Theres No Place Like Home

[yakers]

I have an idea of what I want and I know lots of people who have done something similar. I want a home base and a lot of travel. I am just trying to figure out if it can be done inexpensively or without extended family support.
I knew from a young age that I liked traveling. But my family of origin was firmly established and I could always go “home” until I finished school, got a job and established my own family. I came across the model of the New England sea captain who spent his whole life traveling but had a place to send things to (and maybe a wife & family) and a place to return to. But I don’t have the relative income of a sea captain. This also works if a person has a large extended family with a specific geographical base. But I just have my wife & I and one son left at home, he'll probably will be off to college in a couple years.. We do have connections to our community and like keeping the connection. But wife & I want to travel. A lot. Maybe weeks on end, months occasionally and even a year or two if the situation works out. But we don’t want to lose “home”.
This can’t be a unique issue to us. How have any of you engaged with this?

 

[Repairmanjack]

Have you thought about a 'home exchange'?

http://www.homelink.org/

http://www.exchangehomes.com/

Just examples. Google 'home exchange' or 'home swap' for tons of sites.

 

[shiny]

Yes, I think about this quite a bit as well.

I live in an apartment, so I'm often torn about keeping our "nest" or saving the expense and putting stuff in storage for a few years. I'd really like to travel long term but I'm worried a bit about feeling "homeless" (figuratively as well as literally)

Also, I've read that some PTs have relatives handle their finances. That will not be happening for me, I'll have to somehow streamline everything to handle on the road.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

I want a home base I love so much that I would have no desire to travel.

JG

 

[Eagle43]

I want a home base I love so much that I would have no desire to travel.

JG

Unless you're moving to Bora Bora, forget it....

 

[yakers]

Unless you're moving to Bora Bora, forget it....

Well I've been in Bora Bora & Moorea & Tahiti and a bunch of islands around the South Pacific and....
you're right. They would make a nice home.

But I'm stuill trying to "have my cake & eat it" in having a home base while still traveling. Since this must be a common desire I figure some folks have worked out some good solutions.

 

[Jarhead*]

I want a home base I love so much that I would have no desire to travel.

JG

JG: It's possible. Hugh Hefner never gets out of his PJ's.

 

[Nords]

But I'm stuill trying to "have my cake & eat it" in having a home base while still traveling. Since this must be a common desire I figure some folks have worked out some good solutions.

You need to talk to the Kaderlis. Akaisha posts at Raddr's board a couple times a week, or you could go to their website.

They have a place near Phoenix, I believe, where they can just lock the door & walk away. There's no need to have family handle your finances or your mail; there are services only too happy to do so for you...

 

[wabmester]

How about a PO box, storage locker, and a cheap motel?

Either that or buy a cheap house, and rent a room to somebody who is willing to act as house sitter for you.

Edit: as far as bill paying, you should be able to that from anyplace that has an internet connection.

 

[Billy]

yackers said:

I want a home base and a lot of travel. I am just trying to figure out if it can be done inexpensively or without extended family support. ... I'm stuill trying to "have my cake & eat it" in having a home base while still traveling. Since this must be a common desire I figure some folks have worked out some good solutions.

Hi Yackers... You may or may not know about us, but we are PT's, have a home base and are normally on the road 8-9 months out of any 12 month period.

There are lots of options (we write about them in our book) for doing this. RepairmanJack mentioned a home exchange which is a very good choice. We know of people doing that this very minute and have done so for years. They have exchanged their house in Mexico to live in someone else's place in Paris. They are doing that right now,--- living in Utah while their son goes to college. They are picking up some college courses themselves at the same time. 

Shiny's idea of putting things into storage is also a good one. If I may also add -- a time limit on this option will prove more useful to you, otherwise, you may find that you are buying your things back over and over again with the rent you pay for the storage locker.    Not only that, but as your new life evolves, and your things are tucked away in storage, you might find that your "new" life doesn't jibe with your "old" stuff. Then, you might be surprised to see that you have bought your old stuff over and over, and most of it you no longer want or it doesn't serve you. 

We know some PT's who have boxes in every country they have spent time in. Their friends are more than happy to have these boxes in their garage or cellar because it means their PT friends will be back for a visit!  This works great for them, but just doesn't happen to be our style.

We have chosen resort living in what we call a "turnkey" situation. We have every amenity, prices are low, there is no maintenance, we have our "stuff" and there is security on the premises.  8)

We have never utilized extended family for bill paying or for mail.

Akaisha
Author, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement
www.RetireEarlyLifestyle.com

 

[wabmester]

That sounds like a good approach. Do you rent out your unit while you're traveling? If so, does the resort manage the rental aspects for you?

 

[Mr._johngalt]

This is just for your amusement/education.

I figure our 2 months
in Texas will cost around $6,000. This includes everything
(including expenses we would incur anyway) but excludes lost rents while we are in the condo. It also excludes DW's lost wages. If you deduct the "normal" COL and add the actual
"losses" due to snowbirding, I expect the total could be
even greater. Examples? Well, besides the lost rent and wages,
we have dog boarding (estimated at $1200 to $1500, and gas
down and back......$500, plus boat slip rental is about $500, etc.
The point is, even with owning the
condo free and clear, it's a very expensive proposition
for a couple living on $25,000 gross per year.

Frankly, now that I have added it all up, I don't think I would do it without being so close to collecting SS. OTOH, I really hate winter so I guess we would go somewhere regardless.

JG

 

[dex]

yackers said:
Shiny's idea of putting things into storage is also a good one. If I may also add -- a time limit on this option will prove more useful to you, otherwise, you may find that you are buying your things back over and over again with the rent you pay for the storage locker.
Akaisha
Author, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement
www.RetireEarlyLifestyle.com

Akaisha,
It is true what you say about storage lockers. I read a study that said the cost per square foot is the same as a rental apartment. Storage units are good for short periods of time. It really is a math question. Moving costs (in/out) plus storage costs, time involved and the potential for back pain.

I got your CD and use it for inspiration until I give my notice. Also, I planning to do what you did when you first RE'd - get a travel trailer and travel the USA. Then look for a homebase in the Southwest USA. That's the plan so far.
Thanks

 

[ShokWaveRider]

We sold everything (Well Almost) before we went travelling. Only had 15 boxes of stuff we wanted to keep, China, Crystal, photos etc. They cost minimal amounts to store.

We rent all over the place to see if we like living there, and have one common address (A Managed Personal Mailbox) that we use for driver's licenses, taxes etc. It is in an Income Tax Free State. We are not PT's but do a lot of travelling between friends and realtives in the US and Canada. We did spend 2 years (Mostly Winters) at sea cruising the Caribbean .

See our site at: http://www.impconcepts.com/cruisingthecaribbean.htm

We sold the boat now, and quite frankly 2 years of it was enough for now. We are currently in search of the perfect retirement haven, have not found it yet, buy are enjoying the search. We have/rent a small place on the river in St. Augustine, FL

We figured selling up was the best decision when we ER's, as to furnish any home once we settle, is not a big deal, we estimated it as a $20k problem, and budgetted accordingly. We sold all our stuff for about $11k - $15k so that is not bad. In our opinion one does not get married to furniture and stuff... It is all replaceable. The personal items are of course the exception. The only stuff we kept was my wife's craft supplies and my small tools. Not the big stuff like the compressor, Table saw, router, joiner, Drill press etc., but the main tool chest with sockets, wrenches, etc. Hey they are personal aren't they anyway, and only take up about 24"D x 40"W x 50"H in a nice convenient rolling package.

SWR
SWR

 

[Mr._johngalt]

We sold everything (Well Almost) before we went travelling. Only had 15 boxes of stuff we wanted to keep, China, Crystal, photos etc. They cost minimal amounts to store.

We rent all over the place to see if we like living there, and have one common address (A Managed Personal Mailbox) that we use for driver's licenses, taxes etc. It is in an Income Tax Free State. We are not PT's but do a lot of travelling between friends and realtives in the US and Canada. We did spend 2 years (Mostly Winters) at sea cruising the Caribbean .

See our site at: http://www.impconcepts.com/cruisingthecaribbean.htm

We sold the boat now, and quite frankly 2 years of it was enough for now. We are currently in search of the perfect retirement haven, have not found it yet, buy are enjoying the search. We have/rent a small place on the river in St. Augustine, FL

We figured selling up was the best decision when we ER's, as to furnish any home once we settle, is not a big deal, we estimated it as a $20k problem, and budgetted accordingly. We sold all our stuff for about $11k - $15k so that is not bad. In our opinion one does not get married to furniture and stuff... It is all replaceable. The personal items are of course the exception. The only stuff we kept was my wife's craft supplies and my small tools. Not the big stuff like the compressor, Table saw, router, joiner, Drill press etc., but the main tool chest with sockets, wrenches, etc. Hey they are personal aren't they anyway, and only take up about 24"D x 40"W x 50"H in a nice convenient rolling package. 

SWR
SWR

This is a touchy subject here. I recently posted about having sold
off whatever "wasn't nailed down." I agree that owning all that stuff
just complicates your life. If I do buy anything, it's mostly to resell.
Still, the house is full of stuff (DW at work here) and she says
"no more garage sales" (too much work). I suppose I could
sell it on eBay, which I have considered, but that seems like a lot of work also. An aside...............DW and her sister are both constantly
buying "stuff" and then half the time they end up giving it away.
Their theory is that it's because they never had anything growing up.
Could be.

JG

 

[Mr._johngalt]

That sounds like a good approach.   Do you rent out your unit while you're traveling?   If so, does the resort manage the rental aspects for you?

It sounds like a good approach to me also. That's pretty close to what we do, except we are not off traveling, just living "up North".
I gotta tell you though, even with an excellent arrangement and
a superwoman managing our place, tenants can still be a PITA.

JG

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Tenants can still be a PITA.

JG

I resent that quote We are fantastic tennents. We pay in advance (2 months at a time, in cash {no tax} ), I am an engineer and fix 95% of everything myself. My DW keeps the place spotless, we never wear shoes in the home, (Canadian influence) We even had the carpets cleaned and Squeegee the shower after every use. We also manage all external or major repairs that may occur and do not smoke. You landlords should be paying us to stay there... But ther and then, we were homeowners for over 25 years prior.

Plus our landlady, never has to use a broker as we did all our negociations on the internet.

But Man, have I heard some horror stories from others, which is why we sold up and did not rent our home of 15 years before we went travelling.

SWR

 

[Brat]

Husband and I had the same conversation, planning to head out in 5/6 years. He is very home focused and although we will sell the house we have decided to rent near an airport.

Crazy thought: If you are going to put your stuff in storage consider the climate, look for a place that is heated or one with low humidity (all those planes are parked in AZ for good reason).

 

[shiny]

When we think of storing things it would be a very small storage space, like SWR, we would manage our stuff down to the things we just can't part with and store those (somewhere climate controlled)

For me it just more the decision or whether or not to have a homebase. I don't care so much about the furniture, etc. but the feeling of being rootless seems very exciting on one hand, but on the other it makes it scarier. (and harder to actually get started with)

The storage would cost about 1/10th of our rent, so we could stay in nicer places on our travels. It is a big decision...

Every now and then when we are on the road for a while. I think, I just want to go home. A bit later when I'm no longer hot, lost, hungry, frustrated, or whatever was causing the meltdown, I'm fine with travelling on. I just worry that if I don't have a "home" that these little pity-parties will turn into more of a pyschological breakdown. (I don't think they would, but that is just a concern of mine)

 

[haha]

Every now and then when we are on the road for a while.  I think, I just want to go home.  A bit later when I'm no longer hot, lost, hungry, frustrated, or whatever was causing the meltdown, I'm fine with travelling on.  I just worry that if I don't have a "home" that these little pity-parties will turn into more of a pyschological breakdown.  (I don't think they would, but that is just a concern of mine)

I am the same way. When I had a job somewhere outside US, I was fine, becaue it quickly became home. Also I have a big family back here where I would always be welcome. But just traveling for a long time, even in the US, could get pretty old pretty fast for me. In fact, I found it depressing. For me at least, going around looking at things was not really what life is.

Ha

 

[justin]

I've thought about the "home base" problem - if I ever get rid of my home base and box everything up in storage, I'd probably rely on the Extended Stay America-type places for the return to home. There's one of these up the street from my house that has a rack rate of $900/month or $230/wk for a pretty nice place (2 doubles or 1 queen with kitchen and free wireless internet access). Renting an apartment, paying all utilities (water, phone, electric, gas, internet, cable, etc.) and having daily cleaning would probably cost about the same (or more!) as this weekly suite hotel for a slightly larger apartment. But, you don't have to negotiate a short term lease with the extended stay hotel.

If you think of your extended stay hotel as "home", then you always have somewhere to return to that is near family and friends. There would always be unpacking to do, and not having all of your comforts around you all the time. On the upside, if you spend a few months wandering around [insert exotic location here], you don't have to worry at all about maintaining a "home" at home.

 

[HFWR]

Agree with Ha on this one...

I do enjoy travel, seeing things I've never seen, trying new things, eating new foods, etc., but I'm really a homebody at heart.

 

[Brat]

I just worry that if I don't have a "home" that these little pity-parties will turn into more of a pyschological breakdown.

I don't think ExtendedStay would meet your emotional needs, nor my husband's. 

Look for an inexpensive studio apartment with a Murphy Bed where you could put familiar pictures on the wall.  That would be more expensive, but every boat needs an anchor. 

 

[justin]

I don't think ExtendedStay would meet your emotional needs, nor my husband's.

Look for an inexpensive studio apartment with a Murphy Bed where you could put familiar pictures on the wall. That would be more expensive, but every boat needs an anchor.

I think it is a very personal choice to completely get rid of a permanent "home". It would be very nice to have the psychological place that you think of as home. I think I could trick myself into thinking of the ExtendedStay place as my "home". It just goes away when I leave town. And then it comes back when I return.

That being said, I don't know if you can replicate that feeling of returning home after a long trip and sleeping in your own comfortable bed with your familiar things.

I've had a lot of thoughts lately about how much time (and money) I spend maintaining a home for me and my family - repairs, improvements, cleaning, maintenance, yardwork. I feel like that is time that I could have used better elsewhere I guess. It's feels good to have a nice home, but at the same time it is a time-consuming proposition.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

I've thought about the "home base" problem - if I ever get rid of my home base and box everything up in storage, I'd probably rely on the Extended Stay America-type places for the return to home.  There's one of these up the street from my house that has a rack rate of $900/month or $230/wk for a pretty nice place (2 doubles or 1 queen with kitchen and free wireless internet access).  Renting an apartment, paying all utilities (water, phone, electric, gas, internet, cable, etc.) and having daily cleaning would probably cost about the same (or more!) as this weekly suite hotel for a slightly larger apartment.  But, you don't have to negotiate a short term lease with the extended stay hotel. 

If you think of your extended stay hotel as "home", then you always have somewhere to return to that is near family and friends.  There would always be unpacking to do, and not having all of your comforts around you all the time.  On the upside, if you spend a few months wandering around [insert exotic location here], you don't have to worry at all about maintaining a "home" at home. 

In 1997 and 1998 I had a house in Illinois and was working part time in Texas.
I stayed in an extended stay type efficiency apartment for one week each month. I tried to get the same or similar unit each time, and even got some
of my mail there. It truly did feel like my "home away from home'.

JG