Here's a way to beat the high utility costs

[SoCalDem]

British couple's 22-year motel stop
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070911/od_afp/lifestylebritainhoteloffbeat_070911123827;_ylt=AgY6UK5jGBGdOGOfbBPqL5sFO7gF
Tue Sep 11, 8:38 AM ET

LONDON (AFP) - A British couple have shacked up in a budget roadside motel for more than 20 years because they love never having to do the laundry or cooking, they said Tuesday.


David Davidson, 79, and his wife, Jean, 70, first tried out a Travelodge hotel while visiting a sick aunt in 1985 -- and were instantly hooked.

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"We get great rates because we book well in advance and we even have our own personal housekeeper. All our bed linen is laundered, too. It doesn't get much better than that, does it?" said former Royal Navy sailor David Davidson. The couple have spent around 100,000 pounds (200,000 dollars, 150,000 euros) renting rooms which cost them as little as 15 pounds (30 dollars, 22 euros) a night.

The motel is renaming their room The Davidsons' Suite and mounting a plaque in the reception to mark their 10-year anniversary. The couple, who initially lived in a Travelodge in nearby Newark before moving in 1997, have kept their old flat in Sheffield, northern England, and return every fortnight to collect the post.

The Davidsons exchange Christmas presents with the staff, dine out at a roadside eaterie across the car park and watch the traffic go by.

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"We do have to be a bit choosy about what we keep in our room as it can fill up easily." His wife added: "We don't get hit with huge heating bills over the winter and its safer than a lot of places these days."

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But their room rates are "not more than many people's mortgage payments, the housework is done for them and they do not pay utility bills. What's not to like?""

[orleans]

1. something rather sad about this. but as long as they're happy.

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

[SoCalDem]

2. They don't seem poor.. They have kept their flat

They sound like frail people who just live simply, and like being taken care of..

Lucky for them,,once they can no longer do it, they have a decent health care system and social safety net..

they may not have any children to help them..and they have adopted the staff at the Travelodge :)

[TreasonousBastard]

3. I lived in two motels for three years while...

I was broke, then while I was socking money away. One place even had a kitchenette.

Everything they say is true. And, there's a bult in neighborhood there amongst the other frequent and permanent guests.

[SoCalDem]

4. As Las Vegas overbuilt, many of the smaller motels went to monthly

It's cheaper than apartments, and if one is single, with few possessions, I can see how it might be easier too :)..

if you stayed long enough, you could probably work out a deal for your personal laundry to be done there as well..and some places actually have laundry rooms, exercise rooms, pools.. if the price is right, why not ?

[MadHound]

5. Seems to work well for them,

But frankly, after living out here in the country I couldn't bear to be around that kind of traffic and concrete jungle all the time.

Besides, by the time I'm retired, I will have my house paid off, a wind turbine providing electricity, heat from a woodstove, and my own gardens and orchards full of veggies, fruit and various niche crops. My out of pocket costs will be very, very little.

[MisterHowdy]

6. your retirement home sounds like my dream-home

Self-sufficiency is king.

sadly, i don't think i will ever be able to afford my own home.
n/t