Do you have a second/vacation home?

[MIGrandma]

Yes, kind of. We own 30 acres in Northern Michigan and it has a spot at the front with electric/water/sewer hookups for 8 campers so we keep our 5th wheel up there all summer. We bought the property about 10 years ago, and it came with another camper on it so we use that as a "guest" camper for family and friends to stay in. Plus some family and friends bring their own campers as well. We spend as much time as we can up there in the summer. DH has made walking/Ranger and quad-riding trails throughout the property, plus he has a shooting range in the very back. It's at the end of a dead end road, so we don't get traffic (except the occasional dirt bike or quad that turns around on the road) and it connects to state land on one side. We have some wonderful neighbors that own 10-acres next to us and they live there full time, some other neighbors on the other side that are seasonal. It's generally very quiet up there, can only hear the wind in the trees and the birds most of the time. We love it! We've thought about building a small cabin in the back of the property, but so far it's just in the "thinking stage."

 

[Diznotyzed]

Yes, thanks to the hard work of my parents, we've had a family beach home for over 50 years. After buying the property, my dad had the opportunity to buy an old house for $200 that had been moved to be the construction office of a bridge project in our city. With just the help of my mom and his three young daughters he tore it down, moved all the materials 80 miles away one pick-up load at a time, carried it all across two other empty lots with no driveway yet from the road, and put it back together with some help from friends but mostly by himself. Five generations of us have lovingly used the heck out of the place, from my grandparents down to my grandson. This year we'll complete a re-do, making room for even more of us to spend time together there.

 

[kahrani]

Or, they spend some time at the vacation home, long weekends and such, and still take regular vacations and go other places. Just because one has a vacation home doesn't mean that's the only place they go.

My parents in law haven't been out of the country in 35 years! (We live in New Zealand). They just go back to the same place every year. I think my MIL would like to travel but she's not confident enough to go without my FIL. One day we will take her away with us, but at the moment she works in the family business with my husband so they can't go away at the same time.

 

[jasmom1022]

Yes, a year-round townhouse on a lake in NH. It's my happy place!

 

[Lilacs4Me]

I would love to do that, but now that we have our own land we probably will sell this house, retire there in the spring to fall, and get a place in Florida for the winter.



Its alot more than that, but it definitely helps
It just depends on what you want out of a vacation home. If its just another place to go to pop in a movie and relax I would think it was kind of pointless to have too.
For us it was to get out of the suburbs and be able to do outdoor activities that you can't do on a 1/2 plot in a subdivision. And sure we can travel to do things, but after over a decade here, we've pretty much done that and wanted something of our own to go to instead. It is also a compromise between me and dh. If he had his way we'd live in the middle of nowhere, and I prefer being surrounded by people and the conveniences of an urban area.
There was no way I was moving, and there is no way dh would be happy here for much longer.

All that mundane stuff I'd be doing anyway so really it doesn't make a difference if I'm doing it where I live, or doing it where I spend my weekends. I'm also excited to have some new projects to do like planning gardens, a firepit, etc. I know this may sound silly but I also love that my dog will have her own place to run around "free" LOL.
But really most important to me is the fact that our kids are excited about this, and I feel like we will be able to have some real great family time with the years we have left with them living with us. They are all teens, and we were a very active family when we were younger, always doing something together. As they have gotten older we don't do that anymore. Which is totally understandable, they have their own activities, friends, and needs to just do nothing sometimes.
Its also nice to know that they will always have this place, and maybe one day it will be where they spend their family time.

Don't get me wrong though, I'm not giving up my summer beach vacation. It may only be a weekend every year, but I will still be enjoying a hotel every now and then.

you make it sound awesome! I may be swayed to change my mind if you keep going....

 

[Julie's Haircut]

Yes, 2nd floor of a duplex in Ocean City, NJ. It's rented out most weeks during the summer, we go before Memorial Day and after Labor Day. Most likely we'll move there full time when I retire.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Yes we have 2 family cabins at the lake. I think the large majority of families in our city have family cottages.

 

[North of Mouse]

Owning a 'vacation' home is not all 'warm fuzzies'! We know two families that sold because 'long distance' maintenance was no fun. It was either pay to keep them up, or spend a lot of your 'vacation' time while there doing the maintenance. 'Someone' is going to work to keep them up!

 

[morgan98]

No we do not. We seriously considered it about 2-3 years ago, but instead moved and "upgraded" our regular home. We were looking for something in the north Georgia mountains. However, while it sounded like a good idea, when we thought about it more, it became a logistical nightmare. While not too far from Atlanta, when traffic and work commitments were considered it seemed like the drive up there would become old fairly quickly. Then thinking of maintaining and stocking two homes and all of those related chores, we decided to just get a main home that had a few more things to make us happy.

 

[cjbcam]

Yes kind of. We own a very small cabin. It is right on a lake. Our deck goes out over the water. But when I say very small I mean it. It's two bedroom (two sets of bunks in one room for our 4 kids) and then our room, one bathroom, a living room and kitchen. That's it. It's kind of perfect because it's easy to clean and we have no yard to up keep. We also bought it really cheap. It's worth 4 times what we paid.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Owning a 'vacation' home is not all 'warm fuzzies'! We know two families that sold because 'long distance' maintenance was no fun. It was either pay to keep them up, or spend a lot of your 'vacation' time while there doing the maintenance. 'Someone' is going to work to keep them up!

A buddy of mine gave up his lake house because the upkeep was chewing up all his boating time. He eventually got another place, but it's a condo and pretty maintenance free.

My parents pay someone to keep up their "Winter" home in Summer. A couple years they've let displaced families use it in exchange for the upkeep. Their "Summer" house doesn't require a lot of upkeep in Winter other than blowing leaves & emptying mouse traps in the garage. And maybe a grass cutting or two in the Spring before they return. My nephews & I take care of those. Dad often cuts MY grass in the Summer & I definitely get the better end of that deal

 

[Disneybuckeye]

Owning a 'vacation' home is not all 'warm fuzzies'! We know two families that sold because 'long distance' maintenance was no fun. It was either pay to keep them up, or spend a lot of your 'vacation' time while there doing the maintenance. 'Someone' is going to work to keep them up!

I probably should not have answered yes to this question as it really is not a vacation home. It is our weekend home. Our kids and their friends come to our lake house all the time. They all help. They helped build the outdoor shower. They help pressure wash the deck(Trex and 1200 square feet) and pressure wash and seal the dock (1800 square feet). They sweep out spider webs and put out and then put back and cover up the outdoor furniture. They help cook food and clean up afterwards. They bring their sheets to the laundry room and remake the beds after I wash on Sunday morning. We have a lawn service and trash service we pay for. With everyone pitching in the maintenance is pretty minimal.

It is a place for us to go as a family on the weekends where we interact with each other as well as other family and friends who have places on the same lake. We never watch movies down there as we are on the water toys, floating in the lake, or sitting on the dock, deck, or porch talking or playing cards or drinking games. It is very relaxing and like being in a whole different world. DH and I sometimes go during the winter to get away and we read all weekend and watch the lake and wildlife and build fires in in the fire pit.

We still take regular vacations. In an 18 month span going starting last October we have four trips to Disney World, a trip to Disneyland/California, going skiing in Colorado, and a week at the beach in South Carolina. It is not an either or with us which is why I agreed to one.

 

[MimiOfTwo]

I have no desire to own a second home. We live on several acres with a lake, horses etc. We take 4 or 5 week long trips every year. Three are always the same, Disneyworld (we like Poly),
Destin (same condo every year right on the beach) & the mountains (we love Dreamore & that's our go to place now). Even if we had a second home we wouldn't have time to go.

 

[adisneyaunt]

Retired and moved..
Our friends and family say we
Are Already in our Vacation Home... Paradise! Have to Agree!
So yup LTD ( living the dream) ...

 

[Kellydelly]

We bought a waterfront cottage a couple of years ago. It is a two hour drive from our suburban home. I usually love it, but sometimes wonder what the heck we were thinking . We have four kids, two in middle school and two in high school. They have many activities that get in the way of going "Up North" now. But our second home is a place where we all sit down as a family to eat, board games are played, walks are taken, nature is appreciated and it involves more quality time with each other. Once we get the place upgraded and some big projects done (just replaced roof and windows) and the costs go down I do want to go on vacation to other places. Trouble is now with kids in high school they can't miss class like they did in elementary and I refuse to spend thousands of dollars to vacation during prime time. It is nice to have a place to "run away" to whenever my schedule allows. Nobody in our family has a cottage that everyone gathers at and we wanted to have a place for us and our kids and future grandkids to enjoy together. Our place is at the top of the Michigan thumb so we get to enjoy sandy bottom Lake Huron and not have to worry about sharks or jelly fish . We may retire and live full time at the cottage in the future but not sure.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

Yes condo in AZ.
Inherited with payout to siblings.
Its a love/hate thing w/me. I love visiting and wish I could stay and be a snowbird. But, work and family keep me "home".
Costly to keep when we can't go there often. Husband refuses to let it go.

 

[North of Mouse]

I probably should not have answered yes to this question as it really is not a vacation home. It is our weekend home. Our kids and their friends come to our lake house all the time. They all help. They helped build the outdoor shower. They help pressure wash the deck(Trex and 1200 square feet) and pressure wash and seal the dock (1800 square feet). They sweep out spider webs and put out and then put back and cover up the outdoor furniture. They help cook food and clean up afterwards. They bring their sheets to the laundry room and remake the beds after I wash on Sunday morning. We have a lawn service and trash service we pay for. With everyone pitching in the maintenance is pretty minimal.

It is a place for us to go as a family on the weekends where we interact with each other as well as other family and friends who have places on the same lake. We never watch movies down there as we are on the water toys, floating in the lake, or sitting on the dock, deck, or porch talking or playing cards or drinking games. It is very relaxing and like being in a whole different world. DH and I sometimes go during the winter to get away and we read all weekend and watch the lake and wildlife and build fires in in the fire pit.

We still take regular vacations. In an 18 month span going starting last October we have four trips to Disney World, a trip to Disneyland/California, going skiing in Colorado, and a week at the beach in South Carolina. It is not an either or with us which is why I agreed to one.

And, in your case you are actually close enough to keep up the maintenance yourselves (with lots of good cooperative help). The ones we knew didn't have that, nor did they live close by - one even had vandalism to contend with.

 

[North of Mouse]

A buddy of mine gave up his lake house because the upkeep was chewing up all his boating time. He eventually got another place, but it's a condo and pretty maintenance free.

My parents pay someone to keep up their "Winter" home in Summer. A couple years they've let displaced families use it in exchange for the upkeep. Their "Summer" house doesn't require a lot of upkeep in Winter other than blowing leaves & emptying mouse traps in the garage. And maybe a grass cutting or two in the Spring before they return. My nephews & I take care of those. Dad often cuts MY grass in the Summer & I definitely get the better end of that deal

Again, y'all seem to have a system that works - not always the case with a vacation home - especially when no one lives close by to help.

Our mh serves great for a second home, we garage it at our home, dh is always on top of any maintenance, and it fits wherever we decide to go. Love having our own bed, bath, kitchen, etc. on the road, as well as at our destination.

 

[NHdisneylover]

No, but if we ever inherit my parent's home in Puerto Vallarta we wil keep it, hire an agency to rent it to holiday goers by the week and reserve several ofr ourselves and the kids. I love that home

 

[Atlas722]

No.