Outskirts of Shrewd'm / Travel Wanderer
No. of Recommendations: 5
For the past two Summers we have escaped the heat and humidity, traveling for months at a time. We enjoy extensive stays in places, renting out properties for weeks at a time. Our goal when we started was to really experience a place we might want to move to, hoping that this approach would avoid buying a property somewhere we really didn't want to be after all. Did 5 weeks in Asheville, NC, (pre-Helene,) 7 weeks in Pittsburgh, PA, 8 weeks in 3 different parts of Maine. We had so much fun, (Pittsburgh, who knew!,) that we are making this our lifestyle for the next several years. House hits the market this week or next, depending on photographer, and we are moving our contents to our vacation home, which becomes home base/free storage for things we simply can't part with.
Our preferred website for rentals is Furnishedfinder.com. Not as convenient as a VRBO/AirBnB, but a heck of a lot cheaper, with no added fees. Unfortunately, it only seems to cover the USA, and pretty widely at that, but we will be heading out of the country as well....everywhere and anywhere. Any suggestions for websites that cover furnished rentals other than those above, that cover international travel? Canada planned for this Summer, around Vancouver, possibly Montreal and Quebec if we wrap up the house sale quickly.
I guess this is our version of full time RV travel.
Appreciated!
IP
No. of Recommendations: 3
Thanks for the tip regarding Furnishedfinder. We have used AirBnB/VRBO successfully in the past. We are kind of on the same path as you regarding extended stays but on a more limited basis. We limit our longer get-aways to the winter as we enjoy our vacation house in the Poconos in the summer.
We spent 7 weeks in Portugal last winter (2024), with 4 weeks in Porto (loved it, maybe my favorite city, but sadly no pickleball to be found. I follow some of your posts on TMF and play pickleball about 3x/week.), 1 week Azores, 2 weeks Algarve region and finished in Lisbon. For Porto and Algarve we used AirBnB/VRBO. We also used AirBnB for 10 weeks traveling up the Florida gulf coast the prior winter. Since then though, availability seems limited and prices are getting out of hand in the areas that we are currently interested in. A quick look at furnishedfinder looks more promising.
Sorry, I do not know other options. Maybe if you are planning on doing an extended stay (say, three months) you can research local realtors.
Regarding Furnishedfinder, as you are working with and paying the property owner directly, do you have any concerns regarding scams, last minute cancellations etc?
Thanks,
bclstube
No. of Recommendations: 3
I used furnishedfinder to find a place while the house I bought was getting renovated. No problems. I think the site was originally oriented towards traveling nurses, then 'professionals' e.g. business people who are relocating, as opposed to mostly vacationers. As my renovation ran over time I also used an AirBnb. You can put in a month or longer and the rate for long-term will be greatly reduced from the short-term rate.
No. of Recommendations: 2
We spent 7 weeks in Portugal last winter (2024), with 4 weeks in Porto (loved it, maybe my favorite city, but sadly no pickleball to be found.
Lisbon has it. A fellow pickler moved there a few years ago and was quite excited to have found it. She was an advanced player at the time of her departure, and may not have taken the job without it!
Regarding Furnishedfinder, as you are working with and paying the property owner directly, do you have any concerns regarding scams, last minute cancellations etc?
As one should, but I take measures like verifying ownership of the property via public records and google the name and address extensively. The properties are often also listed on VRBO, etc, and they will give you the listing number so that you can check their reviews. Am more concerned about going overseas and relying on something other than VRBO, which should bail you out if something isn't kosher, though that's not to say that scams don't happen there. It's just that you are covered if you go through them.
If you have any rentals you liked in Portugal, or elsewhere frankly, please shoot me an email with the listing numbers. It would be comforting to have a "personal" review, as much as a random person on the internet can be "personal." ;-)
Since we are moving into our vacation home and selling our primary, we should be able to travel about 8 months out of the year. Hope we are not stoned for being Americans. Timing not great.
IP
No. of Recommendations: 1
As my renovation ran over time I also used an AirBnb. You can put in a month or longer and the rate for long-term will be greatly reduced from the short-term rate.
Can be, not always, and fees are still added on, which doesn't happen on Furnishedfinder. On VRBO/AirBnB monthly discounts are based on owner participation, or not.
IP
No. of Recommendations: 0
Our preferred website for rentals is Furnishedfinder.com. Not as convenient as a VRBO/AirBnB, but a heck of a lot cheaper, with no added fees.
Wow, thank you for this! I've done a couple of nice 30-day stays in the Mount Shasta, CA area the past two years, using Airbnb, but these prices are much better (more "reasonable"). I'll definitely look here next time.
No. of Recommendations: 3
Wow, thank you for this!
Happy to share! We are finding some pretty good deals in Montreal via VRBO and other websites. To the point where its almost the same price for 2 weeks or 31 days, where the high taxes on short term rentals seem to disappear. Seems as though the VRBO fees may not be as onerous everywhere like they are here.
IP
