My family of three (husband, wife, 10 year-old) are planning a trip to the UK in June 2014. We'd like to rent a place for the month and use it as a base to travel around England and France using the rail system. Is this feasible? Should we talk to a realtor about a short-term rental or use a service like Airbnb?
We want to see what it would be like to actually live in the UK. Advice is welcome!
AirBnB would be one option, but there are many apartment rental agencies out there catering to tourists. I suggest reviewing Tripadvisor for recommendations and getting the name of several agencies. Homeaway and VRBO come to mind as well as AirBnB, there are also many private rental companies. Since you want to see a number of areas, including some outside of England, you will need to balance the expense of having a Homebase plus spending lodging nights elsewhere vs just travelling from point to point. London is not a cheap city, and if you are travelling, or just spending a month there, it is difficult to get a sense of what living there may be like.
One advantage of London though is that it is the Rail hub for Britain, has quick rail connections to Brussels and Paris (several hours), and has many low cost flights to much of Europe. You can save by cooking for yourself when there, plus many of the National Museums are free.
Renting is a great option...VRBO and airbnb are both good resources.
Have you ever considered home exchange? We have used this method of housing in other countries for the last 6 years and it has been amazing. This last summer we exchanged with a family in a suburb of London for a month. We explored London and other parts of England, using their home as our base. It was nice because we could use public transport when it made sense and then use their car for longer trips. Check out homeexchange.com. There are hundreds of listings in England...everything from small apartments to large homes in the country. If you want to live like a local, this is even better than renting!
Thank you very much for your quick responses! I will investigate your suggestions right away.
