We are in the very preliminary planning stages for a 2020 trip to Europe. We would like to spend about a month each in 4-6 countries, preferably not in urban centers. Can anyone provide sources for investigating rentals of this duration in parts of Western mainland Europe?
Thanks
Dick
The first thing you must do is familiarize yourself with the rules of Schengen if you are not a citizen of the EU or Schengen countries.
Basically, if you are a US or Canadian citizen you can stay 90 days in a 180 day period.
Take a look at Sabbatical Homes. The offerings are primarily by people who are away on sabbatical for a period from weeks to years and generally they are priced less than vacation apartments and often it is OK to rent for a month or even less.
What countries are you interested in?
Another way of doing this is via home exchange. We do this most summers for 9-11 weeks (sometimes one exchange and often two, back-to-back) and there are many people we know of who do it for many months at a time, like you are planning to do.
Just be aware of the limits of your country's passport and how long you are allowed to stay absent a long-stay visa. You have enough time to attempt to get one but, moving around as you are, it most likely won't be possible as you have to have an address in Europe.
To accomplish what you want to do you will probably need to combine Schengen and non-Schengen countries so you don't overstay.
The first thing you must do is familiarize yourself with the rules of Schengen if you are not a citizen of the EU or Schengen countries.
...or if you don't have a valid long-stay permit (such as a French titre de séjour or Carte Bleue Européenne) or a residence permit.
It's a bit more nuanced than just being a citizen or not.
Dick,
I hope you come back and let us know what your success is, where you decide to go. Long term travel comes up a lot on the Forum so we can learn from your experience.
Will do, assuming we can pull this off!
Dick
