nancypants Posted May 3, 2008 Share Posted May 3, 2008 I really don't know what to do right now. We are supposed to be heading down to Little Rock in a couple of weeks time. Normally we stay with my dh's parents but we really don't want to have to stay in the house with them with my MIL still being so sick and surely needing a lot of rest... plus we really do need some personal space as well... We thought we were going to be able to stay in the guest house of some of their friends but we found out that this fell through. I thought my hubby had actually set it up but it turns out the person who made it sound like a done deal was misinformed. (((sigh))) Is there such a thing as an affordable family style bed and breakfast? (Ha ha! :lol:) I dread the idea of staying in a motel all week!! $$ wise since we're staying in them much of the time along the way there and back and the fact that it's not a homey type of experience at all. I just dread it... I don't really think we could afford any kind of B&B obviously either but... I really don't know what to do. I just feel like we cannot possibly stay with them that whole time. I've been contemplating the idea of starting up a family hosting and house swapping program just for WTM people. I just learned recently actually that my cousin started something like this but I don't really like the idea of #1 paying for the service and #2 swapping homes with 100% perfect strangers... I mean, I know most of us don't know each other personally either but it still would feel better to me than having such a program between completely perfect strangers. Kwim? It wouldn't be free exactly in my mind... it would involve the visiting family sharing grocery and cooking responsibilities (a pre-arranged amount of money) and might involve some sort of refundable $ deposit to a host family (if they are not at home, say, for a swap). I'm sure it would have to involve some simple contracts... Does that sound appealing or interesting to any of you? It's just been a thought circulating in my mind (even before I found out about my cousin starting something similar). Might be a pipe dream. Travel can just be so expensive that I think it would be a neat thing to have something like this amongst people that aren't complete and total strangers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancypants Posted May 4, 2008 Author Share Posted May 4, 2008 Bumping this cause I'm desperate for any ideas! :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoughCollie Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 The only thing I can think of is for you to Google vacation rentals in Little Rock. Those are usually cabins or houses or condos, I think. Good luck! I think your swap/share housing idea is a good one. RC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mamagistra Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 What about one of the suite-type hotels that has multiple rooms and a kitchenette? Candlewood Suites is one...Extended Stay maybe? They're definitely a step up from your regular old hotel room. Your idea sounds like a good one, btw. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alice Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 Love the house swap idea. Count us in for that one... For staying in Little Rock...have you tried Craigslist? http://littlerock.craigslist.org/ A lot of times people post apartments for short term rent or other vacation options there. Another idea is to see if any local colleges rent out dorms or apartments when students are away. We are going to St. Paul, Minnesota in June and found an apartment to rent for an amazing price (much cheaper than any hotel). We'll have two bedrooms, our own living room and a kitchen. It's an apartment owned by a college and the students are away for the summer so they rent it out. ETA: Just thought of another option. You could write to churches in your denomination and see if anyone who lives there has ideas. When dh and I were engaged we went on a cross-country trip for a family wedding. We didn't want to stay in hotel rooms because too expensive for two rooms. We were able to plot out a course staying with friends and family and family of friends :) except for two spots. Dh e-mailed to two churches in our denomination (we're PCA, not that it matters) in those areas and there were people who put us up for the night. They ended up being the most memorable stops on our trip. Now, I wouldn't do that again with kids for many reasons (noone would take us being one of them), primarily safety. But we live near Washington DC and it's not unusual for our church to get requests from people looking for a place to stay. Often someone has an idea for them (knows of a cheaper local place, offers their house for house-sitting, etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-FL Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 We have friends who have done lots of house swapping for vacation. There are web sites (I don't know which they've used) so you might try googling.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieAir Posted May 4, 2008 Share Posted May 4, 2008 The house swapping idea sounds interesting. I'm not sure what dh and his folks would think about people staying here while we're gone. Because of our animals, few as we have, we usually don't go anywhere without a family member staying here to take care of them anyway. I might be up for hosting a family as guests while we're at home though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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