Is It Possible To Live In A Hotel For 5-6months

[SickofRenting]

Hi all,

I know this is a renting forum but its as close as it gets.

I have to relocate in 4 months to another part of the country to do a 5-6 month training course and I can't be bothered to go through the hassle of renting and the pitfalls of it plus my savings isn't that huge (was a deposit on a place of my own but I have given up).

So I am seriously thinking of living in Travelodge hotels which are going cheap at £12 and at £19 per night if you book in 3 weeks in advance and works out between £364 to £576 a month, I give the average of about £470 per month(cheaper than I am renting now!). I won't be staying at one Travelodge hotel but several around the area where I am training, and sort of alternate between them.

The advantage I can see are these: No electric, gas, water bills, no council tax, no TDS contracts, no checks etc.. the list is endless.... literally saving me hundreds every month.

I have stayed at a Travelodge before while I was working for 2 weeks straight, I quite enjoyed it.

The disadvantage is I may have to eat out every night (The bill for the hotel and eating out combined still works out cheaper than my rent), living out of a suitcase. Having to find somewhere to wash my clothes (Laundromats)

I will need to store my furniture somewhere (some storage company or my sister’s garage/house) for the duration - not a problem.

One niggle - could I get a part time job without a permanent address? What would be my permanent address? (Saying 'Hi, I live at several Travelodge hotels.' will probably raise some eyebrows for my potential employers).

Can a local PO Box be used as mail correspondents? - The Royal Mail website states I need a permanent address OR I must be working (tut, going round in circles).

In all, would this be a good idea? And is it feasible? Has anyone done this sort of thing before? Even living in a camper van?

[Frank Hovis]

Hi all,

I know this is a renting forum but its as close as it gets.

I have to relocate in 4 months to another part of the country to do a 5-6 month training course and I can't be bothered to go through the hassle of renting and the pitfalls of it plus my savings isn't that huge (was a deposit on a place of my own but I have given up).

So I am seriously thinking of living in Travelodge hotels which are going cheap at £12 and at £19 per night if you book in 3 weeks in advance and works out between £364 to £576 a month, I give the average of about £470 per month(cheaper than I am renting now!). I won't be staying at one Travelodge hotel but several around the area where I am training, and sort of alternate between them.

The advantage I can see are these: No electric, gas, water bills, no council tax, no TDS contracts, no checks etc.. the list is endless.... literally saving me hundreds every month.

I have stayed at a Travelodge before while I was working for 2 weeks straight, I quite enjoyed it.

The disadvantage is I may have to eat out every night (The bill for the hotel and eating out combined still works out cheaper than my rent), living out of a suitcase. Having to find somewhere to wash my clothes (Laundromats)

I will need to store my furniture somewhere (some storage company or my sister’s garage/house) for the duration - not a problem.

One niggle - could I get a part time job without a permanent address? What would be my permanent address? (Saying 'Hi, I live at several Travelodge hotels.' will probably raise some eyebrows for my potential employers).

Can a local PO Box be used as mail correspondents? - The Royal Mail website states I need a permanent address OR I must be working (tut, going round in circles).

In all, would this be a good idea? And is it feasible? Has anyone done this sort of thing before? Even living in a camper van?

Can I be first with the Alan Partridge reference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa291zWzz3A

I did about six months in a B&B; though it wasn't my original intention. It was a reasonably big place and they had semi-contained flats as well.

Simple answer is that it worked fine though I was a bit fed up by the end.

Give your sister's address as your permanent address, especially if you're happy with her opening your post and giving you a ring with anything important.

[SickofRenting]

Can I be first with the Alan Partridge reference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa291zWzz3A

I did about six months in a B&B; though it wasn't my original intention. It was a reasonably big place and they had semi-contained flats as well.

Simple answer is that it worked fine though I was a bit fed up by the end.

Give your sister's address as your permanent address, especially if you're happy with her opening your post and giving you a ring with anything important.

Alan Partridge - love it but I assure I am nothing like him!!

Thanks for that - might work after all. I may also get fed up living in a hotel as well but that’s the sacrifice I can take, I think.

Aaahaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!

[Gigantic Purple Slug]

You'll pork up massively eating out every night.

Make sure you plan a fitness regime. It'll come in handy, cos you'll be bored out of your mind.

[RDW]

I lived in a hotel room for about a year during the '90's recession, our employer had several staff house's in Bath, but due to cutbacks and the recession, no one being booked in the hotel, the company got rid of the staff house and moved us that were kept into the hotel. I was 21 at the time, and basically we had the run of the hotel and kitchens.

I do not think I would enjoy it as much if I ended up as an Alan Partridge type, (I'm sure your not like him, at the moment,) confined to either my room or the restaurant / bar. For us it was a bit like living in a big shared house and Grand Met supplied the food. We had jobs to do, I was a chef, but that did keep you reletively sane and sober, and also gave you a few pounds when we fancied venturing out.

If I were you I think I would go for a room in a shared house.

[SickofRenting]

You'll pork up massively eating out every night.

Make sure you plan a fitness regime. It'll come in handy, cos you'll be bored out of your mind.

Yeah, porking up, thats my biggest worry and being bored - I could join a gym and I love swimming. Hmm I wander if I can sneak in a tiny microwave in and do microwave meals lol.

[Now or never]

Yeah, porking up, thats my biggest worry and being bored - I could join a gym and I love swimming. Hmm I wander if I can sneak in a tiny microwave in and do microwave meals lol.

Is boredom a state of home? Surely this is not affected by your living place; maybe location but not dwelling type.

[19 year mortgage 8itch]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-48...d-22-years.html

[Stop The Ride]

Just be careful you don't end up topping yourself in month 2.

[ScaredEitherWay]

I'd say, it's worth phoning them and trying to cut a deal to stay whole chunks at a time at the discounted rate. Negotiate that you don't want the room cleaned etc more than once a week as an extra bargaining chip.

My other comments are below:

The disadvantage is I may have to eat out every night (The bill for the hotel and eating out combined still works out cheaper than my rent), living out of a suitcase. Having to find somewhere to wash my clothes (Laundromats)

You can pick up cheap sandwiches at supermarkets (they start at 99p), also eat some fruit directly out of the can, there's quite a lot of "eat out of the packet" food you can have if you look around. You can make basic sandwiches yourself too - loaf/butter then small pots of paste, jam, peanut butter. Then there's fruit - and also some raw vegetables (e.g. carrot sticks). Biscuits and cakes. You can also buy a couple of bread rolls and "just enough" to fill those at a deli counter. Then there's instant noodle packs. If you get yourself a "wide mouthed food flask" and break the noodles up, put in sufficient boiling water and screw the lid up, they'll cook in about 15 minutes and keep hot for hours. Also, your training place might have a microwave/toaster and you can end up using that most days. There's the potential too to pick up a toaster for your room.

Then there's home delivery and takeaways, if you're not trashing the room, but discretely receiving hot food and eating it in your room there'll be no issue.

You can't receive mail, so you'll need somebody to front all your mail and post it on. Try that and a PO box, but there's some stuff that won't accept a PO box. There used to be a Post Office service called Poste Restante, where you can pick up mail while travelling.

Internet might be an issue.

One niggle - could I get a part time job without a permanent address? What would be my permanent address? (Saying 'Hi, I live at several Travelodge hotels.' will probably raise some eyebrows for my potential employers).

Can a local PO Box be used as mail correspondents? - The Royal Mail website states I need a permanent address OR I must be working (tut, going round in circles).

For the time you're there I think you'll have trouble finding any employment - so your timescales might be your strength as you can offer to do the job just for the duration, but it might be the weakness. Not many employers really want short-term staff that aren't flexible (can work when needed) and won't be staying on the books for some time.

In all, would this be a good idea? And is it feasible? Has anyone done this sort of thing before? Even living in a camper van?

It's worth considering, but there could be problems if you're moving about too much (it gets tiresome) and you can't 100% rely on hotels to get your booking right (hence the longer-stays might be better).

Alternatively, you could try contacting smaller local B&Bs and cutting a semi-permanent deal with them on a room only basis. The other alternative is to contact local holiday home lettings and see if you can procure a "winter let" for the duration at a price in line with regular renting.

Edited September 13, 2009 by ScaredEitherWay

[Frank Hovis]

Is boredom a state of home? Surely this is not affected by your living place; maybe location but not dwelling type.

The property you live in has a big effect on you. If you are effectively "living in a box" with your bedroom, living room, and dining room being one and the same - a studio flat or a hotel room - then the lack of a change of scene does get you down.

Having spent several years in a studio flat I would not consider one again. A two bedroom flat was however fine; plenty of room to stretch out and you can have friends and relatives to stay.

[mikeymadman]

Not sure how best to put this, having of course had no experience of doing this myself...

I find that you can cook almost anything you'd ever want to eat with a combined microwave convection oven grill and a if you have somewhere to hide it (for example on the bottom of a computer trolley covered with a table cloth) and something to cover the smoke detector with (for example one of the cheap standard lamps from Argos that comes with about 8 sections of pole made up to the right height to stand on top of the trolley).

[Frank Hovis]

Not sure how best to put this, having of course had no experience of doing this myself...

I find that you can cook almost anything you'd ever want to eat with a combined microwave convection oven grill and a if you have somewhere to hide it (for example on the bottom of a computer trolley covered with a table cloth) and something to cover the smoke detector with (for example one of the cheap standard lamps from Argos that comes with about 8 sections of pole made up to the right height to stand on top of the trolley).

You can buy smoke detector covers. They're used by workmen when they're creating dust near the detector. Detectors in hotels aren't like the home ones where you can just take the battery out when you do a fry-up.

[AteMoose]

IMHO it would cost more, travel-lodge cheap deals don't appear on subsequent days so you would have to move around alot to make it work. It would be cheaper and easier? to find a room to rent on spareroom.co.uk

[cartimandua51]

I reckon you'd go stir crazy. There's a world of difference between living in the sort of hotels our Edwardian forebears (if they were rich!) lived in while overwintering in Biarritz - large rooms, spacious lounges with comfy chesterfields, music on tap, writing rooms, library etc- and the horrors of a Travelodge box.

Had you considered thinking laterally? What about buying a caravan and parking yourself on various campsites for as long or short as you choose? I say caravan rather than motorhome because you can leave the van on site and drive wherever yiou chose; motorhomes are damn difficult to find parking for in towns. You can get a decentish small caravan for c. £1500 and sell it at the end for not much less. Or what about renting a narrowboat? More expensive, but an experience. Depends on geography of course!

Shared house/ spare room - depends on how old you are, and how gregarious. Bit iffy for over 35s I would have thought, at least for more than a couple of weeks.

[Dylan]

After 28 days you should get reduced rate VAT at hotels, which will make it even cheaper.

[ScaredEitherWay]

Shared house/ spare room - depends on how old you are, and how gregarious. Bit iffy for over 35s I would have thought, at least for more than a couple of weeks.

Not just iffy, almost impossible to find ... once you're the wrong side of 30, then 40, etc ... people who are living in shared houses don't want you as a sharer.

[SickofRenting]

Shared house/ spare room - depends on how old you are, and how gregarious. Bit iffy for over 35s I would have thought, at least for more than a couple of weeks.

I'm a bloke in my late twenties, I have thought about house sharing and I'm not sure it's my thing. It would be my last option as I like my privacy. I think sharing is a huge minefield in which I have no experience in. I agree it can be cheap and the bills are shared or included with the rent.

I don't want to live with dodgy people who comes into my bedroom during the night to give me a sausage surprise...

Can I ask if anyone had house shared/is sharing and was it a good or a really traumatic experience?

Cheers.

Edit forgot 'me'

Edited September 22, 2009 by SickofRenting

[mikeymadman]

It's a mixed bag.

If you're nervous about it try and get a room that's quite self contained; ideally you want one with it's own shower and to then follow my cooking in secret tips.

[dgj]

Sounds like a good feasable plan and I think when hotels are cheaper than renting or buying a house that something needs to crash...

You could try taking protein shakes as a meal alternative but there are always healthy options out there even if you do eat out, I think eating out will be a chance for you to get out of the room anyway...

[Jie Bie]

I'm a bloke in my late twenties, I have thought about house sharing and I'm not sure it's my thing. It would be my last option as I like my privacy. I think sharing is a huge minefield in which I have no experience in. I agree it can be cheap and the bills are shared or included with the rent.

I don't want to live with dodgy people who comes into my bedroom during the night to give me a sausage surprise...

Can I ask if anyone had house shared/is sharing and was it a good or a really traumatic experience?

Cheers.

Edit forgot 'me'

I've shared through most of my twenties (i'm 27 now) and have nothing but good things to say about it. Of course you have to have the right personality, some people just aren't cut out for communal living, but then again I do wonder how people like this expect to live if they ever start a family.

The other major factor is of course who you share with, if you are a professional 9-5 worker then it won't make any sense to share with a bunch of undergraduate students, obviously. And of course its usually best to share with friends who you get on with already.

You will need to make comprimises when sharing though, but the way I see it is I am growing my deposit fund at a much quicker rate than if I was living alone. As you say, it makes financial sense.

One thing I have noticed about sharing is that guys seem to cope a lot better with it than girls. Not sure why that is, but women seem to fall out a lot easier than guys do.

Edited September 23, 2009 by Jie Bie

[A_Landlord]

I have a lot of experience of this - I have been doing this for over 7 years!!!

My tips ...

1. for the UK a B&B worked best for me. I got to know the owners and paid a bit more and I could use their washing machine and microwave in the evening for jacket spuds etc., also use the dining area in the evening for take-aways.

2. you do PORK UP - especially living in hotels around the world which do not have gyms and if you are on short 4 or 5 month contracts so you are put into average hotels. Try and get some fitness into your day.

3. SKYPE will be your best friend - make sure you have a good wireless internet connection so you can keep in touch with family while away.

4. warning - you will be an easy target for spur of the moment drinks with colleagues. I worked in Aberdeen and it seemed I had different drinking buddies for every night of the week.

5. for your case, a B&B would give you a proper address. to apply for jobs

6. I was able to negotiate a few GBPs off with the B&B owners as I had a bowl of cereal each morning and commited to very long term rental.

..... and as you said, there are no commitments and you can cut an run at the end of your training/contract.

[mikeymadman]

Also, if you do share, get a place where the bills are included. Bills not included is just a serious of arguments that have found somewhere to happen waiting for the right moment to do so!

but the way I see it is I am growing my deposit fund at a much quicker rate than if I was living alone. As you say, it makes financial sense.

Got it in a nutshell... It's a way of saving large amounts of money without trying or noticing.

[Aidan Ap Word]

I worked in Aus for 9 months ... but it was supposed to be 3 weeks ... it is the limbo-ness and the (relative) friendless-ness of it that engenders the boredom. Dunno how far you will be from your friends? Aus->UK->Aus would have made a huge commute for a week-end visit ...

And even though I did have a small kitchen in the serviced apartment I ended up in ... I did pork up ... partly because I ended up having to drop out of my exercise regime ... and partly because you do end up spending more time in and watching TV and less time out & about.

Food & boredom are a dangerous waistline-expanding thing.

And Aus was a nice environment ... I do think that (if you *know* for sure when it ends) you can make a go of it. But your lifestyle will suffer without deliberate extra effort. Stick to friends like glue (even if it is skype-enabled communication only).

Check out the latest mobile broadband deals ...?

Aidanapword