Back in Ocean City, Maryland for the whole month using Airbnb again: Found a really good condo for under $900!

 

Ocean City boardwalk 

The last time we were in Ocean City Maryland, staying for a month using AirBnB, was in October of 2020.  My wife and I had retired two months prior, and we were still trying to figure out what to make of this thing called early retirement.

We had several questions running through our heads at the time: 

• Did we do the right thing to retire early at ages of 48(myself) and 52 (my wife)?
• How will the concepts of FIRE (financial independence retire early) work in retirement?
• Do we have enough money to last our early retirement and beyond?
• How will we adapt to living without having a permanent home to call our own?
• Will we enjoy constant traveling?
• How will our fur baby, Toby, deal with all this?
• Was embracing minimalism a bad idea?
• And so on…

I still remember checking into our very first AirBnB rental in Ocean City, a tiny 3rd floor walk up condo with incredibly narrow stairs, and wondering what the hell did we get ourselves into???  Toby, our cute furry Pomeranian, always communicating through his eyes and with his body language, stared at us showing his displeasure at this new situation and asking, “Mom, dad, are we broke?”

As bad as the condo was, we still managed to make it work by cleaning the place and airing it out.  After that, we adapted to it and our new reality of early retirement.  We started to enjoy Ocean City and we did that by taking daily walks around the neighborhood, walking along the beach, seeing beautiful sunsets, riding bicycles on the boardwalk, and running on the boardwalk.  

Toby was our constant companion during most of those activities mentioned above, and we certainly made some great memories there…

It would take another 3+ years for us to, again spend a month in Ocean City.  And the second time around, we would be doing it without our Toby, as he crossed the rainbow bridge few years ago.  

If there’s one thing that I learned about life is this:  Life will always change.  Either we adapt and live the best we can, or we perish.  

We, have certainly adapted since our baby’s passing.  We are enjoying our lives best as we possibly can.  

For our second trip to Ocean City via using AirBnB, we somehow got the same hosts as our first trip to Ocean City.  We were pleasantly surprised and our hosts actually remembered us.  How cool is that?

Luckily, for our second trip there, our condo was in much nicer condition.  It would have two bedrooms, a spacious living room, a kitchen with all the appliances, cookware, and utensils, and on the second floor.

The unit even had a nice view of the outside and if we looked carefully, we can just about make out the beautiful bay in the distance.  Not bad.

Prior to us booking this unit, we were still a bit hesitant to do another month long AirBnB rental.  The reason for that is because we were still getting over a sort of hangover from our last experience with AirBnB.  

We had stayed way back in August 2022 (our last AirBnB stay for a month), and it was not a good experience.  The rental unit only had a small air conditioner in one of the two bedrooms, and the place got hot even up in northern Vermont.

On top of that, we paid over $1800(!) for that AirBnB, which was one of the reasons why we started to look at hotels ever since then.  We felt $1800 for that unit was way over priced for what it offered, and we vowed not to use AirBnB unless there was a very compelling reason to do so.

Well, that vow didn’t last too long.  There was definitely a very compelling reason to use Airbnb again, and that reason was this:  We found this particular rental in Ocean City for under $900 for the month!

Price was the biggest reason why we got another AirBnB rental, but the unit’s condition and the location (about 4 blocks to the ocean) really helped cement our decision to go through with another month long AirBnB stay.  We were glad we did.

We arrived at the familiar city that is Ocean City, Maryland at around 3 o’clock on April 1st.  We found it oddly comforting to be back, only after 2 months.  *We had stayed at the excellent Hilton Garden Inn Oceanfront early February, enjoying the awesome ocean views.

By now, Ocean City felt almost like a second home.  We found the condo easy enough, located among one of the quieter streets near the bayside.  

We looked around our condo briefly to get our bearings, then we started our usual routine of unloading our luggage, carrying them to our rental, then unpacking.  The condo was on the second floor, but the walk up wasn’t too bad.  At least the stairs weren’t narrow like our first Airbnb unit back in 2020.

We opened the door to our condo and we instantly liked it.  Living room was large with a big sofa/loveseat, and the kitchen had mostly new appliances and kitchenwares.  

Living room

One of the two bedrooms 

Small, but functional bathroom

Kitchen 

Second bedroom 

We unpacked for the next hour or so, then finally relaxed, thankful that we had a roof over our heads, and then some.  At that fantastic price point, we really liked it.

As is our usual routine, we went grocery shopping at a nearby Aldi’s right outside of Ocean City (about a quick 10-15 minute drive), in a town called Berlin, Maryland the next day.  We really went nuts buying groceries enough for like 2 weeks!  What can I say?  I like my refrigerator to be full.

We would spend the month of April at this rental unit, thankful for lots of things including a place to call our own for the month, foods to eat, and a place to relax.  Relaxing is what we mostly did for the month.  It was quite a departure from our normal modus operandi where we would go outside exploring the area at least 2-3 times per week.

This time, we did lots of relaxing and not so much exploring.  After all, we did spend a month doing just that back in October 2020, and we no longer felt the need to explore (or revisit) the area.  

Despite that, we did manage to do few things during the month.  These are as follows:

• Walk on the Ocean City boardwalk 

We couldn’t pass up on the boardwalk.  It is after all, the most popular attraction in the city.  

We had walked almost everyday when we were here with Toby.  We didn’t quite do that this time around around, but we did go there at least twice a week.  

What’s not to like about seeing the wide open ocean with beautiful endless skies?  Oh, and watching humans, seagulls, shops and restaurants not too shabby either.  

View of Hilton Garden Inn Oceanfront where we stayed in February 

Ocean City, Maryland 

Relaxing on a beautiful day in April

• Assateague Island National Seashore 

We had first visited this fantastic national seashore when we lived in Pennsylvania, around 2007(!).  Ever since then, we had a fondness of this beautiful place where wild horses roam, where the seas are endless, and where the scenery is sublime.  

We visited here several times since that first visit, always marveling at the beauty of nature.  

It was no exception when we stayed the month of April in Ocean City.  At a driving time of roughly 40 minutes or so, we had to revisit it.

On this particular trip, we decided, finally, to do some hiking.  We found out there are several hiking trails there, so we took off on a fine looking morning, heading south.

We first stopped at the visitor center for a map of the trails, and for a quick pit stop.

We walked outside the visitor center to look at the views of the famous Verrazano Bridge and the bay.  Awesome views!

Verrazano Bridge on left with bay views 

We then headed to Life of the Dunes trail.  A short .8 mile loop trail that weaves through shrub thicket habitats, sand dunes, and remnants of an old, abandoned road, it was a perfect start to our hiking.

We passed through familiar scenery near any east coast beaches, but felt absolutely awesome to be smelling the briny, refreshing ocean breeze.  We started out under decent cover thanks to sparse vegetation, but shortly thereafter, we came upon wide open sandy areas with no shade.

Walking along the Life of the Dunes trail 

We followed the trail, seeing that abandoned road, making good progress towards the ocean.  We finally got to the section of the trail where it felt like we were at White Sands National Park!  It was awesome.

We took in some beautiful life giving breaths while enjoying the views all around us as we got to the ocean.  As is always the case, there’s something magical about seeing and experiencing the ocean.  

We’ve seen many, many beautiful beaches, and each time we’re thankful and happy to see them.  It’s like seeing an old trusted friend…

After few minutes of contemplation, we headed to the second trail: Life of the Forest.

At just half a mile loop trail, this trail was even shorter than our first trail.  It weaves through maritime forest and marshes.  What’s more, there’s even a boardwalk!

After parking, we found the beginning of the trail easy enough.  There was a very inviting boardwalk so we took it.

After few minutes, the views opened up to marshes with some magnificent tall trees.  Great, awesome views!

We got to the end of the boardwalk in no time, and we stayed awhile to enjoy the views.  On this side of the park, with marshes surrounding us, the area smelled very earthy.  Not a bad kind of smell, just similar to when the ground gets wet after a quick rainfall, and it smells the way it does.

We took in the experience of being out there with nature, smelling the air, listening to birds, and seeing the trees and the surroundings…Nice.

After few moments, we headed back to our Airbnb.  On our way out of the park, we ran across those cute wild horses!

Some were relaxing by the shade, while others were lazily grazing on the vegetation.  It’s always a treat to see these horses.  We even saw some babies!

In conclusion:

Ocean City will always be one of our so called “second homes”.  There’s something about the ocean, the boardwalk, and of course, the city itself.

Come summer, winter, or any season, it has things to do and see.  We always appreciate the relatively inexpensive lodging options available there (offseason), giving us the opportunity to spend some quality time there.

Ocean City has been our official go-to place especially since the last two years or so.  It feels good to revisit there, as we know what to expect.  It’s definitely a sort of homecoming each time we go there…

Thank you for reading and happy trails!

Jake

Wandering Money Pig

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