Tom and I have been renting out the downstairs apartment in our house since June of last year, and it’s really been a wonderful experience so far. Our renters have been remarkably conscientious and have taken great care of our place. Plus, it’s been fun to meet people.
When we first started renting, I thought people would want privacy, and might even resent it if the ‘landlord’ dropped by, but that hasn’t been the case at all, in fact almost exactly the opposite. Most people have been happy to meet us, and sometimes take advantage of our experience in the Park to help plan their trip. This winter, we even had snowball fights and went sledding with one set of renters when a Sierra storm gave us all a snow day. That was a really fantastic day. Adult snow days come with shoveling in addition to a day off from work/school, but even so, they are an unexpected gift.
It’s such a good thing that Tom has such a naturally generous and outgoing nature. I think if it had been just me, I might have mistakenly hidden out upstairs trying to be inconspicuous instead of making the trip down to greet people.