It’s a combination of things. One, it’s great to visit other places, and see friends, and eat out… but sometimes you want to be able to cook something for yourself, just the way you want it. Not impossible while travelling, but often harder than it should be (equipment, spices, availability). Second, we have cats, and care for them a lot. After about a week, my wife is in cat withdrawal (and I’m missing them too), even if my Mother and Father in law (retired) are feeding them daily and often sending pics. Longer than the two week period would have us both missing them too much (and feeling too much guilt) - plus, the snakes are fine with eating once a week, and slow metabolisms mean they’d be fine out to 2 - but past that, I’m not asking anyone else to feed (pre-killed, granted) rodents to the snakes. That would be weird.
So again, one week - minimal issues, two weeks maximum. I don’t think we’ve done more than 6-7 days at a time in memory though, and 4-5 would be the much more common scenario. And I don’t think our cats would be good prospects for boarders, even in an unlimited $$$ scenario, because they are uncomfortable away from home (one aggressively so) - though it would be easier for the snakes (one of the local pet stores would be able to do it for a reasonable fee).
the longest I have been away is 5.5 months when I hiked (aka thru-hiked) the Appalachian Trail, though I did spend 3 nights at home in NY when I was passing through that area as I live about 10 miles from the AT.
There were some logistical hurdles to make, I had to have someone watch my cat, have my mail forwarded and they would look for anything important to notify me of, pay to have my lawn mowed 1x, which also I did again when I came though, well I brought 2 other thru hikers with me and they did that in exchange for the stay and trip to resupply.
Since then I spent many summers traveling and once working summer seasonally, staying away anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months (10 days away during COVID)
Yes there are some insecurity at first as the longest I have left my home unoccupied before that was most likely 2 back to back work weeks + staying away for that weekend, though it was unlikely that it was 2 full work weeks away. But after a certain point on the AT, I started to feel comfortable with leaving my home so long. And really for the first 2/3rds of the trip I was really just walking home anyway, which I felt helped in that respect.
In my work, folk have started using “PCP” far more frequently over - I’ll say - the past 5 years or so. I suspect it reflects insurance industry usage.
Did you have any plumbing issues while your house was empty that long? The big concern I hear is that the P-traps will evaporate, opening a direct line to the Swamps of Dagobah. We haven’t had that problem but our max is only 2+ months.
No there were no such issues. Due to my stopping by, traps got refilled at apx the 3.5 month mark. Also there are 2 traps, the device trap (under sink, shower etc.) and the house main trap which is larger and has less options to evap away. So no I didn’t notice it. I suspect there is something that one can use to prevent that if that was a concern. I know they have RV antifreeze, though I don’t know about it’s evaporation characteristics, perhaps there is some sort of oil that can be used IDK, but again it was not an issue over the 3.5 months.
For pressurized plumbing I am on a well, so I shut the power to the pump and relieved some of the line pressure.
Funny, that. I just noticed that a routine appointment conflicted with a vacation i planned. I had to push the routine appointment back 5 months, but here i am, in Germany.
I do have a prescription that’s going to expire. I hope she’ll extend it until i get a chance to see her.
This trip is just me, so my husband is at home. No fear that the pipes will freeze (or whatever). In the other hand, i don’t want to be away from him for more than a couple of weeks.
I have another vacation planned later in the summer, and decided to only do one week, not two, because it felt like a long time to be away from home. But maybe that was also enough time for that event. I’d go away for longer for the right event. But… Yeah, maybe 2 weeks.
This illustrates an absolutely huge difference between this pup and this otherwise admirable human. I have the impression that @LSLGuy can flit from place to place, from one lifestyle to another, and nary skip a beat.
I have to say that your practical approach to giving up all your old furniture and acquiring entirely new stuff, as you described in another thread, is downright remarkable to me. It’s a completely alien concept to me. If the analogy with you is a bird (as in, “free as …”) the analogy with me is a tree. Like an old oak, with deep, deep roots.
Well, I agree. It’s very weird after 33 years in the only home I’ve purchased, that my wife and I have lived in for 30 years, to be moving to a new place.
But the new place, that we spend about half our time in (moving ) already feals like home.
Our son still lives with us, so the house would not be empty. We were all away for a week last year, and aside from having a friend check on the birds every day, it wasn’t an issue. Longer than a week, might be more of a problem. The birds won’t particularly miss us - they are still in the “those big scary things are gonna EAT US!!!” mode.
I will personally be away from home for 3-4 weeks next year, but husband and son will still be here. Meds will require some advance planning, but should not pose an issue.
At least 3-4 months, but likely indefinitely. I worked overseas for over a year, though I did have apartments there, and pretty frequently walk the Camino for 4 weeks at a time.
If I were away but my spouse stayed home, I could do it with no limit, but the request has been for no more than 4-6 weeks away. If it were both of us and more than a month, we’d turn off the water heater (it’s never occurred to me to shut off the water–the yard needs it), send mail to a service that will scan important items, turn down the heat, put the lights on timers, and have a friend come in a couple of times a week to have the house inhabited, the inside plants watered, and the cars driven occasionally. No pets right now, so no issue there. Most of our bills are paid automatically, so we’d need an eSim or internet in order to monitor securely and move money around if necessary.
I can live 6 weeks out of a 36L backpack as long as clothes can be handwashed and I have my little laundry kit with me (rubber stopper, travel clothesline, 2-4 folding hangers, 8 metal clips) or we’re somewhere with a laundromat. I have hundreds of ebooks and audiobooks on my phone. Because of stocking up during COVID, I have at least 6 months of my medications in hand, if not 12, except for Mounjaro, and I’d just discontinue it for the duration if I couldn’t fill the scrip. If I had lead time, I’d get all of my medical appointments lined up for the same week and return once a year, at least until I need more frequent monitoring. I currently get an A1c every quarter, but I could use a glucose test kit for some of those draws. I always buy travel insurance that includes repatriation for any reason, so no worries there.
) already feals like home.