View Full Version : If (when) I win the lottery
Gotta have a dream, ..but I'm torn on this one.
Should I spend my windfall (inheritance or whatever) by adding on to the house so there is plenty of room for the kids to bring their families to visit (and bike workshop and such)?
Or, should I buy a vacation home in a warm climate so I can spend my Jan-Feb-Mar away from these hellish upper midwest winters?
Solve this for me and all I have to do is sit back and wait for my ship to come in. (no sign of it ---yet)
Well...if your windfall (inheritance, tooth fairy, or whatever) is large enough, why not both!
stapfam
03-08-08, 08:33 AM
Well...if your windfall (inheritance, tooth fairy, or whatever) is large enough, why not both!
I was thinking along the same lines but no mention has been made of the new bikes yet. Perhaps the windfall won't be big enough for all 3 as I am certain that bikes will be involved somewhere. Whatever it is- Make certain the bike room is at least 10ft wide. My shed is that width and I can comfortably put a bike on the stand and walk round it. My only problem is that the shed is built and I need an extension to it already.
Make certain the bike room is at least 10ft wide.
1. Gorgeous shed stapfam. Mine, of course, is filled with the family's bikes, lawnmowers, ladders, folding chairs, etc., etc., etc. It's so full I "have" to put my bike stand/gear in my basement. ;)
2. Just how many bikes do you have in their stapfam? I beginning to think you're planning to open an lbs with all that inventory!
Retro Grouch
03-08-08, 09:07 AM
The only thing that I don't like about our condo is it doesn't have enough room for family gatherings. If everybody comes there's 24 of us.
Most of the time we get together at a daughter's house. About once a year I'll treat the family to a dinner at a local restaurant. That's cheaper than the extra space (that would be unused the rest of the time) would cost and I don't have to clean up.
Monoborracho
03-08-08, 09:30 AM
Gotta have a dream, ..but I'm torn on this one.
Should I spend my windfall (inheritance or whatever) by adding on to the house so there is plenty of room for the kids to bring their families to visit (and bike workshop and such)?
Or, should I buy a vacation home in a warm climate so I can spend my Jan-Feb-Mar away from these hellish upper midwest winters?
Solve this for me and all I have to do is sit back and wait for my ship to come in. (no sign of it ---yet)
Live where you want to live NOW. Tomorrow is not guaranteed to anyone, and you're gonna be dead a long time.
stapfam
03-08-08, 09:34 AM
1. Gorgeous shed stapfam. Mine, of course, is filled with the family's bikes, lawnmowers, ladders, folding chairs, etc., etc., etc. It's so full I "have" to put my bike stand/gear in my basement. ;)
2. Just how many bikes do you have in their stapfam? I beginning to think you're planning to open an lbs with all that inventory!
3 road
TCR-mine
OCR-mine
Boreas-mine
Tandem-Dale MT2000- Mine
4 mountain bikes
Bianchi-mine
Kona Explosif-Mine
Giant Trance bouncy thing-Son in laws
Raleigh M series-Daughters
and a mixte at the back that I am trying to offload to anyone- too good to chuck
On top of that there are 2 bikes at my other daughters that I managed to get them to store in their shed- Just in case they want to ride sometime.
I already have too many bikes. I may try to catalog and post pictures this summer (3 tandems, 1 recumbent, 2 tourers, 2 roadies, 2 mtbs, 1 commuter, 2 SS's, 4 light tourers (kids), 4-5 project bikes waiting in the queue) And I'm good with workshop space too. If I only had one room, half of it would be the workshop. None are expensive. Most are personal build-ups.
stevemtbr
03-08-08, 10:27 AM
If it was me I would by an RV. Spend the winters in what ever warm climate you want and when you visit the kids you'll still be able to stay in your own place.
tandemedge
03-08-08, 08:25 PM
Stapfem
When I saw the photo I instantly said to my wife ... " who photographed our basement!". We have two tandems and six singles currently and two more single out on loan. We also have two vintage balloon tire bikes from the 1930's that I have begun collecting as well as three of my brother in laws bicycles.
As for dgb question ... go for the bike workshop but make it in a warmer climate. Illinois is a nice area three seasons of the year but one of them isn't winter.
Retro Grouch
03-09-08, 06:30 AM
go for the bike workshop but make it in a warmer climate. Illinois is a nice area three seasons of the year but one of them isn't winter.
I thought the bike workshop, project bikes, and BF are for getting through the winter months. I don't want to spend all day Saturday stripping paint off of a bike frame when the weather's nice.
If / when you hit it big in the financial dept. I would highly recommend a vacation home in a warmer climate. Just make sure it is plenty big, as your family and friends will love to come visit you in January and February. I can speak from experience. My wife and I moved to Florida over 30 years ago and we have had many enjoyable visits from her relatives in Iowa and mine in Indiana.
Living where a person or family absolutely must have heating fuel seems at best an expensive long term strategy and at worst a real problem. If I have the opportunity to retire, I'd quite like living in Michigan (again), or New Engalnd (again), but the cost and general [future] shortage of energy would unfortunately rule that out for me.
gruffydd
03-09-08, 11:12 AM
I saw a pretty cool RV type 5th wheel trailer one time that had a living compartment up front and the back end was designed to be a bit of a work shop and to haul motorcycles, I think. Not sure what the brand. But I think that would make a swell bike shop and hauler for seasonal bike vagabond rider. What fun would it be to change you latitude, based on the sun and have all you favorite bikes always with you. Alaska to Patagonia or whatever you prefer. Sweet.
Stapfam, very cool set you have too. Looks idyllic and "green" (like home for me) but I do like the SW USA because I can ride all year.
BigBlueToe
03-09-08, 11:28 AM
My lottery plans:
Get out of debt.
Do a long tour with my wife. (She hasn't been able to come due to work. In this fantasy neither of us will ever have to work again.)
Take a credit card tour someplace - Greece, south of France, Sweden, ??? Stay in really nice hotels, eat really well. (This could coincide with #2.)
Do a long tour with 6 to 8 kids - 12-15 year olds. Pay for everything. Let the kids keep the bikes if they complete the tour. Do this every year. Set up a foundation to keep this happening. There's nothing as empowering to a kid as completing a bike tour.
Pay someone to be my support vehicle driver on a tour someplace. Duties would include shopping, setting up tents, setting out solar showers, cooking, stocking the ice chests, etc. Friends of mine who are iffy about touring might be interested in this.
Sponsor a fun team in the RAGBRAI. Fix up a bus, hire a support crew (see #5).
Buy some really nice bikes - a mountain bike or two, a really light road bike, a nice tandem, etc.
Tom Bombadil
03-09-08, 11:29 AM
Perhaps several of us Upper Midwesterns should go together on buying a place in a warmer climate. If 4 of us got in on the deal, we could each have 4 weeks from Dec-March - could be split up into 4-week segments or 2-week, with each getting 2 then. Then we could also split up Oct/Nov & Apr/May into another 4-weeks each.
When I was in Florida in Jan, I ran into a 50+ couple from Milwaukee at a BBQ joint. They were renting a fairly nice condo for $1800 for the month, right on the St. Augustine beach. That's only $60/day, not much more than a Super 8 motel room.
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