Now finding accommodations is totally different from it was from 1996 to 2014. But for what it is worth, we were once asked how Dimitri performed his magic and found us the great digs we've had. In response, Dimitri wrote:
"Finding the right accommodations is tedious and time consuming but not impossible. It takes a lot of perseverance and patience to have the effort pay off. Lots of possible sources have to be investigated. We have found the best way for our style of traveling is to choose the accommodation after we arrive at a place and so we stay in some hotel for a few days when we first arrive. We try to identify various possibilities before we arrive and then visit those in person. Negotiations in person are usually better than over the Internet. We have a budget in mind for our search; recently it has been US$1500 - 2000 a month. [In 2014 we had to up the budget to 3000 - $4000 during our USA roadtrip. We think that Americans are spending money like water again. In 2021 we had to up the budget again.] Useful websites for our pre-arrival search are Homeaway, VRBO, craigslist and airbnb. Once we are at our destination, we look for local newspapers and websites and real estate agents to expand the search. Word of mouth and friends of friends also helps. Try all of these and some more of your own and something usually will work out. Good luck. Dimitri"
Dimitri typically spends an hour or more a day on the Web in the morning while Audre is making breakfast and doing her morning rituals. During this time he is doing research for our future travels and for making our traveling lifestyle more pleasant. In January 2014, Dimitri's "job" of finding accommodations for our winters skiing was eliminated. We bought a condo "to rent from ourselves" for our six months of skiing each winter (and which we'll keep for as long as our bodies permit us to ski.) Click here to read about our winter digs.
By the way, when we were in Vancouver in 2010 we found the Expat Blog site and found it helpful. Julien (Julien - expat-blog.com), who launched the Expat Blog site 7 years ago asked us for help in publicizing his new section on housing. Have a look it might help you! Click here or cut and paste this link into your browser: http://www.expat-blog.com/en/housing/north-america/canada/vancouver/ And click here to see how our blog looks on Expat Blog or cut and paste this link into your browser: http://www.expat-blog.com/en/blog/north-america/canada/vancouver/travelingloveaffair.blogspot.com