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I think I qualified (for a little while). I did this for 1.5 years from August 2020 to April 2022. I (and my partner) packed up 2.5 suitcases of clothes, 1 medium box of spices, 2 containers of miscellaneous things (including our extensive 6 set collection of Dominion -- card game) shoved it all into a Honda CR-V and hit the road. We stayed in Airbnbs or short-term furnished rentals for 4-6 weeks negotiating a rate with the lister most of the time (but sometimes the base host-set Airbnb monthly discount was pretty good) and usually went for 2-BR with good parking situation so we had a good work from home setup and peace of mind with our car (which we unpacked completely when we got to a new place). Our focus was to live in decent neighborhoods and get a place with a decent kitchen (we cooked a lot at home to keep costs down) with the apartment being more modern as a bonus as long as it didn't increase the cost. We also checked with each listing/landlord to ensure the internet was at least 50 mbps or better since both of us would be on video calls during the day. Key highlights:
- ~14,000 miles driven, few tire changes, 3 oil changes, 1 small accident but no other driving incidents
- 11 national parks - Yellowstone, Great Sand Dune, and Petrified Forest were my favorites
- Fave city: Denver (great outdoors, vibrant young city, growing, lots of sunshine, main con was lacking in world-class food which we were used to from SF)
- Surprise hit: Boise (great outdoors, cool Greenbelt river area, very relaxed feel)
- Sleepier than expected: Santa Fe (very much a retiree community, lots to see, but gets to be the same -- you can only see so much art before it blends together, and food is a bit of the same after a while -- red/green chile rocks, just can't get over how 50% of the restaurants in the town seemed to serve it) Overall:
- Really fun experience and I would highly recommend it to anyone who has the flexibility and can stand their partner OR be solo for a while
- If cost is the focus then you can go for cheaper accommodations at the cost of convenience, modern amenities, and "vibe" of being in the nicer neighborhoods/closer to the action
- Gets a little tiring exploring every city from scratch, not knowing a ton of people to build community around, what good places to go to/having a local spot etc. |