Q for Retirees... re: Extended trips
For years, retirement was a distant concept to us, but now it's getting close and we're starting to wrap our heads around the idea. We're mostly empty-nesters now, and it appears the kids are that mo...
Forum Discussion
Our longest trip was to Alaska, last summer, that was 3 1/2 months. Prior to that we have done several 2-3 month trips, some 6 weekers.
1. Mail. We pay our neighbor to retrieve our mail, water the plants (indoor plants move to her house), and check on the house from time to time. She opens any mail she thinks might be important, scans it and emails it to us.
2. Yard. We have had a lawn service for 8 or 9 years, they also water outdoor plants once a week. Before we hired our neighbor, we got a call 21/2 yrs. ago while we were in Canada, the yard guys saw water coming out from our front door! We too had heard bad things about turning water off to the house, so we turned water off to washer. We now turn off the water if we leave the house overnight! A good lawn service provides another entity checking on your place.
3. We have had a monitored security system since we built the house, we think it is worth the nominal cost.
4. All our bills are paid online.
This has been a learning process for us, and after 41/2 yrs., this is the routine that works best for us. Good luck, know you will figure out what works best for you. I will say that we thought the 3 1/2 month trip was a bit long, but Alaska and Canada took some time to visit. Going forward we think we will fly home for a few days on longer trips. We did that once before and we both liked checking on things at home and returning to the RV. Southwest flies almost everywhere and they are relatively inexpensive.
1. Mail. We pay our neighbor to retrieve our mail, water the plants (indoor plants move to her house), and check on the house from time to time. She opens any mail she thinks might be important, scans it and emails it to us.
2. Yard. We have had a lawn service for 8 or 9 years, they also water outdoor plants once a week. Before we hired our neighbor, we got a call 21/2 yrs. ago while we were in Canada, the yard guys saw water coming out from our front door! We too had heard bad things about turning water off to the house, so we turned water off to washer. We now turn off the water if we leave the house overnight! A good lawn service provides another entity checking on your place.
3. We have had a monitored security system since we built the house, we think it is worth the nominal cost.
4. All our bills are paid online.
This has been a learning process for us, and after 41/2 yrs., this is the routine that works best for us. Good luck, know you will figure out what works best for you. I will say that we thought the 3 1/2 month trip was a bit long, but Alaska and Canada took some time to visit. Going forward we think we will fly home for a few days on longer trips. We did that once before and we both liked checking on things at home and returning to the RV. Southwest flies almost everywhere and they are relatively inexpensive.
