• Expands opportunities - With these programs, we don't have to be limited to just looking for work in our own backyards. We can go almost anywhere in the world to look for a new career or a new experience.

• Provides freedom - Most people don't have the luxury of waiting for the job they want. To support themselves, they need a job even if it's not a great one. But that means they have less time to look for the job they do want. With this free room and board situation, that's not the case.

• Helps you enter the community - No one likes being alone in a strange place. If you're living with a host family, however, you have a connection in that community and you can build a long-term relationship with people who may be able to help you in other ways down the road, such as by offering a reference for employment or introducing you to someone who could help your career.

• Gives you experience - Getting rent in exchange for some type of work can also expand your experience on your resume. Whether you're taking care of an elderly person or teaching English, you can use these experiences on your resume which can be a real benefit to recent graduates who don't have much of a work history.

• Changes your life - Because you are going to be working closely with another family in another city, your life is going to be changed in ways you might not be able to imagine. You'll have more confidence. You'll feel as if you have more freedom.

The bottom line is that doing a work exchange can not only help you find a job but it can really make a difference in your life - and in the life of the host family. The potential for your future through one of these exchanges is enormou

Every person should travel out of their country for at least a week in their lives just to get a taste of another culture. We all get so wrapped up in our own culture that it's hard to imagine people doing things any other way. But traveling overseas can be costly. One way to cut the costs though and to end up staying overseas longer is by teaching English in another country.

You wouldn't believe how many countries want people to come there and help them learn this really important skill. And you can earn a decent amount of spending cash while you do it but you'll also need a place to stay with many of these teaching abroad jobs so that's where a host home could come in handy.

Let's say you're going to be teaching English in Japan. You might find a family willing to provide you with room and board in exchange for working as a language tutor for their family or at their school. Or you could plan on teaching English in India and make the same type of deal.

Basically, you provide your skills as a native English speaker, and the host home offers up a place for you to stay and live at no additional cost just for providing those services. Think about some of the benefits:

• Experience an entirely new culture with people from that culture who can make the shock a little less scary

• Learn a new language - just because you're teaching English doesn't mean you won't pick up a few things from the primary language of the culture

• Have an incredible vacation-like experience that goes on longer than most people could ever imagine their vacation lasting

• Return home with a broader perspective on the world and a new confidence in what you can accomplish

If you have kids in college or if you're about to graduate from college, this is a great opportunity. It's a much safer and cheaper way of exploring the world while also helping other people learn more about our people and our culture, too.

Several years ago, my grandmother nearly died in her apartment because her blood sugar levels dropped to dangerous levels. She had been living alone for more than two decades since my grandfather had died suddenly, and she loved her freedom. But because this was not the first time this had happened, the decision was made to place her in a nursing home. Unfortunately, this is the only choice many families have when it comes to caring for the elderly.

Thankfully, there is an alternative that could now allow for more senior home care. By offering room and board, you could find companions for the elderly relatives in your family. Imagine having someone at the house with your parent or grandparent to make sure they eat a good meal, take their medication, have someone to contact medical personnel in case of an emergency or a fall. This kind of companion help can provide many positive outcomes:

• Your elderly relative can stay at home longer and doesn't have to give up their independence
• Your family can have greater peace of mind knowing your loved one has reliable senior home care
• Your loved one's care companions can learn and grow by interacting and developing a friendship with someone older and more experienced in the world
• You will be helping someone else who needs a place to stay and food to eat, possibly because they are a struggling student, recently unemployed, or new to the area looking ot get settled

When my grandmother had to move into the nursing home, she was devastated. Most of her belonging had to be sold. She became confided to a bed in a small room for at least 20 hours every day. If we had known how to become a host home or how to find care companions for her, we might have been able to prolong that day and given her a few more great years in her own apartment.

More people and their relatives could benefit by looking into this type of an option for the ones they love the most.