Anybody who flies south in a "V" formation, I need your help.
September 27, 2010 10:49 AM   Subscribe

Calling all snowbirds! I need your strategies for keeping snowbirding affordable and convenient. Tips, tricks, hook-ups, etc.

I have been spending half of my time split between Hawaii and the mainland the last three years. It's great and I've developed a bit of a routine, however I feel like it could be more affordable and convenient. I would love to hear any strategies you (or your snowbirding parents) have for making this yearly trek economical and easy.

Ideally I'd love to find a place I can rent every year -- the same place, same time frame (NOT HOTELS) -- and develop a long term rental relationship with the owner such that they can expect me to come back every year for six months. Maybe it's someone who owns but only stays there six months of the year. Maybe it's someone who wants a long term house-sitter who will also pay them rent. I don't know. Is this a feasible goal? If not, what strategies do you know of for finding affordable snowbird rentals (websites? forums? etc.)

Also looking for any other tips I might not have thought about -- shipping, mail, etc. Thanks in advance.
posted by thorny to Travel & Transportation (3 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
I used to go back and forth between my house in Vermont and an apartment in Seattle. I had a good deal going with a guy who basically had me pay half rent for half-time. That is, in a room that would have rented for $400/mo, I paid $200 with the understanding that I would only be there half time. I cold keep my personal stuff in the room, but it was also available as a guest room when I wasn't there. I thought this was a terrific deal and seemed to work out well for both of us. Some of this depends where on the mainland you're staying, but I'd think a "this is what I am looking for" ad on CL would be fairly useful.

I kept a beater car in both places, and kept PO boxes in both places and just forwarded the mail back and forth. Sorry this isn't snowbird specific, but it was a similar seasonal back and forth thing.
posted by jessamyn at 11:04 AM on September 27, 2010


have you checked out http://www.mindmyhouse.com/ ?
posted by ChefJoAnna at 11:08 AM on September 27, 2010 [2 favorites]


Hmmm... I would look into airbnb.com and vrbo.com. Some of these are vacation homes but many are part-time occupied properties, especially at the first site.
posted by amanda at 12:10 PM on September 27, 2010


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