posted by sportchampps

The in laws are selling the vacation home in Crested Butte, CO. Now looking for a new second home. It would preferably be within 11 hour drive of Cleveland. We have talked about a place close to a beach or lake. About a 600k budget any suggestions. Also would prefer somewhere we could enjoy at least 9 months a year.

So Far we have:

Surf City, NC

Whittier, NC

Ashville

Do you want Mountains or Beach? Asheville is great, but the drive could be bad during the winter and the weather there as it’s in the mountains. Wilmington could work, multiple beaches around Charleston, and I like Garden City too. Even North Myrtle could work. You have a lot of options.

Looking for a condo or an actual house?

$600k buys a nice lake house many places, especially in MI and IN.

I understand you'd prefer 9+ months, but 7-8 months (if you don't mind a few early fall/spring months) for a place within a few hours is a much better choice, IMO.

Or maybe rent for 2-3 weeks at off-peak times and spend the rest closer to a place you buy near home.

To me, a "vacation home" is either a weekend place, or somewhere I'm going to live several months in the winter (or summer, if you're a reverse "snow bird").  I suppose 10 hours is a lot better than 20 hours, but to me about equally limiting.

11 hours!??! Wtf. I’m not paying a second mortgage on any place I can’t enjoy by leaving Friday after work and returning home Sunday night. 

But, if you are, I’d go somewhere in NC. Asheville is a place we looked at when we lived in Raleigh, but once we come back to Chicago it was out. But damn if it’s not one of the most gorgeous places on earth.

posted by Laley23

11 hours!??! Wtf. I’m not paying a second mortgage on any place I can’t enjoy by leaving Friday after work and returning home Sunday night.

Well, that spells it out more clearly than I did!

But honestly, you're right if you do the math.  My parents debated getting a winter place in FL, then decided after taxes and HOA fees it made more financial sense to rent for 2-3 months if that's all the time they wanted to spend down there.

My parents have a lake home, and it's been great for them.  They're much more active there than at home, and 2 hours away so they go up a lot during the week for a day or two, and pretty much Mar/Apr thru October.   So it's been an investment that the family has gotten a tremendous amount of use and enjoyment from.  That would definitely not be the case if it were 10+ hours away.

Is flying not an option? Why the 11 hr drive caveat? 

posted by Automatik

Is flying not an option? Why the 11 hr drive caveat? 

id imagine its the lack of having a car or having to leave one there for the limited time you're there which is bad for a vehicle.

The odd number of hours is interesting. I would think most would say 10 hours, perhaps 12.

Don't know anything about Whittier, but when we move to the mountains for retirement, we're leaning toward places close enough to Asheville for day trips as opposed to living there, as we're finding the growth in population and tourism are straining the infrastructure (traffic can be awful for a city its size). A couple of places we like less than an hour from Asheville are Black Mountain and Brevard.

posted by kizer permanente

id imagine its the lack of having a car or having to leave one there for the limited time you're there which is bad for a vehicle.

For $600k I think you’d be able to factor in a solution for that. My grandfather had a house outside of Tampa. At one point had two vehicles there.

posted by Automatik

For $600k I think you’d be able to factor in a solution for that. My grandfather had a house outside of Tampa. At one point had two vehicles there.

Yeah... but like I said it’s not about money. My wife’s sister and brother in law live in Potomac MD, are rich af, and still drive 15 hrs down to their Florida house bc they don’t want to leave vehicles just sitting there for months on end. They also stay for months at a time so renting a car for months isn’t economical either. 

posted by Automatik

For $600k I think you’d be able to factor in a solution for that. My grandfather had a house outside of Tampa. At one point had two vehicles there.

Fuel stabilizer and trickle charger. I've actually been looking into this. I'm considering buying an SUV for road trip purposes and leaving it in Colorado. It can be done, obviously garaging it is ideal. 

My parents currently drive back and forth from Eastern OH to Denver due to their dog, but he's ancient and on his last leg. They will be leaving a vehicle there in the near future.

posted by Automatik

Is flying not an option? Why the 11 hr drive caveat? 

They fly now to Colorado but want something you can leave at 6AM and get there in time to have Dinner. Flying to Colorado becomes a whole day trip since it’s such a small airport we have to fly into. 

My preferred areas are Ashville (but I’m going to have to look into the weather more or a beach city near Wilmington maybe Surf City. 

posted by Automatik

Fuel stabilizer and trickle charger. I've actually been looking into this. I'm considering buying an SUV for road trip purposes and leaving it in Colorado. It can be done, obviously garaging it is ideal. 

My parents currently drive back and forth from Eastern OH to Denver due to their dog, but he's ancient and on his last leg. They will be leaving a vehicle there in the near future.

Head gaskets, seals getting brittle are the biggest issue, not your battery. Not to mention the wreak of havoc on pumps and your starter that sit stationary. It’s just not good practice to let vehicles sit. 

posted by kizer permanente

Head gaskets, seals getting brittle are the biggest issue, not your battery. Not to mention the wreak of havoc on pumps and your starter that sit stationary. It’s just not good practice to let vehicles sit.

I didn't think it was quite that bad.  I thought it was fine for vehicles to sit for 3 months, maybe even 6.  And I think it would be less of an issue with newer vehicles.

I mean, sure, if you only start a car once every 3 months that's tough on the engine, but probably still not as much wear as starting it every day.

In any event, I'd probably be leasing a vehicle for 3 years and so wouldn't worry if sitting was shortening its life.

posted by gut

I didn't think it was quite that bad.  I thought it was fine for vehicles to sit for 3 months, maybe even 6.  And I think it would be less of an issue with newer vehicles.

I mean, sure, if you only start a car once every 3 months that's tough on the engine, but probably still not as much wear as starting it every day.

In any event, I'd probably be leasing a vehicle for 3 years and so wouldn't worry if sitting was shortening its life.

Good point. That probably makes more sense to lease it. 

If they want salt water, a couple options would be Swansboro/Emerald Isle, NC area, or Southport/Oak Island area, both NC, and both with inlets for ocean access if a boat is in the mix too.