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artofm

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1) Is there a vacation destination you wish to visit most of the time or on a regular basis? if so where?

We are looking into full-time or nearly full-time resort staying for extended periods of time (e.g. 3-9 months at a time)

My wife and I are interested history, culture, great food, in places where we can enjoy heritage and cuisine.

2) Do you want to visit your home resort at least half the time, or do you want to trade more than half the time?

I don’t care much about the home location. If home location matters a lot, we are interested in cities that are kind of “central” on the global travel map, for example London, Manhattan, maybe somewhere in Asia or eastern Europe where it is is easy to reach many international destinations, including the US.

3) What are your 5 top trade destinations?

U.S. Target locations: NYC (family in Manhattan and Bronx, possible multiple visits or home location), New Orleans (interested in one long-term stay, maybe 9 months or a year), maybe another east-coast city like DC, Boston, etc.

International:
Coastal resort locations (Mediterranean/Aegean/Black Sea etc),
Island destinations (e.g. Madagascar, Mallorca, South Pacific, etc),
Modern Cities (e.g. Sydney, Singapore, Seattle, etc),
Historically significant destiantions (e.g. Budapest, Prague, Paris, Morocco, Shanghai, etc)

Possibly some remote/rustic destinations
Possibly some winter resort destinations

4) How many people do you usually travel with - total, including yourself?

2, possibly with family or friends as guests. We also are remote workers, so will need accommodations suitable for work-from-home.

5) Can you travel any time, or are you locked into the school schedule?

Anytime

6) Can you make firm plans 12 or more mos. in advance?

I prefer to follow unique opportunities, which in my experience tend to appear with a short time frame, but yes can plan in advance.

7) Can you vacation for a full week at a time?

We prefer to convert our “vacations” into long-term stays. Ex. We are going on a Cruise in November Bali to Bankgok. Would like to convert this into a long-term stay in each of these cities before-and-after the cruise.

8) What level of accommodations do you prefer on a scale of 1 to 5 stars?
“Stars” are usually associated with hotel services, which I don’t care about (e.g. bellboys, onsite dining)
I usually look for a guest rating of 3 or more for cleanliness and location.

9) How much can you afford to spend upfront, without financing?

$15,000

10) How much can you afford to spend every year for a maintenance fee that will come due right after Christmas, and increase each year?

$35-$40,000 total cost is my target (roughly the price of my current downtown apartment)

11) Are you a detail oriented planner?

No, we are very free-wheeling, but since we are still working full-time we don’t want to have to move around too often.

12) Do you understand that once you buy a timeshare, it may be very difficult to sell or give away, and you are responsible for all fees, until you do?

Yes
 

iftravel

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Full time on travel, wow! I would try Inspirato, Hapimag and of course AirBnB first. Get a small acount in RCI points and II for getaway deals. Don't load too much cause timeshare is hard to get rid of.
 

free2travel

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Aren't timeshares rare in "central cities" because they are mostly built for and owned by people in each country who want to travel away from the central cities?
Don't sound like a candidate to me.
 

amycurl

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Hapimag seems like it would be your best bet. I know that there are TUGgers here who are more experienced in the system than I am. I would do a search on this site for Hapimag and see what pops up.
 

artofm

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Aren't timeshares rare in "central cities" because they are mostly built for and owned by people in each country who want to travel away from the central cities?
Don't sound like a candidate to me.
Dunno - this is all new to me, but a good-to-know perspective. I'm checking all this out for the first time.
 

artofm

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Hapimag seems like it would be your best bet. I know that there are TUGgers here who are more experienced in the system than I am. I would do a search on this site for Hapimag and see what pops up.
Hapimag looks great for European destinations. I registered for their site. I don't plan any European trips in the next 9 months but definitely will be looking into for future travel!
 

CaliSunshine

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I would first ask yourself why you want to stay in a timeshare full time. Is it for the doorman? The housekeeping? Flexibility?

In terms of your locations: NYC is going to be expensive to live full time in, as you probably know already. You might be able to get in under a thousand a week if you buy points with one of the cheapest Club Wyndhams like Bali Hai and are OK with a hotel room, but that's about it.

New Orleans is cheaper. A 1 bedroom in Club Wyndham Avenue Plaza New Orleans is like half the points as that hotel room in NYC. So you can easily fit it in your budget there.

But... New Orleans is not an expensive city to stay in in general. You could easily get a nice apartment there for under 2K a month, so the question is if you're staying for 9 months to a year why bother with the timeshare?
 

artofm

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I would first ask yourself why you want to stay in a timeshare full time. Is it for the doorman? The housekeeping? Flexibility?

In terms of your locations: NYC is going to be expensive to live full time in, as you probably know already. You might be able to get in under a thousand a week if you buy points with one of the cheapest Club Wyndhams like Bali Hai and are OK with a hotel room, but that's about it.

New Orleans is cheaper. A 1 bedroom in Club Wyndham Avenue Plaza New Orleans is like half the points as that hotel room in NYC. So you can easily fit it in your budget there.

But... New Orleans is not an expensive city to stay in in general. You could easily get a nice apartment there for under 2K a month, so the question is if you're staying for 9 months to a year why bother with the timeshare?
I'll be very surprised if I can get a fully furnished apartment for total $2000 a month at a level of comfort that would compare with a Wyndham Club property.
Actually, I am very new to this and am not familiar with the differences in staying at a city timeshare, like Manhattan.
 

rickandcindy23

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Marriott has a beautiful timeshare in Boston. It's not a hard trade, depending on when you want to go. You didn't mention the Caribbean. Marriott has that covered.

NYC is not hard to get either. I wouldn't go with anything in RCI, unless you wanted to acquire Wyndham cheaply and use it for city places like Atlanta, NYC, New Orleans, DC, and there several other locations you haven't really listed that are possible with Wyndham. You didn't mention western locales at all.

There is not much in Europe. I can honestly tell you that bothers me personally, as I am ready to go to Europe and spend some months there, but maybe just a few river and ocean cruises and hit the sites via shore excursions. Maybe a week at a timeshare or two that I find via exchange. Wyndham has nil. So disappointing.

WorldMark has a timeshare in Seattle. There are some in Vancouver as well.

Four weeks in timeshares cost us about $4,000-5,000 in accommodations alone.
 

artofm

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Marriott has a beautiful timeshare in Boston. It's not a hard trade, depending on when you want to go. You didn't mention the Caribbean. Marriott has that covered.

NYC is not hard to get either. I wouldn't go with anything in RCI, unless you wanted to acquire Wyndham cheaply and use it for city places like Atlanta, NYC, New Orleans, DC, and there several other locations you haven't really listed that are possible with Wyndham. You didn't mention western locales at all.

There is not much in Europe. I can honestly tell you that bothers me personally, as I am ready to go to Europe and spend some months there, but maybe just a few river and ocean cruises and hit the sites via shore excursions. Maybe a week at a timeshare or two that I find via exchange. Wyndham has nil. So disappointing.

WorldMark has a timeshare in Seattle. There are some in Vancouver as well.

Four weeks in timeshares cost us about $4,000-5,000 in accommodations alone.
Wyndham seems like my best deal. In fact, I just now left a presentation where they pitched my Wyndham VIP 500k. I was very impressed, and they are my top idea right now. Interesting that they don't have properties in Europe, but that's not a deal killer since, it seems, I'm probably going to end up owning multiple programs before this is over. I see you have a long list yourself.

At the moment, I'm trying to figure out how to determine the relative value of different programs. Not having access to RSI, I'm shooting a bit blind in understanding the actual value of the RSI program.

Do you think a Wyndham 800k program would be my best "first" acquisition (paying a few thousand $$ up front), or better off picking up some free/low cost acquisitions at first, and maybe "graduating" to something like Wyndham later?

My thoughts so far is that Wyndham VIP will be my foundation program, and maybe pickup other programs as needs arise later.
 

CaliSunshine

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Yes start smaller and you can always add on later. Wyndham Canterbury seems to have some of the lowest MFs/1000 points.
 

artofm

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Yes start smaller and you can always add on later. Wyndham Canterbury seems to have some of the lowest MFs/1000 points.
Yes start smaller and you can always add on later. Wyndham Canterbury seems to have some of the lowest MFs/1000 points.
I'm looking at a Myrtle Beach wyndham listing now - $1000 to buy, 5543/yr for 800K points - 6.93 per thousand points - one of the lowest I've seen currently available for sale
I'm wondering how much lower the canterbury would be - I see it listed for rent, but not for sale, which would make sense to me (though I am a total newbie so very subject to misinterpretation on this).
 

Passepartout

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I'd love to be proven wrong, but TSs are largely a family affair, and are largely located in resort areas, not generally in large cities with cultural attractions. I think the OP would be more satisfied with VRBO type accommodations.
 

artofm

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I'd love to be proven wrong, but TSs are largely a family affair, and are largely located in resort areas, not generally in large cities with cultural attractions. I think the OP would be more satisfied with VRBO type accommodations.
That's true, but trying to find a way to control the cost over an extended period of time. Information I got at my Timeshare presentation was giving me an idea that it could be done via the timeshare system at a much lower cost, and cost that is largely fixed over time.

I have been reviewing Youtube channels and this forum for information from other people who are currently doing so.
 

jp10558

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The cost in Timeshares aren't fixed, MFs go up a little each year, and there can be special assessments. That said, at least for vacationing, I'm doing pretty well via RCI extra vacations hitting maybe $600 a week or so average I think. But the owned weeks are more expensive, like $1,500ish. I too plan to eventually look at Hapimag for a European trip. Our RCI exchange possibilities in Europe are mostly countryside (boring to an American I think) or beach stays which are interesting.

I think though if you wanted to do a one time block of 9-12 months, maybe AirBnB's long term rentals or just a traditional lease for a year would probably make more sense I think. Though IDK, I've never tried to stay for more than a week at one location.
 

artofm

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The cost in Timeshares aren't fixed, MFs go up a little each year, and there can be special assessments. That said, at least for vacationing, I'm doing pretty well via RCI extra vacations hitting maybe $600 a week or so average I think. But the owned weeks are more expensive, like $1,500ish. I too plan to eventually look at Hapimag for a European trip. Our RCI exchange possibilities in Europe are mostly countryside (boring to an American I think) or beach stays which are interesting.

I think though if you wanted to do a one time block of 9-12 months, maybe AirBnB's long term rentals or just a traditional lease for a year would probably make more sense I think. Though IDK, I've never tried to stay for more than a week at one location.
Flexibility still matters to me, so though I'd like to be ABLE to stay for months at a time, I don't want to be OBLIGATED to do so.

If I take a 4 week "vacation" (more "workation" for me), I want to be able to save the $3500 a month that I would otherwise be paying on a fixed-term lease. I get weird about spending money on "getaways" when I already have a perfectly fine apartment and comfortable bed in Southern Florida.
 

artofm

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Europe are mostly countryside (boring to an American I think) or beach stays which are interesting
I have been living in Florida beach communities for about 8 years. My wife and I have already toured many European cities, and are interested in visiting some of those more rustic locations in Europe - e.g. Bavarian mountains to see castles, Tuscany region to experience the medievel villages and wine country, etc.

But, now that I think about it, not sure I would want to have a lifelong contract for Tuscany and Bavaria.
 

jp10558

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I have been living in Florida beach communities for about 8 years. My wife and I have already toured many European cities, and are interested in visiting some of those more rustic locations in Europe - e.g. Bavarian mountains to see castles, Tuscany region to experience the medievel villages and wine country, etc.

But, now that I think about it, not sure I would want to have a lifelong contract for Tuscany and Bavaria.
Have you looked at the RCI locations? I think you can see the resorts free / without a membership. I know I see some up in the mountains, or like way up by the artic circle in Finland lets say. The

Abbazia Country Club​

does come up some in RCI, which seems to be on the Hungarian border with Slovenia. I don't think I've seen anything in Germany, but I haven't looked specifically.
 

dioxide45

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I think it would be hard to go from zero to nearly full time at the drop of a hat. Many that went full time built up their ownership over many years.

Many travel YouTubers that I have watched that travel full time aren't doing so in timeshare. They tend to control costs by bartering and offering jobs or work in exchange for a stay in an Airbnb or Vrbo. Mainly photos and videography.
 

CaliSunshine

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Totally makes sense that you wouldn't want to "pay double" if you're planning to be on the road most of the time.

We have a few folks on here who timeshare basically full time, and a few who have done it and stopped. Would definitely reach out to them and hear about their experiences.

The main issue I see you having is this: if you're looking to truly minimize your costs you're going to have to do a lot of planning. Most folks who do this full time or nearly full time spend a lot of time optimizing their trades, searching for last minute deals, etc.

If you're OK paying around 1K a week, then you don't have to do as much planning/optimizing, but you have to be reasonably OK with moving around once a month or maybe once every two months.

And then you have to be OK figuring out the other complexities of nomad life: insurance, taxes, a place to get your mail, etc.

If I were starting out on your path, I'd probably plan on a mix of AirBnB/sublets and timeshares the first year until you get your footing in the timeshare world.
 

free2travel

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travel YouTubers that I have watched that travel full time aren't doing so in timeshare. They tend to control costs by bartering and offering jobs or work in exchange for a stay in an Airbnb or Vrbo. Mainly photos and videography.
Without having watched them on youtube, that is exactly as I would expect.
I'll throw a wild one into the already wild mix: find an international "Home Sitter" org and get qualified
 

dioxide45

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Without having watched them on youtube, that is exactly as I would expect.
I'll throw a wild one into the already wild mix: find an international "Home Sitter" org and get qualified
Yeah, many also participate in home sitting, home swaps or even in home pet sitting.
 

marmite

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I'd love to be more optimistic, but I don't really see this as an ideal option for the kind of time you want to spend away, especially with an upfront spend of 15K. Unless you try to collect free timeshare weeks, it is not unreasonable to spend 2-5K per week for a resale which would only end up giving you maybe 8 weeks? Especially since you mention you may have guests with you (so probably a 2BR needed sometimes which takes more $ or points to exchange into), and will be working where you stay so you'll need some space.

My husband works remotely on many of our trips and often occupies the dining table since many timeshares don't have a desk (or not one that is big enough). Even if you manage to snag back-to-back trades into the same resort, they may not be able to keep you in the same room from week to week. It depends on the resort and how tied they are to their internal system of assigning by room code (possibly a view code or specific units).

Exchanging takes a lot of work if you want the ideal season for your destination. If you don't mind ski places in November, or the desert in August there is plenty and not so hard to accomplish. Buying good weeks and having an exit strategy is important too. If you're not discouraged by all of this, I would start slow and see if you think the effort is worth it.
 
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