I Lived On Airbnb For A Year, And This Is What Happened

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In recent months, I’ve stayed in over 40 Airbnbs in 20 cities. I’ve connected with many extraordinary people and had one of the most successful business years to date.

I’ve been exploring and testing methods to design a paradigm that supports my ideal lifestyle, rather than relying on default societal constructs.

It’s been an adventure of streamlining and optimizing life and business to create more time and the flexibility to work from anywhere. Here’s my story….

I started this journey somewhat by accident. Less than a year ago, I was living in Venice Beach, CA. I had achieved a certain level of the success I had been striving for—my company established in multiple cities, high-end clients, a loft near the beach, cars, etc. However, I was beginning to feel that I was painting myself into a corner and not living my fullest potential. This left me feeling generally stressed, unfulfilled and not really in control of the most precious non-renewable resource: TIME.

While waiting for a new lease to become available, I used Airbnb to explore some new neighborhoods. I happened upon some incredible places, some of which were sprawling estates nestled in the hills of LA. I realized I could just as easily (and less expensively) live between a few favorite places rather than subscribing to a single-residence ideology.

I began venturing further afield, heading up the coast for extended periods to San Francisco and Portland, taking advantage of my newfound flexibility. I could choose to stay in a place for two weeks or two days. I was able to spend more time connecting with colleagues and expanding my network while continuing to refine this virtual lifestyle. That’s when I decided to redesign my paradigm, and explore the full potential of this lifestyle experiment.

I leveraged services like Upwork.com to outsource financial and administrative responsibilities. I let go of my largest office in exchange for a much smaller space limited to essential staff only. I ditched my small car collection and started only using Uber – saving me not only a lot of time but also money! All of these changes allowed for much more time, flexibility and freedom.

So far I’ve stayed in over 40 Airbnbs and I’ve had an amazing journey traveling between 20 cities.

I’ve also saved a ridiculous amount of money and freed up much of my time along the way. Living on airbnb requires the right temperament of course, but it’s changed my life so drastically I would find it hard to go back.

I’m not saying everyone should pack up their bags, quit their jobs and move to Thailand tomorrow – that’s not what this is about. But allowing yourself to test the social paradigms and try simpler life may just lead to that little bit of happiness we’re all striving for.