More Than Money: Our Holiday Home

I’m excited this morning! Why the excitement, you may ask? It stems from the fact that, for the very first time, my wife Suzie and I are decamping to our holiday home in Portballintrae, a small coastal village on the North Coast of Ireland, for the next three months. This is only possible because we’re now both retired, allowing us to fully utilize the home we purchased six years ago. As we’ve been organizing for departure, I’ve been thinking… again!

While we absolutely know what a privileged position we’re in to even have a second home, I’ve been pondering whether the opportunity cost of handing over a large quantity of cash to purchase it has truly been worth it. I could have put that money to work in one of my Vanguard accounts and seen a very healthy return these last six years; my Vanguard global tracker has had over 75% return in that time frame, far exceeding property growth! Up to now, we’ve probably only used it, on average, 40 days per year. It was a significant investment, not just in the initial outlay but also in the continual expenses like maintenance and utilities, which can feel like a drain.

But the memories and enjoyment we’ve taken from those precious 240 days of use during the last six years have been priceless. We’ve had so many wonderful walks along the wild Atlantic coast and cliffs, reveled in the stunning scenery, and sampled the lovely restaurants in the area. A simple example: a lovely walk to “The Nook” Restaurant right beside the Giant’s Causeway, where we sit outside having cream tea with a pint of Guinness while watching all the foreign tourists disembark from their coaches. We love speculating about their life stories and commenting on their dress style. We’ve also hosted numerous fun and memorable BBQs with visiting friends, burnt steaks optional! Most importantly, it’s provided a much-needed decompression from our normal busy lives. Drifting to sleep with the roar of the waves after a busy day provides the best sleep I ever experience.

We’ve also enjoyed our times with the grandchildren staying over; their favorite thing is sand tobogganing on the high dunes overlooking White Rock Beach—they think it’s such an adventure! Plus, we’ve had the ability to loan our home to family when the cost of paying for accommodation would mean them going without a short break. On balance, I think these invaluable human experiences make it an easy question to answer… for me, yes, it was definitely worth the purchase!

I’m going to be happily busy the next few months, hopefully I will get time to post a few articles, maybe even an update on how our adventure is going…..Oh, and did I mention there’s a lovely little harbour bar within 5 minutes’ walk of our home? Nice Guinness there too!