The pros and cons of being the person in the friend group with a vacation home.
You do n’t have to think about it for too long to name them , because it ’s very likely you have one already .
I ’m talking aboutvacationfriends — those friends who own ( or whose family have ) avacation homesomewhere . You know , the 1 whose friendly relationship come in with the perks of getting admission to a beach house , or a cabin , or a lake mansion , or even a boat if we zoom out the genus Lens a tad .
Statistically talk , it ’s very potential that you have at least one . According to a 2023 written report byGOBankingRates , 40 % of Americans own a vacation home somewhere . That ’s four citizenry out of 10 , which means that out of 10 friends ( or even friend , if you will ) you have , four of them own a property they entirely use to relax and wind down away from home .
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Or peradventure , you ’re one of those four — in which caseful , you ’re the holiday friend . And asSpider - Manfans will know very well , with great power comes big responsibility .
The pros of being the vacation friend
First of all , holiday friends do not demand to worry about spend money to rent a place or record a hotel to get away from the city . If you own a holiday home , you could simply head out there anytime you feel like scratching the vacation itch , and you ’ll just require to worry about the means of expatriation to get there .
Plus , it ’s your own home — which means that it is ( hopefully ) fit with all your favorite amenities and comforts . That linen paper bedding you like so much ? Check . Your favorite scented candles to give the menage a nice tone ? turn back . The blanket your grandma made for you for chilly movie nights on the couch ? Also check .
And what ’s good than knowing that you do n’t need to contrive anything and can just disconnect once you reach your destination ? possess a vacation belongings somewhere means that you ’re kind of a impermanent local resident in the area . Whenever you want to go there , you’re able to — which likely mean that you go there a lot . attractive feature , things to do , top restaurants and BAR , and hidden gems are no secret for you , and you may count on your own knowledge to have a bang on holiday without the added stress of doing research and be after everything out .
You ’ll also never have to occupy about your friends and family not wanting to tag along . Speaking from personal experience , anytime one of my own vacation booster suggest head over to their holiday property , the whole chemical group is always enthusiastic about it . It ’s a profits - win ! Not only do you get to drop some well - deserved vacation clock time with your close admirer , but you could do so within the consolation of a private rest home where the legion screw everything there is to know about the sphere .
The cons of being a vacation friend
But being a vacation ally also comes with some potential cons — and one of them is that of vulture Friend . The name enounce it all : friends who are only around when the opportunity face itself , aka right before holiday season begins . Bringing your Quaker over to your holiday home sure enough is enceinte , but having to discern your veridical friends from those who are just looking to snag a free stay somewhere is n’t as nice .
There ’s also always the subject of feeling forced to always vacation wherever your holiday home plate is . At the remainder of the day , you ’ve spend that money ( or if you personally have n’t , you canavoidspending further money ) , so why not take vantage of that ? In turn , whenever you make up one’s mind to vacation elsewhere , you might be feeling guilty for spend unnecessary money — which is n’t a nifty feeling !
At the same metre , though , always vacationing at your holiday base can become surplus , to the point where it ’s just a boring endeavor to go through . finally , you might take a change of scenery — but that ’s knockout to do when you own a holding somewhere .
Should you become a vacation friend?
There are , however , fashion to figure out whether or not a vacation home is a honorable idea for you . That includes need people who own a vacation home themselves . On Reddit , someone recentlyasked that very questionin the subreddit r / fatFIRE , a residential district dedicated to riches , fiscal independency , and early retirement topics and discussions .
The post , titled " When a vacation home gain sense , " appraise the community of interests on what valid reasons pushed vacation house owners to make the real estate decision . " For those who took the plunge and bought a vacation home , what were the decide broker ? Any ruefulness ? Do you get well-worn of visiting the same place ? " read the position .
Vacation habitation owners speedily came to the rescue , and shared their experience - based insight . accord to the top scuttlebutt , the law of proximity factor is crucial . " Proximity ( < 100 miles ) from our main residence secure we ’re there often and it ’s not a hassle going on a whim , " it reads . " Also a blank space we ’ve visited for decade and know we will relish for many yr to occur . "
fit in to another holiday friend community of interests penis , whether or not you have a family weighs quite a second on the pro - vacation home plate argumentation . " We delight possess the consistency / traditions of the vacation while the kids were growing up . Enjoyed making family friends in the location that we still savor very much , " read their gossip . " Now as the kids get older , we revel having multiple homes , and the planning of prompt from one to the other . "
Finally , as some other gallant vacation home owner will tell you , it ’s also just dainty to have somewhere to fully unplug and reset . " grease one’s palms a lake mansion in 2013 about 90 instant away from our primary household . Zero regrets , " says one Redditor in the thread . " We do n’t lease it out , [ we ] like hold our material untouched and just like we go away it . When I go up I bring zero thing as I have everything duplicated up at the lake . "
In case you were plan on becoming your group ’s holiday friend ( granted you have the means to do this ! ) , I think this is your cue .
