Not having a second / vacation home makes me feel poor & depressed. Anyone else?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With seemingly everyone who has one gone from their main residence right now, anyone else feel this way? Be honest.

Because honestly, this week I can't stop feeling "poor" (not literally, relatively) because we don't have a place to escape to. Relying on whimsical invites to friends' and family vacation homes at this point in our life just feels so low and desperate. I don't care how much or how little financial sense it makes, we need a second home. I'm so over being trapped at home all year, fishing for invitations, or even renting for a week at a time. Perhaps this is the precise feeling that motivates so many to buy a second home?

We relocated here and are having a hard time obtaining a primary residence. You want a second mortgage? No Thanks! I’d rather use that money to travel to new places or invest. Sure you can air bnb the vacation home but it’s mostly such a headache.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We had a second home for ten years. I was so glad to see it sell -- I thought the kids would have happy memories of the place, they sort of did, but it would have been far better to have a different vacation each year, so each would be unique and memorable on the individual merits. A little more work to keep finding a new vacation but that is the fun part. Paying the bills all year or trying to rent it out between times was NOT the fun part. Driving there every time was not the fun part. Cleaning the place and taking trash to the dump after every trip was NOT the fun part.
It was a wasteful expense and I would never do it again, pandemic or not.

+1. Renting is so much nicer. Drop the keys in the box, and if the plumbing or the roof leaks, the A/C need replacement, etc etc etc, it's not my problem. We won't buy another second home until we can spend half the year there (and maybe not even then).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With a huge portion of the population losing their jobs and having no savings, bartering with their landlords about how to pay rent? No, I don't feel poor seeing other people have vacation homes. A bit jealous, sure, but not poor. I feel incredibly fortunate that my husband and I both still have our jobs, can easily afford the rent on our apartment, and will be able to buy a home soon. I also feel disgusted that our government provides so little support and regulation that the majority of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, worrying that going to the hospital if they get sick will bankrupt them.

What support do you think gov't should provide that would alleviate a majority of Americans from living paycheck to paycheck? And who will pay for it?

[Anonymous]

Well we are in the process of buying our second home and really looking forward to it! Like a previous poster said it’s a hamburger budget with filet amenities, only a block from the lake in the trees! We aren’t wealthy and I’m worried it won’t get much use but my dh doesn’t travel, anxiety, and he deserves have some quality of life more than work. We have a saying, “keep your eyes on your own plate” I’d recommend you do that op!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With seemingly everyone who has one gone from their main residence right now, anyone else feel this way? Be honest.

Because honestly, this week I can't stop feeling "poor" (not literally, relatively) because we don't have a place to escape to. Relying on whimsical invites to friends' and family vacation homes at this point in our life just feels so low and desperate. I don't care how much or how little financial sense it makes, we need a second home. I'm so over being trapped at home all year, fishing for invitations, or even renting for a week at a time. Perhaps this is the precise feeling that motivates so many to buy a second home?

If you need a lot of material stuff to feel happy, then I don't think you are going to be happy no matter what. You could buy a second home, a third home and a fourth home, without any effect on your mood.

[Anonymous]

I own three homes. A 2500 sqft house in NoVa, a 2000 sqft house in Florida, and a 7000 sqft house in the Colorado mountains (inherited). It is killing me and I want to sell them. Don’t do this.

[Anonymous]

This thread just shows that so many jealous people are in this area. When someone has something I don’t have, I just don’t give a crap. Why do people care if someone has a second home and they only have one home. Some people need to learn to be happy with what they have. You already have more than 95% of the worlds population.

[Anonymous]

No, I don't feel that way. I have two kids - a young teen and a tween, who play travel sports when we are not in the middle of a COVID epidemic. There is no way that they would have interest or availability to go to a second home very often, and at least one of us would need to stay home to drive them to events. So it would be a big waste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really wonder about our future when these are the existential problems people are experiencing.

Rich white people, no?

[Anonymous]

I would only get a second home if we were a fully WAH couple so we could move there as soon as schools closed and move back for schools opening in the fall. Bonus points if it’s an easy drive so we can still go during the spring and fall weekends. It’s not worth it to me unless I could use it for 25% of the year.

[Anonymous]

This is such a rich person problem. If you are able to build equity and pass it down then that’s something else. Property maintenance is no fun. Exciting trips to different destinations is fun. And fun to show off too- since it seems OP is into that.

[Anonymous]

Nope.

I knew other middle class people who inherited vacation homes when I lived in NC. They were a giant pain to take care of, and there were always storms to worry about. Never ever have wanted one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No second home for me. I’d rather take that mortgage and time and travel the world!

I'd rather build equity in a second home than leave photos to my children and grandchildren (which they'll just put in boxes in storage) from travel "experiences".

This is how we feel about it too, with our second home, where we will spend the summer because we can't travel anywhere. Traveling holds less appeal to me than it used to because there are fewer and fewer places that aren't overtouristed. I will admit that I don't like people well enough to have to deal with too many of them on my vacation.

[Anonymous]

I don't know anyone who owns vacation homes.

[Anonymous]

Kind of related but I am going to inherit our family home in SoFla. I am tempted to hold onto it and use as a 2nd home for a month out of the year – it’s really a great house. Not sure how I’ll do that but my head tells me it’s not going to work even though my heart tells me differently. Anyone have something similar?