there are two kinds of second homes, one you go to for trips and get aways and one in a different climate. When we first started looking for a location for our second home we did a combination of timeshares and rentals and we looked for five years for multiple weeks. there is one thing missing when you stay in a timeshare or airb&b and that is a sense of community. We are in the autumn of our lives, we are not spending our time in an apartment surrounded by strangers. We will do that soon enough. When you are young enough, travel all you can and do the activities you can't do in your main residence. But if you no longer want to travel but you don't want to stay in a cold climate, get into a community situation whether that be renting or buying. One poster said everyone he knows regrets having a second home. We have a community with at least six hundred second homes and I hear very little complaints. But there comes a time when you have to give it up and we see it happen, we know it will happen to us too.
We find that we meet new friends that have become wonderful friends ( and some of you have posted in this thread) in most of the timeshare places in which we stay... and when we return to the same places, especially those we own and return to, we also get to know the locals. We meet more TUGGERS every January at our informal gatherings in Orlando ... (this year's will be Jan 17, 2018. )
Right now we are up at Telemark in Cable, WI for a six week stay and we look forward to seeing the people that live here that we've met and participate with in regular local activities up here. These weeks are floating .. we own 3 and get 3 more bonus weeks (at $200 per week) and are staying in the same large lakefront 2 br condo, thus, not having to move and enjoying the area with friends.
We own 5 fixed weeks in St Augustine in January in the same unit (accumulated by eBay purchases that happen to have the same unit come up) and have friends and family there too.
We have still traded also, either with these properties some years or with our Wyndham points. Some of you know we sold our house in Ohio and were totally "homeless" for 7 years, living full time in timeshares. This was after we had discussed second vacation homes or RV travel options and chose Timesharing for many of the reasons you all have listed here. Maintenance is more of an issue as we get older, but as my husband is very handy, he still is continuing to work on house repairs or Projects for either our sons or friends we visit . (I love my BLOG pictures which captions read, "Why is this man on his back on the floor again?"--usually with his head under a sink. ) And I am able to keep up my love of gardening in others' yards too.
We wanted waterfront property, but soon found purchasing it was too costly for our budget, but with the timesharing, we can have multiple waterfront stays... weeks and weeks in fact .
I look forward to meeting more TUGGERS in our continued travels , and thanks, too, to TUG for all the help and information I have learned on this site!