Which option would you pick for summer

[Anonymous]

We live in a fairly small apartment with no outdoor space and everyone is going stir crazy. Given that it’s unlikely school will resume and that there will probably won’t be summer camp and playgrounds will stay closed, we need to find a way to get more space and/or a backyard for the summer. We have 4 options all with pros and cons, so crowdsourcing to see what others would choose in this situation. We are so torn since nothing is perfect. Kids are 6 and almost 2.

Option 1: rent a beach house at Jersey Shore. We can afford to rent something for the months of June and July but it’s pretty expensive all things considered. A friend of a friend is willing to rent his house which is mostly perfect. Pro is that it would be our own space for our family of 4, we would have a pool and yard, and we have several friends who have homes here so if rules aren’t relaxed we could get together with another family with kids. Cons are that we would need to rent/buy a crib and house has no toys and given the distance from DC we can only bring what fits in the car.

Option 2: go to my parents’ summer house in Nantucket. My parents live in Boston and have a house there, which we typically visit every summer. Pros are that we already have kids stuff there and know the house well, but major cons are that my parents will likely come for the month of July and my sister’s family may come at some point too. My parents have not been all that great with being careful so I am worried about so many people in close quarters. But it’s a free house with a pool. It’s also a really far drive from DC and we would have to stop a couple times.

Option 3: visit DH’s family in San Diego. They have a great house down the street from a private beach. DH’s brother and his kids live there too and they have all been completely isolated. Major con is that we have to fly to get there and then figure out how to quarantine for 2 weeks.

Option 4: rent a house locally. We have toyed with moving to the DC burbs so maybe this is a good opportunity to rent locally for 2-3 months to see what it’s like. Just not sure how feasible it is to find a furnished rental short term, and if it’s silly to spend money to be so close to home. But at least we would be alone without other family that could get us sick (and be annoying over time).

[Anonymous]

Option 5 - stay put, wait and see what happens

[Anonymous]

Option 4 or go to another shore area.

As someone in NJ - don't come here. We are 9th in the world for coronavirus cases, and almost everyone I know has at least a family home on the shore. When it's opened up (currently the governor wants shore owners to stay at their primary residences), it will be a zoo with a lot of virus circulation.

Don't expose your older parents to your kids!

And no way would I be flying to the west coast this summer.

[Anonymous]

Jersey Shore or DC. It’s way too long to stay at someone else’s house, even close family, especially with kids. Unless you were broke or something. This is not that.

[Anonymous]

SHELTER. IN. PLACE.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SHELTER. IN. PLACE.

This.

[Anonymous]

Stay at home. Like government officials and doctors are telling you to do.

[Anonymous]

Another NJ resident here. Please don't come to NJ while all of this is going on. I'm not sure if my family is even going to make it to the shore this summer. The last thing we need is for out-of-staters to show up and put an even further strain on our resources. Several hospitals had to go on "divert" status over the past few weeks, because they were so overwhelmed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:SHELTER. IN. PLACE.

+100

[Anonymous]

I think the country will be open again by July. So you'll be able to stay home and take your kids to the park, pools, camp, etc.

I.e. have a more or less "normal" summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the country will be open again by July. So you'll be able to stay home and take your kids to the park, pools, camp, etc.

I.e. have a more or less "normal" summer.

I used to think this too, until the fighting intensified this week between Trump and the governors over who is responsible for testing. I don't think we will have enough testing to reopen pools and summer camps. I hope I am wrong.

[Anonymous]

Our family all tested positive for COVID19 in March, and have since been cleared by the department of health. Just to be on the safe side, I'm going in for another test to be sure I'm officially negative. We may rent a house in the country in VA with a private pool for the first two weeks of June, where we would shelter in place exactly the same way we do here. Only trips to the grocery store, staying six feet away from others, and wearing masks and gloves. We are almost certainly at the lowest possible risk to others, and we would love to take advantage of it.

[Anonymous]

Stay home. We live on the coast and everyone here hates all the people from out of town.

[Anonymous]

How are people able to leave the area for the summer? Is your job seasonal, like a teacher? Or are you unemployed currently but with significant savings?? I'm just surprised anyone can do this. But happy for you. It sounds nice.

I would pick a local beach in MD, VA, or NC and rent for six weeks or something along those lines. Pick something several blocks away from the beach to save money. Maybe pick a less populated beach area, too. Will be cheaper and safer. I'd wait another few weeks before booking, though, because there should be an announcement about reopening (or not) things this summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stay home. We live on the coast and everyone here hates all the people from out of town.

LOL, in general? Or just since coronavirus?