Seeking Homestay Hosts in Philadelphia
Make a Difference to a Foreign University Student while Supplementing your Income
Foreign university students studying in Philadelphia’s many universities are looking for a home away from home as they pursue their education in America. Will you answer their call?
Right at Home Homestay is looking for new host families with easy public transportation to the University of Pennsylvania, Drexel, St. Joseph’s, Temple and Jefferson—neighborhoods including University City, West Center City, Yeadon, Lansdowne, Upper Darby, Fairmount, East Falls, Wissahickon, Roxborough, Cobbs Creek, West Germantown, West Mount Airy, and Chestnut Hill.
What’s in it for you?
- The joy and satisfaction of sharing cultures with students from around the world.
- A healthy extra income—about $1000 per month for each spare bedroom you can offer a student.
What does this look like?
Students apply for homestay for as short as one month or as long as a full semester or even a year at a local university Hosts can choose to host long-stay or short-stay students.
Hosts plan two meals per week with their student(s) to bond with their students and help them converse in English. They include them when possible in family gatherings and occasionally plan activities together. These can be as simple as a walk in Fairmount Park, a craft night, attending a neighborhood event, or a trip to Amish country. Hosts treat students as members of their families. Students keep their rooms and shared areas tidy and help as much as you allow in the kitchen.
Being a host for an international student isn't a one-way experience. Students are eager to talk about home. You’ll learn new customs, cuisines and music and swap family histories.
Many of our hosts are still raising families. They find their children learn to interact with the foreign students with ease. They thrive on the attention and become confident and comfortable living with diversity. Families learn how foreign families are different—and the same.
Just as many hosts are retired or empty nesters. Hosts with no children, enjoy the companionship of their students and the broadening of their interests. Hosts are influential in a way that is both life-changing for you and your students and world-impacting.
It is difficult to measure, but living with young people preparing for careers in a foreign country has a profound impact on students who otherwise know America only by what they see and hear in the news. It is not uncommon for students to whisper in their hosts ears as they share a departing embrace, “I will never forget you.”
Would you like to learn more?
Fill out our host inquiry form to get started. Once you submit your inquiry, we'll be in touch to confirm your eligibility.