If you followed our last issue, you will see that Waterfront Living is a new Waypoints column purposely designed to lead you through the endless possibilities of living the life you dreamed. Our first column had you asking the tough questions and perhaps enjoying some “lively” conversation with those affected by your decision. We hope in the end it was worth it.
Now that you know what you want, the question we tackle next is where ideally would this waterfront property be located? To determine this you need to ask:
- How often do I/we envision visiting this new property and for what length of time? For a season? For 1 month at a time? For 2 weeks a year? Every holiday weekend? As you can see knowing the answer to this will determine the rest. Perhaps you’re thinking of starting out with 2 weeks a year, but looking down the line to retiring to your waterfront property. This too will be a factor in how far you’re willing to travel for this lifestyle. Another lively discussion may ensue on this question.
- Time to do a little math. Let’s say you decide you want a second home on a beautiful lake 2 ½ hours (in good traffic) from your primary residence which you will visit throughout the summer. Now calculate how many weekends and multiply by the hours spent getting there and back adding extra time for holiday weekends, unless you can avoid those Friday evening, Monday afternoon drives home. What is your number? Compare this to a plan B. Let’s say you’ve got your heart set on buying a second home on the tropical island of Barbados – a 5 hour flight. Add 3 hours check in for international flights, plus your drive time to the airport at both ends and then multiply by the number of visits per year. Usually this type of home ownership has one staying longer. How do the numbers compare? You might be surprised.
I used to have a cottage in Muskoka which our family went to every weekend from May to October and about 3 times through the winter. We also travelled 4 times per year to Tobago and the actual transportation time was less in the latter. The big question, is what is your time worth to YOU? Does your current lifestyle allow you to be flexible? Can you make use of your travel time?
Here again there are no right or wrong answers, the reality of getting to any “second home” is that in today’s world, traveling to and from a destination is not usually the highlight of your experience. Is it worth it to fly to your villa in Italy? Assolutamente!