How far and assessable should a vacation and/or 2nd home be? (rental, more expensive)

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

once the novelty wears off we found making the trek was not much fun and in traffic i hated it.. throw in emergencies like power outages in the winter, failed burner parts or other things that can happen to an unattended home and it can be real nerve racking.

we also wanted the kids to use it and they were not going to travel far either.

with really only weekends to use it except for some vacation time the less time spent traveling and the more time there the better.

we finally sold it for many reasons including the fact we always felt compelled to go there since it cost so much and we went little anywhere else..

When we lived in Phoenix, we knew many people who had 2nd homes up north to escape the summer heat. Most were 2.5-3.5 hours drive.

In all cases, what Mathjak experienced is what we saw happen. With one exception: one couple sold their home in the Phoenix metro area and decided to live full time up north. Two winters later, they regretted that decision, but had refinanced the cabin to make it nicer for full time residency. Now, they are stuck. The others have all had difficulty selling their 2nd homes and cabins in the difficult real estate market.

I'll stick with renting when I travel, thanks.

[blueherons]

Can someone please tell me what I am agreeing or disagreeing with?

My family's first vacation home was 45 minutes south of my childhood home from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to Murrells Inlet, SC. My family still has the home.

My and my husband's first vacation home was an hour plane ride away from Myrtle Beach to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Now we live here full time.

[cully]

Originally Posted by blueherons

Can someone please tell me what I am agreeing or disagreeing with?

My family's first vacation home was 45 minutes south of my childhood home from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to Murrells Inlet, SC. My family still has the home.

My and my husband's first vacation home was an hour plane ride away from Myrtle Beach to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Now we live here full time.

I had the same question. The poll is not at all clear.

[Montanama]

Where we live, there is nowhere we can fly to directly and quickly that's appreciably different in scenery from where we are now--except maybe Seattle. Which....nothing against Seattle, but not my thing. I mean yes, I can fly to a place that is more urban than Montana, if that's the only change I'm seeking. If I'm looking for beach, better weather, and/or a more metropolitan feel, it means 1/2 to 1 day spent "flying" (waiting around to fly, mostly) and at least one connection.

On the other hand, if I drive somewhere within 1-2 hours, I am still in exactly the same sort of surroundings as my home (though perhaps I could be waterfront on a lake or river).

So our "cabin" in the woods is on a river, and is a really lovely place within an hour's drive of our house. But our house is within 5 minutes of a lake, is on acreage, and has a creek running along the road. So sometimes it seems silly to have a cabin.

Our vacation home, then, breaks the rules and is entirely impractical but much needed from our perspective. It's the quickest place we can fly to and have completely different weather (warm to hot), access to urban amenities, and completely different scenery. Will we get there often enough to justify the expense? Probably not, but if you're looking to be practical I think VRBO is always the way to go. You can't beat it, and it allows you to vacation wherever you want without the commitment.

The key word for me in the decision was "home." I wanted to feel settled somewhere else. I wanted to have a "home" to go to--my place. We anticipate retiring there, at least part time. So time will tell whether it will be a blessing or a burden. Getting there is not the only thing that makes it impractical--managing a home long distance can obviously be expensive and challenging. And I can already feel the pressure to always travel there, if we're going to travel, and stop visiting other favorite destinations. At this point, though, a long-distance vacation home is the only thing that makes sense for us, inconvenient though it may be.

Point is reasons vary for wanting a vacation home, wanting to own vs. rent, and being open to a destination quite far flung.

[loves2read]

We thought we might buy a house on lake in TX when we were first discussing the second home affordability issue--and the kids were out of college--
we have family in the San Antonio/Austin area which would be fairly close to the Highland Lakes and about a 3 hr dr from our current home...

Then our daughter married someone who was living in Gulf Coast of FL and didn't want to move--ever--
they don't even come for vacations in summer although they did come for Christmas before they had a child...

My husband knew he would retire in year or two so we started looking for second home in FL close to them--
couldn't afford something on the beach and needed a house vs condo since we have dog and cat--
were lucky enough to buy house next door to our daughter--
the location is pure peace of mind--we have to pay for pool cleaner and lawn care but price is reasonable and our daughter is there to check the mail and give the interior a look-see every once in while...
it means spending a night on the road and two days of pretty hard driving -- one reason we need to stay longer than a week or so to justify the trip...

we flew initially when my husband was still working and only stayed week at most since having our dog in kennel was super $$
Now that he is retired we drive and take the pets and stay 4-6-8 weeks at time depending on the season and our plans--then drive back and stay 4-6-8 weeks in TX...

The long term repercussions of drought in TX has also made owning a lake house more problematic--
some lake houses are sitting over dry lake beds...

[ozgal]

For me, within a 2 hour drive time. Anything over that, or that requires flying I would rather just rent wherever we plan to go for as long as we plan to be there.

[Heartbeats & Brianwaves]

I just had to make an account and respond. Long time lurker here......

Reading this makes me realize how interesting geographically it is to live in Southern California.

I live in the Palm Springs area primarily but have a vacation home in the Big Bear Lake area. The contrast is unbelievable. Talk about a 360º difference.

During the winter we go from a balmy mild sunny desert here in Palm Springs and within a two hours drive we are up in the mountains enjoying some of the most famous skiing slopes around.
And we wake up early to drive back home and we start the morning driving through snow with the heater on and in two hours we are hanging by the pool (if it happens to be a 75ºF or 80ºF day in Palm Springs)

One day we did just that. We left Big Bear City around 9am and around noontime if happened to be a rather unseasonably hot February afternoon in PS so we just went in the pool.

My family and I had to laugh how we starting out the day in snow and now we are in the pool.

Take now for instance, I'm in Palm Springs at the moment and it was 95 degrees today and in Big Bear it was 60 I think.

I love the heat, but not too hot. I'll wait until mid-June when the heat becomes unbearable (temps in the 110º++F), then my family and go up to Big Bear and refuse to leave until October.
We use the home mainly on weekends during the winter since we prefer to warmth and love the desert. But in the summer we are there full time because Palm Springs is just way too hot to function. In the middle of the summer when it is 110+ in PS, it is usually 30 degrees cooler in BBC. So 110º in PS is maybe 75º to 80º in BBC. Not bad at all. That's "normal" summer weather. Big Bear City is a blessing.
All within a two hours drive we go from desert heat to cool fresh air up in the mountains. (Not to mention we have the ocean equally two hours away as well. LA, OC, and SD are all 2 hours+/- away from the Inland Empire. I love it. I just love it.


Most people in the Phoenix area can relate (because I grew up there) and many people escape PHX for cooler weather in either Sedona or Flagstaff, usually.

My parents had a home in Flagstaff that we used only for the summer. So I guess I sort of repeated that practice here in SoCal with my family. Never thought of it that way,

So, to sum up. I would not recommend purchasing a vacation home or second home in which you would need a plane to reach. Because planes also mean: airports, rude TSA workers, waiting, sitting, baggage claim, turbulence, jet lag, etc.

Sure your intention may be to have it just be a summer home, or maybe a winter home (to escape your winters...where I am from we do not leave our winters, people come from all over the country to enjoy our winters LOL ) But I think a second home should be your escape, above all.

Your second home should be that special place where when you are sitting in your house or condo and you look at your watch, then at your significant other and just say..."If we leave now we can make it before dusk."

You know?? It shouldn't involve airfare. Just you, your car, a couple of your favorite things (including your special someone), and the ROAD!! Just my two cents.

I understand that some people live in places where the surrounding geography is all very similar so buying a place in Phoenix or Florida is necessary if living in Nebraska or Iowa. I get it. I understand.
I have long distance friends who live in on the East Coast, New York and Boston area and they have places in Florida and the Caribbean. Even here in California many friends own condos and little cute homes in Hawaii (they let us stay in them when we go to Maui every year). But I couldn't imagine owning a home in such a far away location that I could get to within 2 hours (4 hours MAX).

However my spouse and I have toyed with the idea of buying a studio apartment in London (yes London, UK). I know that completely discredits everything I just said. But not really.
Because owning a tiny 300 sq. ft. studio flat in London would also be a little escape of a different sort.
We have a friend who lives in New York City, he's a writer. Owns a beach house on the North Carolina coast actually, now that I'm thinking of him, he has a tiny studio in Paris and that's what gave me the idea because he LOVES Paris as I LOVE LOVE London. But I don't know.......living in a house in Palm Springs and a house in Big Bear City would I really want a studio flat in London?
But then again, my hotel room in London would be a "studio" of sorts as well. And knowing I could just fly to London need not worry about booking a room (could come in handy during events similar to the Olympics, royal wedding, etc) does make it seem like a rather jolly idea.
"Jolly" hahahaha, just listen to me.

[KonaKat]

Originally Posted by Global CitiZen X

How far and assessable should a vacation and/or 2nd home be?

I was talking to a friend and she said that your second home should be in a place where you can fly nonstop from your airport to the airport where it is located. What do you think?

I have a friend who lives in Denver but wants to have a second home in Vermont. But there is similar scenery in the West and in order to get to Vermont she'll have to connect in either Atlanta or Detroit fly to Burlington then drive 2 hours to her Vermont house? Might as well live in North Korea with all that traveling.
Would you do this?

Also, many Coloradans own second homes in Hawaii. Would you do think of this also?

Thank you and God Bless.

There many 2nd and vacation homes in Hawaii owned by people all over the mainland, Canada and even Europe (I have one owner from France). Your vacation home should be where you want it to be! When you are not there, find a good local property manager to market it as a vacation rental and recoup some of your expenses. Hawaii may be expensive but our properties hold their value (best) if they are ocean front, very well with good ocean views. View is everything here. Conversely, there are even quite a number of vacation rentals that are second homes for folks, in the country. In a lot of cases, a person will buy one of these with the intention of living there nearly full time upon retirement.

[kletter1mann]

Originally Posted by Global CitiZen X

How far and assessable should a vacation and/or 2nd home be?

I was talking to a friend and she said that your second home should be in a place where you can fly nonstop from your airport to the airport where it is located. What do you think?

I have a friend who lives in Denver but wants to have a second home in Vermont. But there is similar scenery in the West and in order to get to Vermont she'll have to connect in either Atlanta or Detroit fly to Burlington then drive 2 hours to her Vermont house? Might as well live in North Korea with all that traveling.
Would you do this?

Also, many Coloradans own second homes in Hawaii. Would you do think of this also?

Thank you and God Bless.

The way you've phrased this is far too general to give a good answer.
1. WHAT IS THE INTENDED PURPOSE OF THE SECOND HOME?
2. HOW MUCH MONEY DO YOU HAVE?

Anyway, I've had 2 weekend houses. One was a 3.5-4 hour drive (Cape cod) the other about 5 hours (Vermont). A few thoughts:

• There are basically 3 kinds of second houses - (1) Weekend houses relatively close that get lots of use. You obviously don't want to have to fly there.
• Second houses that are far (need to fly) that are used only a few weeks a year by the owner and rented the rest of the time. This can be annoying to administer.
• Second houses that are far away that are not rented that are all ready when you jet in. You need serious money to offset the costs, but for those in this category that isn't so much of an issue.

[Heartbeats & Brianwaves]

Originally Posted by KonaKat

There many 2nd and vacation homes in Hawaii owned by people all over the mainland, Canada and even Europe (I have one owner from France). Your vacation home should be where you want it to be! When you are not there, find a good local property manager to market it as a vacation rental and recoup some of your expenses. Hawaii may be expensive but our properties hold their value (best) if they are ocean front, very well with good ocean views. View is everything here. Conversely, there are even quite a number of vacation rentals that are second homes for folks, in the country. In a lot of cases, a person will buy one of these with the intention of living there nearly full time upon retirement.

What's your take on Kapaau? Are you familiar with it. It's on the Big Island.