Holiday renting: 'I love trying another house on for size'

For as long as I can remember, I have always been a serial holiday-house renter.

Think charming little shacks by the sea or the woods, not flashy luxe super-sized houses. Although mostly driven by affordability, I confess to loving the opportunity to try another house on for size.

What it’s like to live in a split-level house (great for clocking up your steps) or an apartment (everything at arm’s length makes life very convenient). A house on acreage (no one can hear me shrieking at the children) or an inner-city terrace (take-away food options expand ten fold) and a house with a deck (sublime but watch for splinters).

But I also wonder if part of the appeal of trying out a temporary house is the joy of returning to one’s old home afterwards.

2/7 Kalinga Road, Ocean Grove, Victoria
See photos of the listing here
Price: $850 per week

$775 pw

2/7 Kalinga Road, Ocean Grove VIC 3226

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The three-bedroom house faces Blue Waters Lake, which has abundant birdlife. Photo: Domain

Living in a world where it seems many of us want just a little bit more – money, space, tech, whizz bang features, the latest finishes – I find the notion of leaving your regular pad and residing somewhere else, even just for a week, can be life affirming.

It reminds me of that wonderful children’s book by Julia Donaldson, A Squash and A Squeeze. Ostensibly it’s about a lady who laments her house is not big enough and she needs more room (sound familiar!).

As a remedy, she’s told to fill her house. She does so to the point where the poor woman doesn’t have room to scratch herself. And then she has an epiphany: once she clears all the superfluous out of it she realises that her house is in fact not just ginormous, but absolutely perfect.

70 Christo Road, Georgetown, New South Wales
See photos of the listing here
Price: $695 per week

$695 per week

70 Christo Road, Georgetown NSW 2298

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The period property has character throughout and a backyard deck. Photo: Domain

And so it is that most holidays I take with my husband and children are to rentals with inevitably less of everything than we have at home in Melbourne. Teenagers need to share a room, one bathroom for all five of us and more often than not, a snip of a living room with a kitchen that is functional but basic.

We slide into that wonderful way of life where there’s no option but to have meals that are ridiculously simple, where no one can storm off to sulk because there’s nowhere to go and best of all, we all have to share and remember to wait our turn.

I love the purity and simplicity of it. And then, that lovely feeling when you go home; a hot shower! Carpet! An extra bedroom! A proper saucepan! Suddenly, home – your home – seems like the most wonderful and perfect place in the world.

6 Doolan Court, Noosaville, Queensland
See photos of the listing here
Price: $850 per week

$850.00

6 Doolan Court, Noosaville QLD 4566

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Trek the Noosa Tewantin State Forest at the back of the house or relax by the pool. Photo: Domain