The short answer
I'm Kevin Luten, and I write Field Office, my guide to working remotely from more interesting places. Kindred is a members-only home-swapping club: you lend your home to other members while you are away and stay in theirs when you travel. I have completed 8 Kindred stays (56 nights) between October 2025 and October 2026, with a 13-night stay in Tucson, AZ, booked for Dec 26, 2026 to Jan 8, 2027. I have also hosted 14 Kindred guests in my own home. The longest stay was 16 nights on St. Simons Island, GA.
The pattern: winter stays on the Southeast coast, a Hawaii work base, city weekends in Salt Lake City and Philadelphia, and a group weekend on Lake Lanier. Could you work from them? Listed internet ran from basic (under 25 Mbps, or megabits per second) to over 500 Mbps, and most homes listed a workspace.
- 8 stays
- 56 nights
- 14 guests hosted
- 1 booked (Tucson)
The pattern
Winter went to the coast: 16 nights on St. Simons Island in January 2026, then 7 in Surf City, North Carolina. September was a 10-night work base on the Kohala Coast of Hawaii's Big Island.
In between came short city weekends in Salt Lake City and Philadelphia, a few days near Jekyll Island on the Georgia coast, and a group weekend in a lakefront cottage on Lake Lanier. The trips that were not swaps (ranger cabins the US Forest Service rents by the night, a tent on the roof of the car and the odd hotel) fill the gaps. I add each stay as it happens.
The stays
Oldest first. Work setups are what each listing stated ("as listed"), not measured speeds. No host names, addresses or listing links. The map on the home page shows the same stays.
Oct 2025, 3 nights
Salt Lake City, UT, Sugar House
Updated two-bedroom home on a tree-lined street, walkable to restaurants and Sugar House Park, about 30 minutes from Park City.
- Listing said
- Workspace with a monitor and a standing desk.
- How it went
- A short stay to spend time with a friend, as part of a longer road trip in my Jeep. The house sat in a really nice neighborhood and made me feel like I lived in Salt Lake City. The internet was fine.
Nov 2025, 4 nights
Coastal Georgia, Near Jekyll and St. Simons
Modern three-bedroom home with tidal-creek views, a dock and kayaks.
- Listing said
- Workspace listed. Internet listed as basic, under 25 Mbps.
- How it went
- A remote spot on the salt marsh, with a great view and a big property. The internet was slow but totally fine: I did video calls and everything else without Starlink. It was my least favorite stay, though. I think I was one of the host's first guests, the house wasn't really set up for guests, and it was remote in a way that didn't make me want to stay long.
Jan 2026, 16 nights
St. Simons Island, GA, South end
Three-bedroom, two-bath beach house with a pool.
- Listing said
- Workspace listed. Internet over 500 Mbps.
- How it went
- Walkable to the beach and to restaurants, in a nice neighborhood. The house is a vacation rental most of the year and fills off-season gaps on Kindred, so it was particularly well set up. I like the beach in winter: not beach weather, but warm enough for long walks.
- Nearby
- Fiddlers Seafood (fire pits outside, overlooking the marsh), Southern Soul Barbeque, and Dulce Dough Donuts & Bakery for brioche donuts.
Jan–Feb 2026, 7 nights
Surf City, NC, Topsail Island
Large six-bedroom oceanfront home with an elevator and decks on the dune.
- Listing said
- Internet over 500 Mbps. No dedicated workspace listed.
- How it went
- A gorgeous three-story house right on the beach, rented on Vrbo most of the year, with off-season nights on Kindred. A big storm was rolling in the whole week: very windy, with massive surf. Scenic, but not a classic beach week. As usual, I worked at the dining table.
Apr 2026, 8 nights
Islamorada, FL, Florida Keys
Two-story, four-bedroom canal-front home with a pool and a covered upstairs porch, with boats tied up along the canal.
- How it went
- Absolutely fantastic: a great house, very well provisioned, with a beautiful pool on the canal and easy access to everything. It was a little off-season and quite windy, so I never got to kayak or rent a boat as I had planned.
Jul 2026, 3 nights
Philadelphia, PA, Washington Square West
Design-forward two-bedroom rowhome in a historic neighborhood.
- Listing said
- Workspace with a monitor, sound privacy and a standing desk. Internet over 500 Mbps.
- How it went
- My first Kindred stay for a work trip. A walk-up apartment in one of the oldest parts of Philadelphia, a walk from my conference, and far cheaper than a hotel. As I've gotten older and traveled a lot for work, I've come to dislike hotels: they make it feel like a work trip.
Sep 2026, 10 nights
Big Island, HI, Kohala Coast
Four-bedroom ocean-view home with a pool on three acres in a quiet ranch community, with a home gym.
- Listing said
- Standing desk. Internet 100 to 250 Mbps.
- How it went
- One of my best Kindred stays: my first time on the Big Island, a great location, and a friendly host. We agreed I would use her car while she was away, which was very kind (and better for her than leaving it parked at the airport). We had good communication, and I helped with a few things around the house.
Oct 2026, 5 nights
Lake Lanier, GA, Gainesville
Five-bedroom lakefront cottage with a dock, kayaks and a screened porch. A group weekend.
- Listing said
- Workspace listed.
- How it went
- About an hour from home. Friends came up from Atlanta for a fall weekend, and my mom stayed too. Comfortable and well provisioned, with good hosts, a lake view, great decks and a grill.
Dec 2026–Jan 2027, 13 nights, booked
Tucson, AZ
Desert home.
Each card has two parts: what the listing said about the workspace and internet, and how the stay actually went. The short version: the internet was fine everywhere, including the one listing that said basic. My favorite was the Big Island, and my least favorite was the house on the salt marsh near Jekyll Island.
All stays at a glance
| # | When | Nights | Where | Work setup, as listed | Internet, as listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oct 9, 2025 – Oct 12, 2025 | 3 | Salt Lake City, UT, Sugar House | Workspace with a monitor and a standing desk. | Not listed |
| 2 | Nov 21, 2025 – Nov 25, 2025 | 4 | Coastal Georgia, Near Jekyll and St. Simons | Workspace listed. Internet listed as basic, under 25 Mbps. | Under 25 Mbps |
| 3 | Jan 6, 2026 – Jan 22, 2026 | 16 | St. Simons Island, GA, South end | Workspace listed. Internet over 500 Mbps. | Over 500 Mbps |
| 4 | Jan 25, 2026 – Feb 1, 2026 | 7 | Surf City, NC, Topsail Island | Internet over 500 Mbps. No dedicated workspace listed. | Over 500 Mbps |
| 5 | Apr 6, 2026 – Apr 14, 2026 | 8 | Islamorada, FL, Florida Keys | Not listed yet | Not listed |
| 6 | Jul 26, 2026 – Jul 29, 2026 | 3 | Philadelphia, PA, Washington Square West | Workspace with a monitor, sound privacy and a standing desk. Internet over 500 Mbps. | Over 500 Mbps |
| 7 | Sep 8, 2026 – Sep 18, 2026 | 10 | Big Island, HI, Kohala Coast | Standing desk. Internet 100 to 250 Mbps. | 100–250 Mbps |
| 8 | Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 20, 2026 | 5 | Lake Lanier, GA, Gainesville | Workspace listed. | Not listed |
| 9 | Dec 26, 2026 – Jan 8, 2027 (booked) | 13 | Tucson, AZ | Upcoming | – |
Beyond swaps
Not every night is a home swap. Forest Service ranger cabins, a rooftop tent and hotels sit between the stays above. How does work happen on those trips? That is all in beyond home swaps.
What the numbers say about working from swaps
- Of the 8 completed stays with known listing details, 6 named a workspace or a standing desk.
- Of those, 5 listings stated an internet speed: 3 listed over 500 Mbps, 1 listed 100 to 250 Mbps, and 1 listed basic internet under 25 Mbps.
- Stays ran from 3 to 16 nights, and 4 of 8 were a week or longer.
So how much can you trust a listing? A listing is the host's own description, so treat it as a starting point for planning. Basic internet, and I have a call on Monday? When the listing says basic internet, bring your own connectivity. The options are in connectivity when the listing says basic internet, and the wider kit is in the remote-work setup.
What I actually look for: the dining table
When a listing says "workspace," it usually means a desk, and I almost never use it. The desk is usually too small for me, tucked in a corner or a dark part of the house, and it often faces a wall. I don't like facing a wall. I would much rather be out in the middle of the house, where the kitchen and dining room usually have more light and a better view.
So I set up at the dining table, almost every time, and the dining table is what I check in the photos before I book. How nice is it? Does it have a view? Does the seating look comfortable? And one funny rule: I avoid houses with a glass dining table. They are cold, uncomfortable to work at, and some computer mice simply won't track on glass.
Hosting
The other half of the record: 14 Kindred guests hosted in my home in the Atlanta area. What has that been like? It is in my Kindred review as a host, and what these stays cost in fees is in what these stays cost. For the overview, start with home swapping as a homeowner.
New stays are added as they happen. Get a note when a new stay is written up.
About the author. Kevin Luten is a long-time remote worker and Kindred home-swap host based in Atlanta. He has hosted 14 guests in his home and works from home swaps, ranger cabins and the occasional hotel. He founded the behavioral-science consultancy Behavior Design Works, is a Cialdini Certified Practitioner, and has spent about 28 years in transportation demand management. He writes Field Office. More about Kevin.