39 Days Out: We Booked an AirBnB

Under 40 days to go now..!

Today, I narrowed down to 7 short-term rental homes. Our parameters were pretty basic; we wanted to be closer to the airport (6AM international flight, 3 cats to wrangle), have at least 2 bedrooms/2 baths, and not be $5,000 for 16 days. While our home is scheduled to close 14 days before we fly out, we budgeted to "move in" 3 days before closing, as our goods should be on a truck 2 days before that. This way, we're not sleeping on the floor of our empty home for the last few days. How depressing would that be..?!

None of the "pet friendly" options really blew my skirt up, there were pros and cons to all seven of the homes/condos. I showed them all to Nathan after he finished work and we quickly eliminated five, mostly based on sketchiness of the area.

There was a super-cute condo, but it had no outdoor space (not huge, seeing as we'll be in the hellpit of summer when we're there) and the owner only wanted 1 dog as the pet. I did reach out and she was willing to work with us, since she also owns cats, if we did some extra prep work. I figured that might be the case for a longer rental in the pit of, "low season" for Phoenix.

The other contender was a 3 bed, 2 bath freestanding home with a very cool back yard with games and a hot tub, no pet restrictions - no questions asked.

The price delta was only about $250, so to have an extra bedroom, a yard, a hot tub...we ended up selecting the home.

I am certain after loading up the trailer/container, Nathan will be incredibly grateful for the hot tub! He has always wanted one. 

The home is in South Scottsdale, so it will be very easy to hop on the 202 and get to the airport. With 3 bedrooms, that allows us to invite my in-laws to stay the night before our flight, since they will be our drivers. Our sons can stay in one bedroom that has two twin beds. The consolidation of people should hopefully streamline the process of getting up and to the airport before the sun rises.

One more item can be checked off my list now! I had reached, "analysis paralysis" in scrutinizing the options. I'm relieved to have a destination booked for our limbo time.