Avoid High Rent By Living In Airbnbs.

Huh, did you say live in an Airbnb?

Yes… yes, I did.

It is totally possible - I've been living out of Airbnbs since early 2018. During that time, I've called over 35 places, my home. The first year I moved around a LOT but now I've adapted to the lifestyle of slow travel.

What's 'slow travel' you ask?

This way of travelling allows me to travel slowly. Moving around every 2 to 3 months means I am able to embrace the culture, people, food and lifestyle of the place I am visiting.

I get to feel like a local, get my bearings of the city and totally immerse myself. I've found this way of living to be way better than a fleeting visit and not really getting to experience a place to its fullest!

Anyway, we digress - back to living out of Airbnbs instead of paying rent.

The first question I often get but "where are all your things?"

I pack light. I don't need "things".

Over the years I've learnt to pack light and live a minimalistic lifestyle. Anything that I can't travel with or things that may have some sort of sentimental value I leave at my parent's house (I am very thankful for this)and everything comes with me - so as you can imagine, I don't own a lot of "things".

If you're considering this lifestyle and don't have the option to leave belongings with family then you could consider renting a cheap storage unit, selling things online and or donating your stuff to charity - there are plenty of options so no need for you to hold back.

Living out of Airbnbs gives me the freedom and flexibility to 'live' in so many different places throughout the world; in fact, I can go anywhere in the entire world and call that place my home - it has and likely always will be, my dream way of living.

Thinking back to when I was debating the nomadic lifestyle, I always had a thought in the back of my mind that maybe one day the freedom and constant changes would be something I may not enjoy. Maybe I'd crave a more 'traditional' way of living - let's see how it goes. Skip forward in time to now and the idea of living in the same place, paying rent or a mortgage, the stability, the same routine and the same home comforts is not something I am missing.

Nothing has changed. Living out of Airbnbs, being on the move and having a constant flow of adventure is truly amazing.

It's a lifestyle I love.

For me, aside from learning or should I say attempting to learn the local language, the best part about being somewhere new is navigating through the local supermarkets. I love finding, trying and cooking local ingredients - and I said before, totally immersing myself in the culture.

I love taking part in a cooking class with the locals, I feel this way I am able to really learn what life is all about in that particular place.

Living this lifestyle gives me the opportunity to be wherever I want. If I fall in love with a place and don't want to leave then it's easy for me to extend my stay (providing I adhere to the local visa laws). I don't have any commitments or rental agreements forcing me to be in one place nor with a need to ever go back "home".

Finding home comforts in your temporary home is something to get used to over time. At first, I used to worry about not feeling comfortable in someone else's space as much as I ever would in my own home.

After a few days in a new Airbnb, I start to feel at home. I've got my own spot on the sofa, the same place at the dining table and when returning back from a day of adventure the feeling of "and relax, I'm home" is there.

Outside of the freedom and flexibility, there's also a huge cost saving associated with living this way. Of course, this will depend on where you're currently living vs where you want to travel to but for me, so far it's worked out way better financially.

Prior to my nomadic way of living, I spent 8 years living in London. As you can imagine, the rent is way higher in London than renting in Europe or Asia throughout the year.

Planning is required here. Searching for an Airbnb in the height of the summer, in somewhere like Italy is of course going to be expensive - because plenty of tourists will also be wanting to visit at the same time.

It's important to be aware of the countries high seasons throughout the year.

When allowing for flexibility on dates, location and time of year then it'll definitely be cheaper than living and paying rent in London or any other popular city.

You'll often find Airbnbs offering discounts for long-term stays - especially when it's outside of the countries peak season. I've signed up for the free newsletter by RemoteBase.co as they share highly discounted accommodation deals for long-term nomad stays.

I've been living this way since 2018 and people still think I'm crazy.

Yes my family ask me regularly "when are you going to settle down?" and my friends tell me "oh, you'll get tired of it one day" but what's it to them - it's my life and YOLO (you only live once).

As for YOLO - it's not true, we live every day but we only die once.

So we should live every day as if it's our last.

Lifes too short to wait and wonder "what if"… just do it.

YOUR TIME IS NOW.

If you're on the fence, wondering if you could live this lifestyle, give it a try - you won't look back. I can tell you now, it's the best decision I've ever made.

Would you ever consider living out of Airbnbs full-time?