In about 18 months my wife and I are retiring and we are thinking of selling the house and roaming the US for 2 years, renting a house for a month in a city and seeing the sights then moving on to another city for a month, seeing the sights, moving on, etc., etc, for about 2 years. Then, we hope to settle down somewhere we discovered that we liked while roaming around. We considered the RV life, but, we never camped a day in our life, so living on the road with 2 dogs, is just downright scary, so that is very low on our thoughts.
Now, our problem is how do we find a place to stay a month at a time, months ahead of time, in different cities? The logistics are very daunting. I’ve been looking at Airbnb, a good possibility. Are there others?
I have a couple of friends who did this; one just settled in Chicago after several years on the road. Not sure exactly how they handled the logistics, but I think it sounds hella fun!
RVing isn’t really camping, though. Some of those things are nicer than my first apartment (which wasn’t awful). I guess the real question about using that option would be how close to the ‘real city’ you can find a spot to park the RV and your comfort driving whatever size unit you get (and potentially towing a car behind it for actually getting around)).
Assuming you don’t find those insurmountable, it might solve some of your issues. I think it would actually make the dog portion of the equation easier.
You might try vrbo.com. I’ve used them many times, mostly for 1 to 2 week stays, but I think you could find longer stays too, especially if you plan well ahead.
In regards to RV’ing, we seriously considered it. We are members of several groups and went to the big RV show here in Pittsburgh. Our choice would be a fifth wheel, they were the nicest for a full time living setup. It’s just my wife isn’t sure about living at the sites and leaving the dogs alone while we play tourist. She is afraid of maybe the power going out and the trailer getting too hot for the dogs or some other type of accident happening, even though there are gadgets available that could warn us of these things. But, if she is uncomfortable… But I still want to keep this on the table (she doesn’t know this) because I think it would be a blast!
We will like to rent a house, if possible, because of the dogs, maybe only one dog by then . And, a fenced yard would be a wonderful surprise. When we moved back here we lived in an apartment for a few months and taking the dogs out on a leash in the rain was not fun. The had no concept of “hurry up”. But, I will not rule them out for this adventure.
Even the most dog-friendly AirBnB’s or other short term rentals might baulk at your leaving your dog/s loose all day. How do your dogs generally handle new environments? Are they crate trained?
Finding a short-term rental that will allow pets is iffy. In order to have a steady income stream from a rental, it has to be allergen free, much like hotels. I’d encourage buying a pickup and a 5th wheel for a two-year stint. Campgrounds are everywhere there are cities and towns. If you’re concerned about the power going out while you’re gone for the day, fire up the generator and let it run, or put them on leads outside with plenty of water. We spent 6 months on the road in an RV after we retired, towing a car behind us, and had zero problems.
We just did a short term rental for two months since we were in-between homes. Not something I’d like to do on a regular basis. Every place you’d rent from will probably want to run a credit check on you. Many places probably won’t want to rent to you until they meet you in person. You’d contstantly be putting utilities in and out of your name and trying to get the bills forwarded to you. Of the places we checked they all wanted to charge a premium for “short-term”. Lot’s of security deposits going back on forth. No thanks.
I’d definitely look at look at extended stay hotel type places instead.
I think you can find short-term rentals on Zillow now, too.
Residence Inns (or similar) are not bad and you will find some that are pet-friendly, but I bet you’ll find that the short-term rental options like Airbnb are much cheaper, comfier, and…spacious-er. And while you can cook at a Residence Inn (or similar) it’s going to be a pretty simple meal. OTOH Residence Inns will all have fitness centers, maybe a pool, free breakfast, and of course housekeeping service as as often as daily if that’s what you want.
ETA, I suppose it’s possible a Residence Inn in a really expensive city like NY or San Francisco would be price competitive with anything nice you could find on a rental service.
We are going all in. Selling the house and having an estate sale to get rid of EVERYTHING except what few valuables we have and family will hold onto those for us. We have no kids, just fur kids. The hardest part will be figuring out what clothes to bring along. Last time we moved we used my wife’s’ clothes for padding, this is going to be painful for her. And, as a bonus, the sale of the house is tax free! We have no mortgage.
Thinking of getting residency in South Dakota for tax purposes and mail forwarding. Still working on what else we are missing, but, we have some time. The logistics are maddening! And, the timing, I still don’t have that down. But, never the less, exciting.
One of our thoughts is looking for places outside of the cities (like San Antonio) and take public transportation into the city for sightseeing. I am not fond of city driving. And, it would be cheaper.
If you take a vehicle you may well have to return to its home State for an annual test etc. In any case, you will need someone reliable to provide an address and to check your post for anything important. This is not like going ‘off grid’ you will still have a driving licence and other stuff - you may get a citation for a minor traffic offence for example.
South Dakota residency has that covered. No vehicle inspections, online driver license renewals, etc. The state is literally designed for this kind of living. And mail forwarding will handle all mail issues, including scanning or emailing important mail. RVers have paved the way!
I would beware of mail forwarding. I recently moved, luckily just around the corner, and a great deal of my mail did NOT get forwarded. Change addresses yourself for anything important.
Not if he’s using Airbnb, etc. If he doesn’t like the selection, he can choose a long-term stay hotel. The plan is to visit cities not small rural towns–he’ll have options.
. And, a fenced yard would be a wonderful surprise. When we moved back here we lived in an apartment for a few months and taking the dogs out on a leash in the rain was not fun. The had no concept of “hurry up”. But, I will not rule them out for this adventure.