We’re Megan and Richard McCrea – the owners / your host(ess) at Southbound Stays. Technically, when we left Florida in 2013, we moved about 700+ miles North to TN but as Richard often likes to say, “we’re more in the South than we’ve ever been.” That little phrase was the inspiration for our name: Southbound Stays (formerly operating as Nashville Vacation Homes).
Our journey ‘Southbound’ began in 2012 after spending Valentine’s Day weekend in Nashville. Though I (Megan) had previously traveled to Nashville extensively, it was that visit that finally convinced Richard that Nashville was a place we could call home. We officially made the move to Nashville later that year. We called Nashville home until January, 2023 when we moved back to Florida to be by our families. Even though we officially live in Florida now, we are lucky enough to spend time between there and Nashville, TN and still call both places “home.”
Our hosting journey began in 2016 with our first rental home in Nashville, The Country Cottage – a small, 1920s home that needed quite a bit of love. My creative heart loved design, so it screamed “Yay! Project!” since the moment I laid eyes on it. As a bonus, it had a second guest house out back, known today as The Little House.
What began as a little project quickly became a fast-falling love affair: connecting with guests and sharing some good ole Southern hospitality. So much so that soon after our first home, we bought a nearby studio … and then another. In July, 2019 we added Lyric, a larger home in a neighboring Tennessee town called Leiper’s Fork. Finally, our dream to expand to Florida happened in July, 2022 when we added Lunar Beach Bungalow in Cocoa Beach. Today, we own and host 4 traditional vacation homes and 1 extended stay rental (for stays of 30-90 days) in the Middle Tennessee area and 1 vacation home and 1 extended stay (90+ days) in Cocoa Beach, FL.
You will always have direct access to us, the owners and host(ess) of any Southbound Stays home, especially when booking here on our website.
Whatever it is that brings you to Nashville, Leiper’s Fork or Cocoa Beach our homes are ready to welcome you for your time here. We are honored that you’re considering staying in one of our properties. We do hope that our homes will get to be a part of your Tennessee or Florida memories and your very own Southbound Stay.
If you have any questions about any of our rentals, we encourage you to contact us. You can also stay connected with us and our adventures, sign up for our emails and follow us on social media!
Megan & Richard McCrea
Why Our Properties
- We purposely selected our homes based on their amazing locations that we, ourselves frequent and trust.
- All of our homes are privately enjoyed and set up exclusively to welcome guests (ie we are not present in or at the home during your stay).
- We lovingly designed each home with intention to maximize the space and make sure everyone is comfortable during their time there.
- We made a list of things we wished we had during our own travels and put them in our homes to make traveling easier (like those nifty “forgot it” baskets). Visit our home standards and amenities page for full details.
- We allow dogs* at every one of our homes and even they get treats upon arrival (*added fee).
PS: If you visited us prior to 2019, you may notice our new name. Here’s a little history on that:
When we first began hosting, we operated under the name Nashville Vacation Homes. However, over the years we have noticed a shift as to why our guests are coming. Are guests still coming for vacation? Absolutely! However, we recognize that there are a variety of other reasons, too.
We heard from our guests that they’re coming for: work; scouting, recording and musical inspiration (that’s so Nashville and Leiper’s Fork, y’all); medical treatments and recoveries; visiting their children at one of our many universities; to work remotely; sabbatical; life’s happy moments like welcoming new babies; life’s sad moments like funerals or having a last getaway with loved ones; and some even temporary housing until they settle into their new city or homes. Sometimes, people are coming for a mix of many of these things. We also had dreams of expanding to Florida and wanted an all-encompassing name, too. ☺
For that reason, the name “Nashville Vacation Homes” simply no longer fit our guests nor our identity. One theme kept rising to the top… whatever it is that brings guests to our homes, they’re coming to STAY. In 2019, our new name, Southbound Stays was born but our same level of commitment to our guests has remained.
Affiliations
