Member Spotlight: Paul and Karen Hannigan

This couple nails it in the travel department. They use ThirdHome to travel over half of the year to homes all around the world. While in semi-retirement, this couple travels together and with their family to incredible ThirdHome member properties in popular destinations. Paul and Karen Hannigan’s travels have included St. Maarten, Anguilla, California and France. Read below to learn about ThirdHome members Paul and Karen Hannigan!

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH  ThirdHome?

We were approached by ThirdHome early on about listing our home. At the time we did not dream we would use ThirdHome to the extent we have. Now being retired we travel 50% of the year. Many locations are decided because of ThirdHome properties and their availability.

WHERE ARE YOU BASED?

We are based on the island of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts. This is where we raised our family and it will always be home to us.

WHO DO YOU USUALLY TRAVEL WITH?

We travel often with family and friends or just the two of us. Several long trips we have had friends come and go for different parts of an extended trip. Being semi-retired, we can go off for multi month trips and then meet up with family for one part or friends for another. We tend to block together multiple locations when we travel with ThirdHome. Last year we did 6 weeks roaming around France. Our largest group during that trip was when 10 of us stayed at the spectacular Chateau De Monferrier in the Dordogne and it ended with just the two of us on a private river barge on the River Seine.

We own Seagull Realty on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard. We also own and manage vacation homes again on the island of Martha’s Vineyard.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT ThirdHome?

We love the comfort and flexibility it gives us when traveling and the ability to commit our Vineyard Compound as a value to book other quality properties all over the world. We are not planned tour travelers. We like to plunk down in different locations and get out and explore on our own. Using ThirdHome allows us to dive more into local culture and really get out and explore areas at our own pace or within our own very specific interests.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE TRAVEL HOBBIES?

Some of our favorite activities while traveling include photography and crossing museums off of our list, where we have the opportunity to view famous pieces of art. We also enjoy finding local music, cooking classes, wine tours, searching out places that are unique or not on your classic tourist list.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CITY YOU’VE TRAVELED TO WITH ThirdHome AND WHAT DID YOU LOVE ABOUT IT?

We have booked over 35 ThirdHome vacations. Too many amazing trips to choose just one. Different time of the year we do different types of vacations. Winter when it is cold and gray in New England we tend to head to warm and sunny places. Our favorite Carribbean location is Frangipani on Anguilla. Another favorite is the island of Kauai up on the Napali Coast.

In Europe we have loved Sunday House in Cornwall and Fox End in The Cotswolds. France has given us several different Apartments in Paris: Rue de Seine, Passy – Trocadero and Saxe Breteuil, and amazing homes in the country – Chateau de Monferrier, which was outstanding and the perched village in Venasque, which was beyond charming.

WHAT’S THE NEXT DESTINATION YOU ARE EYEING WITH ThirdHome?

We have a multi ThirdHome booking coming up in September starting at Villa Boomerang on Lake Orta, in Italy, then making our way over to Cinque Terre. Followed by Tuscany for two weeks then hopping over to Northern Croatia to ThirdHome Villa Tramontana. Then off to the Island of Brac to Villa Rosemarine, then down to Dubrovnik, followed by Montenegro and ending in Rome, where we still hope to secure a ThirdHome exchange. We often stay in B&B’s in between ThirdHome bookings as we connect the dots from location to location.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT YOUR ThirdHome?

Martha’s Vineyard is the center of my being.  It is home in every way.  Our house was designed to be where all our grown children and their children come to catch up, rejuvenate and make memories.  Our compound allows lots of little one full of wild ruckus and perfect for summer days playing outside in open fields or building forts and fairy gardens in the perennial beds.  It was designed to be a base for what we call Cousins Week.  It has lots of nooks and crannies inside and out so when every bed in the house is full you never feel crowded or lack a quiet corner to just sit and read a book.  Our home reflects years of celebrating with friends and family.

ANY PERSONAL OR FAMILY ACHIEVEMENTS YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?

Our proudest and best achievement has been raising our three children to adulthood and now being grandparents to 8 grandchildren ages 1-16. Showing them the world and exposing them to different cultures has been a great gift for all of us.

Thank you ThirdHome for opening so many wonderful doors for us!