We're buying a little cabin in the woods in August (yey!), and we've been thinking of maybe renting it out for a week or two at a time until we're ready to move in a few years. If you've ever thought of escaping to a cabin for a week to write, what would you look for in that cabin?
It's near a delightful tourist town on a lake where folks come to sailboat in the summer, go hunting in the winter, go berry picking in the fall and play with newborn animals in the spring. A classic tourist town, kayak rentals, enticing islands, local ice cream shop and all.
In other words, a great place to vacation, and a great place to get away and write.
If you were to rent such a place, would you want Internet, or no Internet? Television?
Lots of books to read?
Indoor and outdoor writing spaces is a given...
Would you bring your family and send them off to do touristy things while you write, or would you go solo?
What kinds of things would you want at a cabin to make it better for you as a writer?
If we do this, we'd have all the usual things you'd expect, like linens, dishes (yes, the place has running water, including toilets and showers, heat, AC, a fridge and stove), beds, couches, soft lighting... you know, the usual.
But what makes it special for writers?
This particular property has ten lovely acres of woods, including a year-round creek in the back. It's quite magical, which is one of the reasons we're buying it now, vs a few years down the road when we're ready to move in full time ourselves.
I'm just a planner at heart, and I'm already getting it prepared for a Fall rental in my head. I'm a writer, I love writers, and I love helping writers... so tell me, what would you want in a cabin getaway?
I would also love to know what you think a reasonable rate for a week or weekend getaway is. I know that my budget, like those of many writers, is fairly trim. If I could get the time off work to go off into the woods for a week, I sure wouldn't have a lot of spare funds to spend. What would you do? What feels awesome, what feels reasonable, and what feels like making you laugh when you see that price tag?
The area this cabin is in is famous for outrageous seasonal rentals. They get the executives from big cities like Minneapolis, Chicago and Detroit coming in for a week or weekend with their kids, and fleece them accordingly. Of course, I'm quasi local, so I consider $900-$1,200 a week to be fleecing. If you're from New York, say, you might think that's a steal.
I think $300 is a steal, $450 is reasonable, and I'd only scrummage up $650 or higher if I was bringing my family with me and the cabin was big enough for them and had appropriate bedding, and maybe came with a kayak or two and life jackets.
But I'm frugal by nature, and I'm here to see what you think.
And if it matters, this particular cabin is over 1,000 square feet, and can comfortably sleep 4-6 adults, plus kids, if they share space. And it's got the cutest wood stove, apple trees, irregularly fenced backyard for puppies (or toddlers), and a deer stand on the roof (it's cool like that.)
Grin.
Thanks for your thoughts -- just trying to plan ahead to see what I can do/bring/buy to set the place up in a way that appeals to other writers.
It's near a delightful tourist town on a lake where folks come to sailboat in the summer, go hunting in the winter, go berry picking in the fall and play with newborn animals in the spring. A classic tourist town, kayak rentals, enticing islands, local ice cream shop and all.
In other words, a great place to vacation, and a great place to get away and write.
If you were to rent such a place, would you want Internet, or no Internet? Television?
Lots of books to read?
Indoor and outdoor writing spaces is a given...
Would you bring your family and send them off to do touristy things while you write, or would you go solo?
What kinds of things would you want at a cabin to make it better for you as a writer?
If we do this, we'd have all the usual things you'd expect, like linens, dishes (yes, the place has running water, including toilets and showers, heat, AC, a fridge and stove), beds, couches, soft lighting... you know, the usual.
But what makes it special for writers?
This particular property has ten lovely acres of woods, including a year-round creek in the back. It's quite magical, which is one of the reasons we're buying it now, vs a few years down the road when we're ready to move in full time ourselves.
I'm just a planner at heart, and I'm already getting it prepared for a Fall rental in my head. I'm a writer, I love writers, and I love helping writers... so tell me, what would you want in a cabin getaway?
I would also love to know what you think a reasonable rate for a week or weekend getaway is. I know that my budget, like those of many writers, is fairly trim. If I could get the time off work to go off into the woods for a week, I sure wouldn't have a lot of spare funds to spend. What would you do? What feels awesome, what feels reasonable, and what feels like making you laugh when you see that price tag?
The area this cabin is in is famous for outrageous seasonal rentals. They get the executives from big cities like Minneapolis, Chicago and Detroit coming in for a week or weekend with their kids, and fleece them accordingly. Of course, I'm quasi local, so I consider $900-$1,200 a week to be fleecing. If you're from New York, say, you might think that's a steal.
I think $300 is a steal, $450 is reasonable, and I'd only scrummage up $650 or higher if I was bringing my family with me and the cabin was big enough for them and had appropriate bedding, and maybe came with a kayak or two and life jackets.
But I'm frugal by nature, and I'm here to see what you think.
And if it matters, this particular cabin is over 1,000 square feet, and can comfortably sleep 4-6 adults, plus kids, if they share space. And it's got the cutest wood stove, apple trees, irregularly fenced backyard for puppies (or toddlers), and a deer stand on the roof (it's cool like that.)
Grin.
Thanks for your thoughts -- just trying to plan ahead to see what I can do/bring/buy to set the place up in a way that appeals to other writers.