Deciding where to roam

The amazing part about the roaming lifestyle is that you can live in the places you've always wanted to visit. But how do you decide where to go? What makes a roaming destination? Making these decisions can be overwhelming so let me guide you through the factors we like to consider before booking.

Distance

Usually the first thing we consider is how far away we are willing to drive for our next destination. Christine and I travel with our two cats and we've found that they can withstand a car ride up to 8 hours. This makes our range quite limited. And personally we prefer not to stay less than one month in an Airbnb because of the stress that the process of moving puts on our feline friends.

A strategy that works well for us is to choose a region of the USA and target destinations within that region. For 2022, we chose the Pacific Northwest as our region and have visited several cities in that area. For 2023 we are considering the southwest region of the USA. There are exceptions to this, of course, but this strategy has worked well for us because it significantly limits how far we have to drive between our stays.

Activities

Of course activities and interests should be toward the top of your list when deciding where to book! Christine and I have a passion for hiking, camping, and off-roading. We also love the beach, exploring cities, and visiting as many National Parks as possible. As we're evaluating where to stay, we often spend some time looking around an area for activities that peak our interest.

Depending on the number of activities will often judge how long we consider staying in this area. For example, San Diego had so much to offer that we ended up staying in multiple Airbnbs in various San Diego neighborhoods for over a 3 month period. Compare that with Roseburg, Oregon where there was less to do and so we only stayed in a single Airbnb for a couple of months.

Also make sure to consider day & weekend trips that you can take from an area. For example, Seattle itself offers a lot to do but there are also quite a few day/weekend trips you can take from Seattle! Vancouver, BC is only a few hours away and there are several National Parks only a couple of hours away as well. And in Truckee we found more snow activities outside of skiing.

Friends / Family

Another super important factor to consider are the friends and family that live in the region you're considering visiting. Let's face it - roaming can be a lonely lifestyle if you don't take time to visit your friends! Our recommendation is to book a stay somewhere with people you know every few months. There's nothing wrong with visiting new locations and meeting new people, but don't forget the importance of maintaining your longer term friendships. We often invite friends to come visit us or go on those short weekend trips with us in the places that we stay. Recently, we visited Vancouver, BC with a friend from the Bay Area (and went bungee jumping!!) -- see the rainy picture below.

I also want to quickly call out that it's totally okay to roam to a place multiple times! You don't have to always roam somewhere new. Christine and I love to ski in the winter and most of our skiing friends visit the Lake Tahoe area during the ski season as well. Even though we stayed in Tahoe during the 2022 ski season, we will be returning for the 2023 ski season so we can spend more time on the slopes with our friends. We booked a larger Airbnb that our friends are also contributing towards so they can come visit and ski whenever they want!

Roaming is an adventure, but it's also a lifestyle! So don't forget to prioritize your relationships as you choose where to travel next. Having some familiarity in your roaming journey is a good way to prevent burn out.

Bucket List

And the most fun factor - checking locations off your bucket list! I would highly recommend taking some time and just writing down the places you've always wanted to visit. After that, comb through your list and think through what it would look like to roam to that destination. Is it affordable? Logistically, how would you travel there? What time of year would you want to visit this destination? What specific area at this destination would you want to stay in?Researching these destinations ahead of time before you put them in your roaming journey is a great way to maximize the fun. If you can create a list of places with some specifics about the destination then deciding when to book your stay at that particular destination becomes so much easier. As it comes time to book your next stay, you can simply filter your list by the time of year, your budget, distance away, etc to determine your best options. After shortening your list, start looking for what Airbnb options exist in those remaining destinations.

Stays

The final consideration that Christine and I take into account before booking our next destination are the stays themselves. After roaming for close to a year, we've created a list of criteria that we use to determine if an Airbnb is a good choice for us. Sometimes even though we'll have a destination in mind, we won't roam there if we can't find a stay that meets our needs. Christine and I have decided that we're not willing to compromise on some aspects of the home we want to live in - even if it's short term. For example, having a second bedroom is a must-have requirement for us now. This extra bedroom ensures that we have 1) space for guests, 2) space for our belongings, and 3) a quiet place for one of us to use for work or hobbies. Of course your priorities will be different from ours. But I would encourage you to create a similar list for yourself. Think through what amenities or features of an Airbnb are "must haves".

On the flip side, also think through what eye-catching aspects of an Airbnb would draw you to booking in a destination, because of the Airbnb itself. For example, Christine and I booked an Airbnb in West Seattle because it had a fenced in back yard. We would have preferred to stay in Ballard (north of Seattle) but couldn't find any similar Airbnbs with a yard in that region. So we chose to sacrifice the location of our booking for a specific feature of the booking. This is a totally valid trade-off discussion to have as you're considering where to book next. Make sure to consider aspects of your Airbnbs that are "must haves" and aspects that are "so cool" you will book the stay for that feature alone. This can be a great way to narrow down where to roam next.

I hope this provided you with a new perspective on how to decide where to roam! If you have other ways of deciding where to roam, I'd love to hear them! LiveWorkRoam's forum is a great place to connect with others. Join today and share your journey!