Lots of people end up having to work away from home for anything from a day or two through to several weeks or even months and years. You may be a consultant or contractor working on a client site, on secondment to another organisation or working at another site within your own organisation.
If you are going somewhere for a day or so, hotels or Bed and Breakfasts (sometimes referred to as B & Bs) are probably your best bet for accommodation, and if you get it wrong, it is only a day or two. If you are staying longer, it is worth giving a bit more thought and doing some research about where to stay. It will make a huge difference as to how much you enjoy, or not, your time away from home.
These periods can be great fun: you can make new friends, get to know a new town or city and simply learn more about the world. Get it wrong, and it can be a horrible time - miserable stuck in grotty lodgings being bored, uncomfortable and homesick.
As with most things in life, the old Boy Scouts motto of Be Prepared is worth following. Do as much research as you can as early as possible. A few obvious things to find out are:
where you will be based and the hours you are likely to work;
what the area has to offer;
what you will have to pay for and what someone else will pay for.
Consider what matters to you:
Your family situation: would you like family to come and visit?
Your interests: what facilities do you want: internet access, gym, cooking facilities or meals prepared?
How much will you want to travel in the area you are staying: will you have a car? what are the public transport facilities?
Your have several options.
Hotels tend to be best for shorter stays and when you are with others. But, they can be expensive and rather impersonal. Most people get fed up with even the best hotels after a week or so alone in them.
Bed & breakfast establishments and Guest Houses are similar to hotels, but often a cheaper and more personal option. Like hotels they can feel constrictive after a week or so alone when you do not have access to a living room, or the facilities to make your favourite food in your own way
Self-catering or holiday accommodation (sometimes called vacation rentals) works very well for stays of anything from a week up to a few months. Whilst you will not usually get your breakfast prepared, you do have many more of the comforts of home: TV/DVD player, your own kitchen and cooking facilities, and separate living and sleeping areas. Importantly, if you travel home at times and keep the property, you can leave your working clothes and other stuff in the property. A huge bonus can be having family or friends come to stay for some of the time. It is normal for the cost of the accommodation to include council tax, utility bills and internet access. You can often arrange to have weekly or more frequent servicing of the property and sometimes this will be included in the quoted rates.
Rented accommodation is most practical for stays of 6 months or more. It becomes your home away from home, with many of the same advantages of the self-catering accommodation but you have a longer commitment and more responsibilities. In this case you take out a lease and have responsibility for bills like power, communications and council tax. It can take a little while to find the right place as it is normal to view properties before taking the lease and landlords will normally want to take references. A good option is to take out a short term accommodation as described above for a few weeks, to let you get to know an area and to look around before you commit yourself to a lease of 6 months or more.
Author : Janet Unsworth. Janet is a partner in Edinburgh Flats Partnership which provides short term self-catering accommodation. Edinburgh Flats Partnerships provides a range through from budget to luxury self-catering accommodation which can be booked for anything from a few days to a few months. You can see the properties with photographs, their location, prices and availability at www.edinburgh-flats.com where you can book on-line. If you'd like more information, call Janet on 044 789 420 5600.
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