Three ways to get from Ohio (our base from Oct 10) to a DC home, fitting in Morocco, Thanksgiving, Mexico City for the birthdays, and Rob's SF weeks. Draft for discussion, updated Oct 3, 2026.
| 1 · Move Nov 9 | 2 · Move Nov 23 | 3 · Vermilion first, DC Nov 29 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extra cost vs. cheapest | ~$8kLease ~Dec 19 plus ~2 weeks of paid Airbnb, vs. ~Jan 15 | $0Lease ~Jan 15 | $0Lease ~Jan 15 |
| Moves | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Hours driving with Silvana | ~7½ | ~7½ | ~12 |
| Flight legs for Silvana | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Times we load and unload our stuff | 2Airbnb → home | 31 with a pod from Ohio | 31 with a pod from Ohio |
| House hunting before Mexico | ~2 weeksNov 23 – Dec 4, then time for a second try | 2 weeksDec 7 – 20, Rob in SF the first | ~1 weekDec 14 – 22 |
| Thanksgiving | DCLaurie goes alone | DCLaurie goes alone | VermilionOn the way to DC |
| Optional: round trip to Vermilion from DC | +2 moves+~15h driving; Wed 25–Sun 29 out of the search | +2 moves+~15h driving; Wed 25–Sun 29 out of the search | —Already there |
Extra cost is rent at $5,000 a month plus Airbnb nights beyond the 4 free weeks at $300 a night. Each option assumes the first two weeks in DC are for choosing a neighborhood, then house hunting there. Driving hours use ~7½h for Stewart or Vermilion to DC with Silvana, and ~4–5h for Stewart to Vermilion. Moves count each time the household packs up and sleeps somewhere new. Our stuff is about a U-Haul trailer's worth.
Each row is a week starting Monday. Colors show where the family sleeps each night; in travel weeks the cell reads left to right, Monday to Sunday, split by nights in each place. Vermilion is shown as Ohio.