Coronavirus may have significantly altered the way we travel in the future. If current trends are not permanent, they at least will be prevalent through the end of this year and into next. Among them is the trend of investing in vacation homes rather than continuing to travel around the world.
Vacation homes are suddenly appealing for a host of reasons:
- People are more circumspect about flying
- Coronavirus restrictions can make travel uncomfortable
- Remote work makes it possible to work and vacation simultaneously.
The third point is the main emphasis of this post. If you are thinking of purchasing a second home at which you will both vacation and work, beware of the hidden dangers of the ‘workcation’ trend.
Remote Work Here to Stay
Remote work was uncharted territory just a year ago. It was rough for a lot of companies at first. But after employees got into the swing of things, it quickly became apparent that remote work was not all bad. Some companies did so well that they decided employees never had to return to the office if they didn’t want to. That is where we are today.
Remote work is here to stay. The cat has been let out of the bag, and there is no putting it back. As a result, some employees that have made the choice to not return to the office are making another choice: either moving out of state or buying second homes in popular vacation destinations.
Working from Paradise
Combining remote work with the desire to own a second home has created this workcation trend. It is a trend rooted in the common dream to work from paradise. After all, who wouldn’t want to spend the workday glancing out the window at a beautiful beach or the views atop a scenic mountain?
Working from your favorite vacation destination is a dream come true. Yet there are hidden dangers. First and foremost is reaching the point at which you truly cannot distinguish between work and everything else. If you are going to work from your vacation home, are you ever truly going to take a vacation?
Another hidden danger of the workcation is ruining what makes your favorite destination so special. One of the things that makes your current home and town not so special is the fact that you live there. You are used to it. Your familiarity has bred at least some measure of contempt. Will the same thing happen if you spend too much time at your vacation home?
Influencing Your Vacation Activities
Park City, Utah is a hot vacation home destination right now. According to Sparano + Mooney, a local architectural firm, new buyers are coming to Park City in search of their own vacation ski lodges. A home with easy access to the region’s many slopes is pretty attractive to ski bums.
Imagine buying a Park City vacation home with the goal of spending at least several months of the winter there. You dream about how much skiing you’ll be able to get in. When you actually visit for the first time, you realize that your work keeps you busy as it did before. You are not skiing any more from your vacation home than you would have had you stayed back home and visited local slopes. Bummer, right?
Remote work has given rise to the workcation trend, a trend that combines working and vacations in prime tourist destinations. Be careful. workcations are not all they are cracked up to be. They can actually turn out to be more disappointing than fulfilling.
