If you have a vacation home...

[kristenk]

what exactly do you do when you're at your vacation home? DH and I are most likely NOT in the 2nd/vacation home market right now. We started talking about what we'd like to do when he retires and the idea of moving to a small house in a more scenic area came up. Then, we discussed the idea of possibly purchasing the home prior to retirement and using it for weekend trips before then.

We're not sure exactly what we would *do* in our "vacation home." We don't have any expensive toys like a boat or atv, etc. so we don't need a place to go play with those. We had a lovely experience with a house we rented with my mom and sis+her family, but that was mainly because mom and sis were there. I mean, it would have been nice without them, but staying together with family was the best part.

I did not grow up with a vacation home. A friend's grandmother had a lake house, but the primary purpose for that was getting the extended family together. (I'm sensing a family theme to vacation homes...) :)

Anyway, I don't have any experience with vacation homes and am just sort of puzzled now. If you have a vacation home or would like a vacation home, what's the purpose of it? Do you like it?

[WatchingThemGrow]

My ILs have one. They go to it and fix stuff. They trim the shrubs, pull out dead stuff, get doors fixed, windows fixed, clean carpets or are there for people to clean them, they make appointments to get things recaulked, repainted, wood replaced, decks repaired, roof repairs, sticking locks fixed, appliances replaced, plumbing repaired, etc. Then they go to a nearby neighborhood and walk, lol.

[kristenk]

Wtg, wow, that sounds like a lot of fun! ;)

I fear that's what would happen to us.

I don't really think a 2nd home will happen for us. It's just something fun to think about (without thinking about the financial aspects, of course!). And I'm turning it into something sorta unfun b/c I just can't figure out a purpose for the nonexistent house!

[ahisma]

My in-laws have one. It's an hour north of us. We are there often, and just got back from a week there.

We swim, watch sunsets, hike, canoe, play games,watch storms roll in, sail, play mini golf, etc. It's on Lake Michigan, so that helps.

Personally, I love it. Of course, I'm not paying for it, which helps:)

ETA: FIL is a retired builder and built it about 6 years ago. It is in very good repair and he and his three sons (DH and brothers) help with maintenance and projects. It works.

[WatchingThemGrow]

Wtg, wow, that sounds like a lot of fun! ;)

LOL - Maybe I only hear about the checklists so it doesn't seem they are just down there relaxing(?) but here's what we do:
-read books, watch cable, interact with our kids, take oudoor (enclosed) showers, run on the beach, walk on the beach, nap on the beach, photograph our DC, watch sunrise over the lighthouse, make forts, look for turtle nests, go to the library.

Interestingly, they used to go down there (to the old house for 30 years, before they built this one 12 years ago) with the family (3 boys) and just let everyone wander on the island. Basically, DH just slept and read. Made him happy as could be. One BIL would sail. Not sure what the other was doing...probably drugs. But it kinda took them out of the social life of their regular area. They would go Fri night- Sun so they weren't around for athletic events, church activities, other weekend celebrations. My dad goes to his farm a lot and doesn't come to our kids' birthday parties, etc. Not sure those two things are related, but it is something to consider. You can't be two places at once. I think weekend vacation homes can either give you an excuse not to be somewhere for a reason or kinda remove you from where you "live" so that you don't really participate in all of life there, if that makes sense.

Another thing we've realized is that DH never went to any other "local" places - no beaches, no mountains, no other towns besides driving through them on the way to this desolate beach area. If your $$ and time are all going to one place, you just go there for the most part and don't venture out to see different areas as much. Maybe others do, but that's what I've seen with my ILs.

[wellyes]

We rent a vacation house on a lake every summer. Different lake each time. It's about $1000/week. That's just the right investment for me.

I would consider buying a vacation home if I could spend extended time there every year... like, if I was a school teacher, and had summers with the kids. For just occassional weekends and a week here and there, it wouldnt' be worth the expense and hassle for us.

One option to consider, based on your personality, is picking a town you'd like to settle in and getting a trailer or seasonal camp spot. That way you could really get to know the area and have a home base there without big investment.

[janine]

You should choose the "vacation home" based on your interests. So if you live somewhere rural, a 2nd home could be somewhere near a city with cultural things to do. Or choose a beach town where you can relax, take long walks, enjoy seafood, chill out. Or choose a quaint college town or b&b town which offers restaurants, small theatres, shops, community aspect. Or a golfing community - you buy based on your interests, not try to find something interesting to do in a town you've already bought. That's the luxury of a 2nd home.

[egoldber]

But it kinda took them out of the social life of their regular area. They would go Fri night- Sun so they weren't around for athletic events, church activities, other weekend celebrations.

We have considered buying a beach house/condo and this is the main concern I have about it.

OTOH, now that older DD is older (most of her friends are 10+) I have considered that we could invite a friend to come with her on the weekends.

[bubbaray]

My ILs have one. They go to it and fix stuff. They trim the shrubs, pull out dead stuff, get doors fixed, windows fixed, clean carpets or are there for people to clean them, they make appointments to get things recaulked, repainted, wood replaced, decks repaired, roof repairs, sticking locks fixed, appliances replaced, plumbing repaired, etc. Then they go to a nearby neighborhood and walk, lol.


:yeahthat:

Both DH and I grew up with vacation homes. They are a LOT of work, more work than your "regular" house because you aren't there doing routine maintenance on a daily basis.

We would rather either RV or stay in hotels. When I vacation, I do NOT want to work at all. RVg is the max work I will tolerate (and its pretty much no work).

[almostamom]

We do not have a vacation home currently. My dad has been talking about getting one about 90 minutes north of us for years. I really wish he'd do it. I would like to spend the summers there. It's about 20 degrees cooler there. I'm a teacher so I have part of June and all of July off from work. My DH can work from home and it's close enough that it's not a big deal to run home for a few days and then head back. I just picture us being able to hike, play outside, and do all the things we can't do at home in 110+ degrees. Even getting in and out of the car when it's that hot is just plain awful. (Can you tell I'm really sick of indoor activities right now? ;))

[SnuggleBuggles]

We have considered buying a beach house/condo and this is the main concern I have about it.

OTOH, now that older DD is older (most of her friends are 10+) I have considered that we could invite a friend to come with her on the weekends.

I spent tons of weekends with my friend at their little cabin by a big creek. No where fancy but we spent lots of jr. high summer weekends there and had a great time.

Beth

[ThreeofUs]

We grew up with vacation homes, and DH's family still has theirs. It's a lake house and was their grandparents' retirement house. It's on a lake, and so all activities center around the lake. Water skiing, fishing, canoeing, hiking around, etc. It's pretty wonderful.

ETA: Mine were either near family in Appalachia or with family otherwise. It was all about family, for us, including raising barns and helping with the gardens as well as taking folks to doctors' visits. We did some fun stuff, but it was more about being together as a family. Writing that, I wonder why we called them vacations.... ;)

DH and I have a 30ish foot camper we park at a lake club so we can sail there. Again, all activities center around the water and the community of folks who sail from the club.

Both require some maintenance, sure. But if that's all we did there - who'd want to go?!?!

We have friends who variously have flats in Paris and London, "cabins" at Tahoe and Aspen, little places in vineyard towns, and farms in the Smokies. All because they love different things.

IMHO, find what you love to do and then think about vacation/retirement homes near such things. Your ideal might be symphonies and shopping, not sailing, kwim?

[KpbS]

LOL - Maybe I only hear about the checklists so it doesn't seem they are just down there relaxing(?)....

But it kinda took them out of the social life of their regular area. They would go Fri night- Sun so they weren't around for athletic events, church activities, other weekend celebrations. My dad goes to his farm a lot and doesn't come to our kids' birthday parties, etc. Not sure those two things are related, but it is something to consider. You can't be two places at once. I think weekend vacation homes can either give you an excuse not to be somewhere for a reason or kinda remove you from where you "live" so that you don't really participate in all of life there, if that makes sense....

Yes--we had one growing up and it was a ton of work/maintenance over the years which was pretty frustrating for my parents at times b/c the point was to have a getaway to relax and unwind. I remember trips where we did nothing but rush down to have a huge to-do list and then head back home, tired. Those trips aside (all work) overall it was a lot of fun and as a preteen and young teen I didn't mind being gone but as I grew older, I really wanted to be in town for the weekends to hang out with my friends so I wasn't too happy about having to go :(

We were invited for a day trip last year to the same area and while I loved spending the day with our hosts and their home, I was overwhelmed with the reminder of how much work it was to maintain and told DH I would definitely always be happy to rent!

[crl]

We briefly thought about getting one. My thought was to get one close enough that we could go on weekends and the kids and I would go for longer stretches during the summer. It would have been near fishing, which dh loves. And the plan would have been for it to be our retirement home as well. We decided against it for a variety of reasons, mostly not wanting to have our money tied up in one vacation place that way.

Catherine

[kristenk]

I'm thinking about all of the things that you all have brought up. All of the posts have been very helpful.

I don't think anything will come of it for a very long time - if at all - but it's fun to think about. Sort of.

We might not be able to find something that fits for vacation and retirement. For a vacation house, I'd like it to be reasonably close so that we could go for weekends during the school year and have something fun to do when we get there. For a retirement house, I'd like to make sure it's somewhere with good access to medical care and a nice quality of life for full-time residents.

The beach is too far away to work for us now and I don't see it in my retirement future. A lake would be nice, but sort of wasted on us b/c we won't have a boat. A place with hiking nearby would be nice but I'm not sure if we can find a place that would meet the proximity requirement for vacation.

If I could choose anything, I'd like to live some place where there was more outdoor stuff to do. I'd love to be able to go for hikes on not-totally-flat terrain and bike rides in places where you didn't have to worry about getting flattened by a car. Anyone know a place like that near Dallas, TX? LOL

[lhafer]

I'm thinking about all of the things that you all have brought up. All of the posts have been very helpful.

I don't think anything will come of it for a very long time - if at all - but it's fun to think about. Sort of.

We might not be able to find something that fits for vacation and retirement. For a vacation house, I'd like it to be reasonably close so that we could go for weekends during the school year and have something fun to do when we get there. For a retirement house, I'd like to make sure it's somewhere with good access to medical care and a nice quality of life for full-time residents.

The beach is too far away to work for us now and I don't see it in my retirement future. A lake would be nice, but sort of wasted on us b/c we won't have a boat. A place with hiking nearby would be nice but I'm not sure if we can find a place that would meet the proximity requirement for vacation.

If I could choose anything, I'd like to live some place where there was more outdoor stuff to do. I'd love to be able to go for hikes on not-totally-flat terrain and bike rides in places where you didn't have to worry about getting flattened by a car. Anyone know a place like that near Dallas, TX? LOL

What about Tyler? We've been camping with my ILs on Lake Palestine in some cabins and we had a great time!! There was hiking/piney woods, fishing, etc to do. I think that's about 1.5-2 hours east of Dallas (depending on where you are in Dallas of course!).

http://www.unitedcountrylakepalestine.com/areainformation.htm

[egoldber]

The maintenance issue is part of why we are inclined toward a condo. We don't even like to do maintenance work on our current home much less a second home. :o

Also, we would probably rent it out when we weren't using it, so there would be income or (more likely) be revenue neutral.

[AshleyAnn]

My in laws have a cabin on a lake and I LOVE it. Its a slower pace away from the stresses of "real life" at home. Theres no internet, they recently added a dish for tv but we dont ever turn it on, no washer or dryer, a limited tiny kitchen and very few neighbors. The quiet calmness is recentering. We do a lot of enjoying the silence. We sit on the dock and just watch the water, critters, and occasional boat. In the evenings we play cards on the screened in porch. We talk. Its a great way to get away from the mounds of laundry and endless to do lists at home. I feel like i can enjoy my family better there because theres nothing else i "should" be doing. At home Id feel extremely guilty if i sat in a rocking chair all day and did absolutely nothing but at the lake its ok. Its ok to take a nap and not cook. Ive never cooked at the lake...we take easy sandwich supplies for lunch and just grill something for dinner.

My FIL is like the pp's in laws. Hes always down at the lake mowing or fixing this or building that. Its how he enjoys his cabin. He loves having it all to himself while he's there and making it nice for family events. He takes photos of everything. literally. Even before and after the first mow of spring.