We have been busy making dreams happen over here!
It may seem a little backwards to think that buying and investing in a vacation rental property will actually help us travel more, but it will, and we are so excited about what opportunities are ahead for us.
We have been dreaming about owning a ski-in ski-out condo since Jamie and I started taking long weekend snowboard trips to the Rocky Mountains back in 2003. There is something about the mountains to us that speaks to our souls and we want that to be part of our kid’s lives as they grow up.
We bought a perfect little condo at Big White Ski Resort!
If you’ve been following along with us the past few years, you know that after our big 1 year trip around the world we decided to move to Kelowna, BC. One of the major reasons why we wanted to move to the mountain area was so that we could ski every weekend and live the winter mountain life.
We’ve spent the past three ski seasons out at Big White Ski Resort finding the perfect place for us and we are beyond thrilled. I have also been writing in my daily gratitude journal that “We own a ski home at Big White” since I started my gratitude practice on July 24, 2019.
Just like our trip around the world, dreams can happen if you keep your focus on them and working daily on small steps towards it!
Although our main love at Big White is for the champagne powder skiing and snowboarding we are looking forward to what summer can provide our there – hiking, biking and exploring all the mountains terrain!
For more pictures and details of our new ski condo, you can check out our listing here
What You'll Find in This Post
How will it Help us Travel More?
Over the past few years, we’ve learned that having the FREEDOM to travel doesn’t mean you can’t own a property. When we travel long-term again we won’t be selling all our stuff like we did last time. We have found properties that we can use that can help us travel instead of keeping us from travelling.
Rent out the Condo
After travelling the world and spending over 200+ days staying in other people’s homes we truly believe this is the best way to experience “living” in other parts of the world.
So, we already have the condo up on VRBO for rent and we will set it up on other rental sites soon. This vacation rental investment will allow us to earn money from our property. We also get the perks for us to use when it is not being rented!
Weekend Getaways
Even though we have been exploring close to home the past couple of years, with the reality of COVID there will be more weekend trips closer by then I planned for.
We take the 1-hour drive out to Big White every weekend since both kids are in ski and snowboard training, so this lets us tag on a few extra sleeps away from home but still close to home.
Plus, with all of my work being remote now I can easily work from our vacation property without missing work. Work in the morning and ski in the afternoon! What a life I can’t wait to live!
Home Swaps
We have yet to do a home swap with another family, but we are eager to give this a try. The beauty with this is this will eliminate our cost of accommodations if we swap it. Less cost = more travel.
When borders open up and the international travellers return to Big White, there will be some opportunities to swap their home while they come to visit our place in the winter or summer months. We’ve seen many requests on Facebook groups for swaps with families in Mexico, Australia, Europe and New Zealand!
We are also hoping this can give us the opportunity to visit other ski hills and swap with other ski homes!
Planning for Travel Years from Now
We are leaving our travel options open for when the kids have flown the coup and it’s just the two of us later on. Giving us options that if we want to use this vacation property as our main home years from now and then be able to sell our main property.
Jamie and I want to live part-time in the mountains when we are older. I want to be that 75-year-old snowboarding, wearing my funky sweater, going out only on the perfect ski conditions and enjoying aprés ski EVERY DAY!
We also want to be able to have a smaller place and less to take care of. So planning for the future without really know what the future holds! All we know is that we want to travel as often as possible.
Investment
A property is an investment, we hope this increases in value over the years and we will see how the market reacts over the long term. But, after doing a lot of research on ski resorts in Canada this area seems to still be on the upward trend but still able to enter.
We also bought a property that has room to make improvements and increase value to the property. Right now we love the quirkiness of the old ski condo vibe but we can always make changes down the road to increase value.
The most underlying things for us though is that we absolutely love ski life and being out at Big White, so it was a no-brainer for us to buy this vacation property for our family and friends to enjoy for years to come.
This is also helping us look forward to so much outdoor experiences and easy getaways to fill our wanderlust close by.
Do you own a vacation rental that helps you travel more?
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