Two homes

[Dr Jekyll]

Having a 2 hour each way commute I'm thinking of renting a flat near where I work, at least over the winter. What are the complications of having 2 homes? Two lots of council tax obviously, insurance could be an issue if a property is frequently unoccupied.

What else?

[talksthetorque]

I had this dilemma a few years ago - I chose two, but we were relocating and it made sens for the OH to join me for househunting, and we have dogs, so my hand was a bit forced. Perhaps your circumstances aren't as restricted.

1.Rent a room in someone else's house or a shared professional house.

Easy to do - cheaper and a bit of company during the week ( this could be good or bad depending on your luck/interview skills/outlook)
Less petrol money.

2. Rent a property
Letting fees
Deposit
Monthly rental
Electricity bill ( can't switch without Landlord's permission)
Gas Bill ( ditto)
Council Tax - check the appropriate LA rules on Second homes - Some surcharge these properties.
Water Bill
Maintenance of second house/cleaner gardener fees.
Trying to get deposit back at the end.
Less Petrol money

3. Two or three nights a week in a hotel - Depends on location -
No bills
Bed made
free tea and coffee ( and biscuits if you're lucky)
Slightly more petrol Money
No cooking facilities.

4. Keep commuting
More petrol money
See the family more
Knackered.

[Vaud]

AirBnB. Some nice places about.

[devnull]

To add to 4:

Extra car maintenance. I did lots Of extra commuting for a while. Changing droplinks at 1 in the morning because one has snapped and you have a 150 mile trip at 6am isn’t fun.

[RizzoTheRat]

Vaud said:

AirBnB. Some nice places about.

This! I use AirBnB alot when working abroad and it's brilliant. Most places offer weekly and monthly discounts so if you're thinking of a place for several months over the winter it it's a lot cheaper than the standard short term rates.

[sly fox]

Spareroom.co.uk has an option that you can search for Mon-Fri lets only which may suit you.

As others have said, AirBnB is sometimes a good option, if not necessarily available for that longer period of time.
Check out reviews though.

[JeremyH5]

We did this. The screw driver is always at the other house When you need one. So you buy a second screw driver. Then both screw drivers are at the other house when you need one.
Double lawn mowing, house cleaning, maintenance. We decided it would be ok if we could afford staff🤪
We moved to the right location. Problem solved.

[227bhp]

A woman at either end too, bit of variety.

[KrazyIvan]

227bhp said:

A woman at either end too, bit of variety.

Will make the running cost of two homes seem like pocket change

[Condi]

I changed jobs eventually. Spending time away from home in a hotel is great for the first 3 months, thoroughly depressing after 3 years.

[S6PNJ]

Condi said:

I changed jobs eventually. Spending time away from home in a hotel is great for the first 3 months weeks days, thoroughly depressing after 3 years 4 days.

Fixed that for you!

[oblio]

S6PNJ said:

Condi said:

I changed jobs eventually. Spending time away from home in a hotel is great for the first 3 months weeks days, thoroughly depressing after 3 years 4 days.

Fixed that for you!

unless you are staying with co-workers (that you get on with) in the same hotel!

Also restaurant food or takeaways in your room also drag you down too after a short while.

I once spent 9 months in a hotel during the week but had co-workers staying there who were good company plus it had a decent gym too. I lost a stack of weight and got really fit plus we all enjoyed a good p1ss up on a Thursday night out too.