NonClicky Poll - Ideal vacation home

[wawa]

So...imagine you've hit it big enough in a lottery that you can have a vacation home anywhere you want (within reason). No private islands - but say a $2.5million budget.

And you don't have to work anymore unless you want to.
But obviously all your friends and family still have their normal lives.

So would you get a house somewhere tropical or otherwise awesome depending on your interests (like...tahoe if you're a winter sports type) with the knowledge that people probably woudln't be able to visit you there very often because of limited vacation time or travel funds, or would you get a place somewhere less awesome (like the jersey, DE or MD shore for me) where your family and friends could come down all the time.

Explain your answer.

bonus points - pip or link to what you'd buy.

[Deleted]

I would want someplace that was both within driving distance, even if a longer drive, and accessible by plane. Maybe Georgia or South Carolina. I like beaches and water lol. And I would want it to be relatively accessible for my whole family. I wouldn't want this nice house in a super exotic locale that took two days for travel etc. maybe a condo or something there haha.

[rupertpenny]

I would get a place in Portugal, no question.

Something like this: www.viviun.com/AD-181680/

And it's way under budget so I could just fly my family and friends out to visit me.

[copzgirl1171]

I am hunky dory with being a loner. It has served me well thus far, so I would get MY dream vacation home and enjoy the alone time as well as the time that others could share with us.

Honestly, if you build it they will find a way to come.

Something like this that we adapted to our tastes. We LOVE the OBX because there is zero touristy stuff to do (no go-carts, etc) so Corolla would be where we would land.

www.outerbankshome.com/Corolla/70282-1925-Sandfiddler-Road-Corolla-NC-27927-.asp#_self

[mominatrix]

Both.
I'd buy a $1.25M place somewhere tropical... Maybe Fiji... And another $1.25M place somewhere domestic, big enough to have lots of visitors.

...via mobile.

[wawa]

Interesting so far. I asked because I suspected I'd be one of the few who would rather have a place at the Jersey shore than the amalfi coast if it meant my friends and family could be in and out all summer.

OBX would be a good compromse, but it'd still be a challenge to get my sister away from the farm for more than a weekend so I woudln't see her much. And my brother is po' and never has a reliable vehicle, so even the OBX for him is a stretch. He barely makes it to my grandparents place in jersey most years. Of course I could just buy him a car...but I'm not going to subsidize his entire life so he'd still be working his shitty job with shitty vacation leave. Same issue with BIL.

My mom and my IL's would be able to visit us whereever. But I'd have to settle for at most once a year from my high school friends and our local friends. Richy rich doctor and lawyer college friends would be able to meet me pretty much anywhere. It's kind of a crap shoot.

I dunno...I like my alone time but if we had our own vacation place that's what wednesdays would be for. I'd like the place to be hoppin' on the weekends. I'm always happy with a house full of people.

[ringstrue]

DH would want a lake house, but I really like using the time shares and not having to deal with the property when we aren't physically there. Even if I'm uber rich and paid others to do it, it'd still be on my radar to manage the manager so to speak and be in the loop on all that jazz. So I see myself just hopping from awesome hotel to awesome hotel.

As I think about it further, if funds were truly limitless, I might buy something sort of equidistant that anyone could use whenever for whatever. So it wouldn't be about a big property to manage in the middle of no where as much as a "get away house" anyone could take a day's drive to and just hang. And it would have like 2 dozen bedrooms to fit everyone comfortably.

[wawa]

Of course my jersey shore house also assumes that we'd have a boat big enough to cruise up and down the intercoastal waterway so we could winter on the boat in the carribean.

So I guess that really is the best of both worlds.

[copzgirl1171]

I like the seasons, so going somewhere tropical would probably end up getting old for me even though I love the heat.

NC seems like a half way decent compromise for my need of that.

[wawa]

Aug 7, 2012 9:24:47 GMT -5 @copzgirl1171 said:

I like the seasons, so going somewhere tropical would probably end up getting old for me even though I love the heat.

NC seems like a half way decent compromise for my need of that.

Oh we'd have our main house somewhere midatlantic still most likely. When I say "winter" I mean like...skip out on the month of february when the winter just doesn't want to end but I'm ready for some damn sunshine.

In all of these scenarios I'm not sure what we'd do with the FutureKids.

[ringstrue]

The key is that you'd need a private chopper to bring people in so that they don't have to deal with 95 or route 1.

So really I guess all you need is the chopper and then location doesn't matter. Except it needs to be by water.

[emmybean]

I have no interest in a vacation home. Even with millions of dollars, I don't want the added responsibility for taxes and upkeep, and I'd much rather travel to different places or rent a home in a location if it was somewhere I wanted to return to regularly.

I suppose I could be talked in to a fractional ownership somewhere, if it were someplace I wanted to spend chunks of time at annually.

[2vermont]

Two ideas came to mind....one relatively close; one far:

Maine coast
Alaska

[Chirp]

www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/3405-Liberty-Ridge-Pkwy_James-City-County_VA_23188_M68342-38621?ex=VA530980310

www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/109-Broadwater_Williamsburg_VA_23188_M54430-52013

I'd be in one of those. But permanently, not for just vacation. I'd get a job that I enjoy (which pays less than currently) in my new location.

It's close enough for people to visit, but far enough away that they won't be up my ass all the time.

[pescalita]

I'd get one in Santa Cruz because I can be there within the hour. I'd have a lot of company there.

I'd get another in Tahoe, good for summer and winter, but more of a planned weekend thing. I'm sure I'd get visitors.

And then I'd buy a tropical island where no one could ever find me.

[wawa]

Aug 7, 2012 9:32:51 GMT -5 2vermont said:

Two ideas came to mind....one relatively close; one far:

Maine coast
Alaska

you do like it chilly, don'tcha?

both really beautiful places though. And delicious seafood.

[pamela]

We'd want something beach like within easy weekend driving distance. I might settle for a lake/river setting if the water was good for swimming and fishing. We won't use it if it isn't easily accessible.

Now if I really had enough money that frequent airfare to somewhere tropical wasn't a concern, I could go for that.

[wawa]

Aug 7, 2012 9:37:18 GMT -5 pescalita said:

I'd get one in Santa Cruz because I can be there within the hour. I'd have a lot of company there.

I'd get another in Tahoe, good for summer and winter, but more of a planned weekend thing. I'm sure I'd get visitors.

And then I'd buy a tropical island where no one could ever find me.

Good plan. I think I'm broken that I'm just not into the solitary vacation thing. I love MH, but he sucks at self-entertaining so it's not like I'd be able to just lay in a hammock and read and nap all day. He would literally start poking me like a 4 year old. Much better if my mom or his brother or our friends can come hang out with him and keep him busy. Also so I can cook lots more food with more people to eat it.

Hey...totally unrelated, but it's my post and I'll sidebar if I want to: Pesca, how did that lacatation stout turn out?

[dulcemariamar]

I would buy a house in Casacais, Portugal.
It is only an hour in plane from my house now but I think it is far enough that I wouldnt have to worry about my in-laws stopping by.

[Gato]

Coastal Maine

[GailGoldie]

I'd like a house on a lake nearby... I don't want to drive to the shore all the time - or fly somewhere all the time.

My BIL has a huge house on a lake here in NJ that I just LOVE going to - theirs is probably about $3 million - they are crazy $$$. It's like a vacation just going there for the day.

So that's what I'd like - here's something similar stacciolidreamhomes.com/post/2456089/sparta-lake-mohawk-nj-lakefront-estate-home-for-sale

[meg]

I think Id get a big beautiful home on the water on Cape Cod. NOT on the ocean though, on a bay or something, and with real actual beach access not "beach access." $2.5mil will about cover it. Wont get me a mansion or anything like that either up there! Nice and close by - 2.5-4 hrs depending on the area.

Unfort, $2.5mil wont really go THAT far in vaca destinations.

When we have older kids, out of school etc my answer might change. But really even then I dont really want to relocate (even for months of the year) that far away from whereever our kids settle down. Not really interested in being a snowbird and missing out of grandkids for 5 months of the year etc.

[taratru]

Is there a place with mountains on one side of the house and ocean on the other? Because that's where I'd like mine to be.

In the interim, I'd settle for this:

[wawa]

this is my favorite out of the links MH has sent me so far this morning (which is what prompted the poll)

twincounties1.delaware.remax.com/PropertySearch/ListingDetail.aspx?map=1&lid=94363219

it's not *that* fancy, and rehoboth is not the most exciting place ever, but it's got a pool and two boat slips and plenty of room for guests and it's an easy drive for pretty much every branch of our families and our friends who haven't done silly things like move to texas. I'd be happy.

Bloody mary's on the top deck in the AM.
sunset kayak tours.
Beer and dinner on the bottom deck.
the yard is even fenced so the kids can frolic relatively unwatched. (that's pretty unusual for waterfront property round here)
swimming in the pool at all hours.
jumping on the boat whenever we feel like it.

Yup, that'd do.

[mominatrix]

Aug 7, 2012 10:06:41 GMT -5 taratru said:

Is there a place with mountains on one side of the house and ocean on the other? Because that's where I'd like mine to be.

You need to move here.

...cept the ocean water is super cold, even in summer. Super cold, and I say that as somebody who grew up swimming at Cape Cod. Cold.

...via mobile.

[eclaires]

I think I'd buy two homes. I'd move our primary residence to one of the lakes here in the Knoxville area so we could keep our boat(s) there, and enjoy lake living b/c my husband loves it. If we didn't have to worry about the kids and school, I'd move our primary residence to a lake in the mountains or NC where it's a bit cooler year round b/c it gets kind of miserably hot here in Knoxville in the summer.

I'd probably buy land and custom build here - boring links to lakefront property:
tinyurl.com/cql8nk3
tinyurl.com/8pawnkr
tinyurl.com/d9tdkq3


My other home would be on Hilton Head Island, SC. Because it's my happy place. It's a 6.5 hour drive for us from Knoxville and I love going there. If our families/friends can join us, great.

tinyurl.com/9ojt5sv

I like the location of the above one and then we could renovate it to be what we wanted. Or this one is in a good location and we could potentially renovate.

www.hiltonheadrealestates.com/search-result.asp?listing-id=257409

[EloiseWeenie]

The south end of Wrightsville Beach, NC is my favorite place. This was the only 4+ bedroom at the south end. It's perfect location, but the house is NMS.

www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/827-S-Lumina-Ave_Wrightsville-Beach_NC_28480_M59019-74453

[copzgirl1171]

Aug 7, 2012 10:28:17 GMT -5 EloiseWeenie said:

The south end of Wrightsville Beach, NC is my favorite place. This was the only 4+ bedroom at the south end. It's perfect location, but the house is NMS.

www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/827-S-Lumina-Ave_Wrightsville-Beach_NC_28480_M59019-74453

OMG, that is fucking gorgeous. I love it, I would only add a pool.

Holy crap where is Wrightsville?

[copzgirl1171]

I also hate that I am so in love with NC, those bigot shitheads.

[EloiseWeenie]

Aug 7, 2012 10:35:10 GMT -5 @copzgirl1171 said:

Aug 7, 2012 10:28:17 GMT -5 EloiseWeenie said:

The south end of Wrightsville Beach, NC is my favorite place. This was the only 4+ bedroom at the south end. It's perfect location, but the house is NMS.

www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/827-S-Lumina-Ave_Wrightsville-Beach_NC_28480_M59019-74453

OMG, that is fucking gorgeous. I love it, I would only add a pool.

Holy crap where is Wrightsville?

Wrightsville Beach is the southern end of NC. It's a small island, next to the city of Wilmington. Wilmington has tons of things to do (it's where I went to college- UNCW), but Wrightsville is more quiet. It has the busier summer season, but the south end stays quiet year round The island is full of residents, so it isn't dead during the winter. It the cleanest beach I've ever been to, and on most days your can see your feet on the bottom while your standing in chest deep water. You can see the schools of fish swimming past you in the waves.

My husband and I (back before we dated) surfed that spot almost daily for years, so it's sentimental to me. You can bike to the few restaurants, or the little grocer. Or, if you want, there are tons of shopping/activities just off the island.

Oh, and we're not all bigots