I can’t believe how fast time flies sometimes, I mean it's September already, yes, it is, I know I had to check that calender thing just a moment ago to make sure! This yeah seems to have shot by like a speeding bullet, well ok maybe not that fast cuz those bullets do go pretty fast, but you get the gist of my meaning, the crux of my matter? It seems like just other day when I was on the bus coming home from work in the rain thinking I needed a break, and now, well, I’m pretty damn close to starting one! Yes, my three month long escape from reality commences in just under a months time, I finish work at 8am on 01 Oct and don’t start back until 11pm on 5th January - freedom!
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I’ve surfed and searched and researched and hunted here and there and have come up with a short list of places to stay while I’m on hiatus, sabbatical, extended leave, holiday, career break, or whatever other fancy names you want to call it. I’ve done my homework, for example I know it would cost a grand more to stay in Melbourne for four weeks that it will to stay 9 weeks in Fort Lauderdale, I’ve found out that I have to wait till next spring to register for the charity cycle ride in the Andes and up the Inca trail. I can’t afford New York and I’d probably get bored to death on my own in Auckland for that long. So, with the help of a few kind friends, I’ve almost 101% decided it’s going to be Fort Lauderdale that plays host to little old Jason for this time away from reality! .
Now, all this searching, this research, this hunting has been good, but it’s left me with a pretty long short list - well you know how indecisive I can be! So, I want to ask for your hand in marriage - no, hold on that’s not right, sorry, getting carried away with the romance of it all, no what I really wanted to ask you, my lovely reader, is to have a peruse of the following on my short list and offer up your thoughts, choices or other such peals of wisdom. You’ll be doing me a huge favour, giving fate a hand and helping me make the most of my time and money, enabling me to finish the I'm writing or die of boredom in a roach-motel, with just a semi friendly rat for company - so no pressure then!
Here’s the long short list!
1) Cottages By The Ocean, Pompano Beach.Look like a nice studio, a block from Pompano beach, reasonable rates at just over two grand for a nine week stay, friendly owner too and well reviewed on TripAdvisor and the like!
2) Summerland Suites, Just a couple of blocks from Fort Lauderdale beach, simple, studios and suites, again good reviews, just under three thousand pounds to stay there for those nine weeks. Has a pool, looks very white, good location!
3) Essex House, Miami. Stylish n funky Essex House Hotel, on Miami Beach, in the heart of all the action and the vibrant life that is so SoFlo and SoBe. It's coming in at around £6500 for the long stay, but that includes breakfast! It's funky, but would I get any work done?
4) Premiere Hotel, Fort Lauderdale. Bright small hotel in Fort Lauderdale, with a pool, yet the beach is just a tiny stroll away, can see the sea from the pool and some of the rooms. It's coming in somewhere close to £2700 for the nine weeks give or take. Walking distance to a lot of things - which is kinda crucial for me!
5) Galt Villas Motel Fort Lauderdale. North end of the main area, small little motel with mixed reviews. Nice rate of around two and a half grand.
6) Blue Moon Hotel & Winter Haven Hotel. South Beach, Miami. Two very stylish mid range boutique hotels in the Art Deco area of famous South Beach. So vibrant and fun, yet not the cheapest place to vacation. The price for my duration not much over six grand, not included any food, drink, or other essentials like cheesecake!
7) Pompano Beach Condo. Pretty darn close to the water, in a little apartment / condo complex and recently had a refurb, about five mins away from Pompano beach. Good rate at not a lot more than three grand of the old pounds sterling. Looks nice, got a big TV! 
8) Casa Del Sol, A small private apartment building with a number of one bed apartments, a home from home on one of the water ways in Fort Lauderdale. They look nice, first is a one on the ground floor with a view over the pool area and to the waterway, £3100 for nine weeks would be the price tag come this October. Also on offer in this building is an apartment on the upper floor with great views, but I fear this may be just a tad over budget, coming in as it does in the $9000 mark!
9) Tide Vacation Apartments. On the beach in the Hollywood area of Greater Fort Lauderdale. It's on the broadwalk, which is like a prom on the front. It's in the heart of all the action, with stunning views which would set me back just over four and a half thousand for my vacation of nine weeks!
10) The Cocobelle Hotel Fort Lauderdale. A lovely small resort nestled next to some woodland just a couple of blocks from the beach. Rooms around the pool or a sweet little studio with it's own private courtyard. Could be ideal for getting some work done and more than just a touch of Florida sun! It's in the higher ranges of Fort Lauderdale prices at around £3500 for the nine weeks!
11) Villa Sinclair, Hollywod Beach, It's a rather small delightful elegant hotel resort on the Hollywood Beach boulevard, they offer apartments and beach studios along with a host of extra amenities and items, such as candles and coffee and smelly sticks! They even leave a welcome pineapple in your room upon arrival. I'd be going in one of the two beach studios, if we - I mean you and I, should choose that I stay here. After all, it's you that are giving fate a hand! It's coming out at around £3300 for the whole stay, and just like all the other rates, I've priced this including the local tax, but it's not including any food, drink or lifestyle expenses!
12) Liberty Suites. Dania Beach, Greater Fort Lauderdale. An exclusively gay male complex of apartments, in a residential area away from the beach, that's about a five minute drive away. Nice welcome email from Joe and Jack introduced me to all their resort has to offer and gave good food for thought as I plan this little writing adventure. The have a good sized pool by the look of things and as it's a gay male resort - clothing is optional - which sounds good - but possibly offer a few distractions from the writing! It's reasonably priced at just over two and half grand of the old pounds.
13) Carriage House Motel. Deerfield Beach. This is perhaps the most north of the places I've been looking at and considering for this adventure stateside. It's away from the busy life of Miami and Fort Lauderdale and an apartment with a pool view would set me back under £2400.
14) Ripetide Ocean Front Motel. Fort Lauderdale. Right on the boulevard at Hollywood Beach comes this little motel. It has a little Tiki bar, which seems to be so popular in this part of Florida, and this bar according to various websites is popular both with tourists, guests and locals - could that be a little noisy? Steps away from the beach is a big plus point, noise would be a downside once those creative juices start flowing, if indeed they do come surging in the sunshine, as one would hope they would.
15) Angelfish Inn. Fort Lauderdale. This is little inn / motel is just a few steps from Holywood Beach, at has a friendly homely little feel to it, well, judging by the website that it. It's one of the most reasonable of all the properties I've been looking at with a rate of around £1500 for the whole nine weeks of autumn sunshine. It's got a big building next door and then it's the beach and all the fun that has to offer.
16) Blue Lagoon, Fort Lauderdale. An L shaped hotel / motel with the rooms over looking the pool. It's a block or so away from the beach in the Hollywood area of Fort Lauderdale. Not a bad price, £1677 for the duration in an efficiency room. Though it has a highway to cross and then right over that is a big supermarket and then another road before you get to the beach.
17) Palm Plaza Resort, Fort Lauderdale, Another exclusively gay resort, but as they informed me in a short, curt, dismissive email 'they don't do long term rentals' - rather astoundingly - in this economic climate a business turning away money? But that's what they've done, all 6k of it!
18) Marine Villas, Fort Lauderdale. Back in the Hollywood area, just a stones throw from the beach lay these charming little apartments. They seem to have all the comforts of home, which lets face it when you're depositing yourself for nine weeks is a must. No pool, but do I swim much? Nope and besides, the ocean is just a tickle and pop away. With a price tag of £2600 for a studio or £3200 for an apartment, that's around £41 a night or £50 respectively. What do you think? Give fate a hand perhaps!
19) The Desoto Oceanview Inn & Oceanspray, Fort Lauderdale. Again it's a Hollywood Beach based property that's on my not so short short list. Just over two grand for a nice little studio with flowering plants around the door, not a block from the beach. For an apartment it'll be about three hundred more. Got a bit of room to work, which is after all partly what I'm there to do, write away and all that stuff. It's not in the heart of Hollywood, but offers use of bikes for free, saving about $60 a week.
20) Grenier's On The Beach. Fort Lauderdale. Don't worry, we're coming to the end of the long list, I mean short list. This small complex of apartments is slap bang in the middle of Hollywood beach area, about a half a block to the beach or the intercoastal waterway. The apartments, seem cute and little. It's about two grand for an efficiency room which has a little kitchenette, be a bit more for an apartment.
21) Shell Motel. Fort Lauderdale. Back to Fort Lauderdale for this little place, it's really reasonable in terms of costs, £1600 for a small double with a little kitchen and a half a block from the beach. Not far from a shopping mall, well less than half hour walk. Looks nice and clean and it's got a pool.
22) SeaDowns. Fort Lauderdale. Friendly informative emails told me of the studio on offer here for the duration, it's not the cheapest, but the building is right on the boulevard of Hollywood beach. All the usual things that one would need, bed, kitchen, little table, it's not an ocean view room, but on the ground floor and steps out on to the patio which is ocean front, so really is just steps from from the beach. It's coming in around £2500 for the nine weeks.
So that's about it, that is my short list, you should have seen the long list, I mean really, it was massive. So you fancy giving fate a hand? What do you suggest? Any idea? Oh, it's scary, but my fate is in your hands!!
10) The Cocobelle Hotel Fort Lauderdale. A lovely small resort nestled next to some woodland just a couple of blocks from the beach. Rooms around the pool or a sweet little studio with it's own private courtyard. Could be ideal for getting some work done and more than just a touch of Florida sun! It's in the higher ranges of Fort Lauderdale prices at around £3500 for the nine weeks! 11) Villa Sinclair, Hollywod Beach, It's a rather small delightful elegant hotel resort on the Hollywood Beach boulevard, they offer apartments and beach studios along with a host of extra amenities and items, such as candles and coffee and smelly sticks! They even leave a welcome pineapple in your room upon arrival. I'd be going in one of the two beach studios, if we - I mean you and I, should choose that I stay here. After all, it's you that are giving fate a hand! It's coming out at around £3300 for the whole stay, and just like all the other rates, I've priced this including the local tax, but it's not including any food, drink or lifestyle expenses!12) Liberty Suites. Dania Beach, Greater Fort Lauderdale. An exclusively gay male complex of apartments, in a residential area away from the beach, that's about a five minute drive away. Nice welcome email from Joe and Jack introduced me to all their resort has to offer and gave good food for thought as I plan this little writing adventure. The have a good sized pool by the look of things and as it's a gay male resort - clothing is optional - which sounds good - but possibly offer a few distractions from the writing! It's reasonably priced at just over two and half grand of the old pounds.13) Carriage House Motel. Deerfield Beach. This is perhaps the most north of the places I've been looking at and considering for this adventure stateside. It's away from the busy life of Miami and Fort Lauderdale and an apartment with a pool view would set me back under £2400.
15) Angelfish Inn. Fort Lauderdale. This is little inn / motel is just a few steps from Holywood Beach, at has a friendly homely little feel to it, well, judging by the website that it. It's one of the most reasonable of all the properties I've been looking at with a rate of around £1500 for the whole nine weeks of autumn sunshine. It's got a big building next door and then it's the beach and all the fun that has to offer.
16) Blue Lagoon, Fort Lauderdale. An L shaped hotel / motel with the rooms over looking the pool. It's a block or so away from the beach in the Hollywood area of Fort Lauderdale. Not a bad price, £1677 for the duration in an efficiency room. Though it has a highway to cross and then right over that is a big supermarket and then another road before you get to the beach.
17) Palm Plaza Resort, Fort Lauderdale, Another exclusively gay resort, but as they informed me in a short, curt, dismissive email 'they don't do long term rentals' - rather astoundingly - in this economic climate a business turning away money? But that's what they've done, all 6k of it!
19) The Desoto Oceanview Inn & Oceanspray, Fort Lauderdale. Again it's a Hollywood Beach based property that's on my not so short short list. Just over two grand for a nice little studio with flowering plants around the door, not a block from the beach. For an apartment it'll be about three hundred more. Got a bit of room to work, which is after all partly what I'm there to do, write away and all that stuff. It's not in the heart of Hollywood, but offers use of bikes for free, saving about $60 a week.20) Grenier's On The Beach. Fort Lauderdale. Don't worry, we're coming to the end of the long list, I mean short list. This small complex of apartments is slap bang in the middle of Hollywood beach area, about a half a block to the beach or the intercoastal waterway. The apartments, seem cute and little. It's about two grand for an efficiency room which has a little kitchenette, be a bit more for an apartment. 21) Shell Motel. Fort Lauderdale. Back to Fort Lauderdale for this little place, it's really reasonable in terms of costs, £1600 for a small double with a little kitchen and a half a block from the beach. Not far from a shopping mall, well less than half hour walk. Looks nice and clean and it's got a pool.
22) SeaDowns. Fort Lauderdale. Friendly informative emails told me of the studio on offer here for the duration, it's not the cheapest, but the building is right on the boulevard of Hollywood beach. All the usual things that one would need, bed, kitchen, little table, it's not an ocean view room, but on the ground floor and steps out on to the patio which is ocean front, so really is just steps from from the beach. It's coming in around £2500 for the nine weeks.
So that's about it, that is my short list, you should have seen the long list, I mean really, it was massive. So you fancy giving fate a hand? What do you suggest? Any idea? Oh, it's scary, but my fate is in your hands!!
© 2010 Copyright Jason Shaw
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