Location, Location, Location.........and price

Thanks Paul!   Indeed, after you pick a location and you sift through your friends and find some good ones to go with you, you have to find a place to lay your head.  And it can be the most exciting, yet nerve-wracking part of the planning process.

The first step to finding a place to stay, which is true for just about anything you want to know, is to google it.   A lot of times in vacation hot-spots, there are a handful of real estate companies that  rent out properties and each one has their own website, so you have to be patient in this leg of the race. 

Next comes the most exciting part.
Looking at pictures.  Sure you're going to look at the specs on each property (how many it sleeps, number of baths, whether or not it comes with a grill, etc.) but looking at the pictures is so much fun.  This is how you figure out the details that the written specs don't show.  Like whether there is a table or couter-top close to Beer-Pong regulations and sleeping arrangements and the best reading spots, and so on.

Once you find a couple places that seem pretty cool, and you post them onto your vacation Facebook group, the most determining factor comes into play; the price.  Sure we'd all love to stay at that 3-story house right on the beach that has its own pool and hot tub and 12 bedrooms, but for close to $10,000 a week, needless to say, we end up picking a different house. If you can afford that then f...I mean good for you, stay there.  But if you can't, that doesn't mean you have to go far to find a good price within walking distance to the beach.  The past three years, we've had a very nice house, at a reasonable price, and only a two-five minute walk to the beach.  You just have to be thorough in your searches.

After all is said and done and you finally pick a place that seems reasonable at a good location, someone (Paul) puts it on their credit card and then everyone pays them cash when they say payments are due.  You'll find that some people are better at paying things on time than others, which can lead to some head-aches (which I'm only speaking about second-hand since Paul's the one with a nice credit limit) but as long as the wankers pay their share, then everything is set and you have yourself a place to sleep...and drink and nurse hangovers and read and eat and drink some more and read some more and then drink again and then make out with some hot chicks.  Vacation's awesome.

In our next segment, we will focus on how to get to your vacation house.  (Warning: watch out for "Cranky Colin's" or "George's").  Right back at you Paul.