Somehow it’s been 2 years since my partner and I sold everything I owned and started living in Airbnbs. In that time we’ve lived in Airbnbs in these locations:
USA
- Seattle, Washington
- Maine
- New Jersey
- Connecticut
International
…and that was all during pandemic restrictions. Now we’re OFF THE LEASH 😉 . But before I get ahead of myself about all the exciting places I’ll be living in 2023, let’s look back and see what I learned during my second year as an Airbnb nomad.
No Settling In Needed
I mentioned in an earlier post (below), that originally, my partner and I had a rhythm – it took us about a week to settle into a monthly airbnb, 2 weeks to enjoy it and then 1 week to get everything ready to leave again.
Well, that was newb shit 🙂 . After the first year of this lifestyle, that timeline stopped existing. I can now walk into a new Airbnb, unzip my bag, pop on my slippers and immediately feel at home. No week to settle in and no need to prepare to leave. I think our record is packing everything in 15 minutes flat.
I’m not sure if this change was because we’re more used to this Airbnb nomad lifestyle now or because we’re used to a more fluid life in general, but I’m really happy that half the time in a monthly Airbnb is no longer spent settling in or prepping to leave.
Fancier, Pickier, Bougie-r
It’s basically my version of Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” 😉 . During our first year as nomads I made sure to check my budget and make sure we were on track throughout the year. If I booked a more pricey Airbnb in a high demand area or season I would make sure to balance that with a more affordable option in the future.
Well now that’s out the window 🙂 . I haven’t been watching my budget or limiting myself for at least a year, and now I don’t pick an Airbnb unless it’s beautiful – even if it’s a bit over-budget. And I find this hilarious because my original apartment was very nice, but not up to these new standards I have for the places we have been living in 😉 .
Less On A Budget
On a related note, I care less about my budget. Yes, I increase my spending goal each year with inflation, which has been about 7% the last 2 years, but just in general, I choose the Airbnb I like most and not the cheapest one that fits all my criteria below.
- Our own space (aka no shared apartments)
- 1 bedroom
- $2,000/month total ($1,000 per person)
- Full kitchen with microwave
- Washer/dryer
- Walkable to city center and grocery store
- AC/heat
- Fast Wifi
- Ideally a free standing house with outdoor space
This approach surprisingly hasn’t ruined my budget immediately, even when we’re consistently getting places with 2 or 3 bedrooms when we only need one. It’s fun to have the option to invite people to visit when we have the space. I also always book places that are right downtown instead of in a nearby, cheaper suburb. I love being able to walk out my door and be in the thick of things instead of hopping on public transit. My preferred method of exploration is walking, so that’s become a part of my criteria.
Another way I’ve surprised myself with putting other things before money, is not doing what I’ve heard other nomads suggest and dealing with Airbnb hosts off-platform for a better deal. A host in Montréal tried to offer me such a deal and I told him no thanks. The sketchiness of that, especially in another country, is not worth the bucks it would save to me. So I cancelled my booking with that host and found another one.
Basically, I’m surprising myself left and right. This was originally a finance blog about being frugal and watching my budget right? Maybe the years of watching my budget are so deeply ingrained that I don’t even notice it anymore because despite being off the leash, I’m trending to be on budget this year (instead of way under-budget like last year) 🙂 .
Booking Strategy Changes
My booking strategies have also changed in the second year of traveling, but it’s more as a result of learning more about myself and my partner, than optimization. Previously, I would book monthly Airbnbs 3 months in advance and up to 6, if it was a high demand area or time (like summer). I wrote a whole post about how I choose bookings here if that’s helpful:
However, I recently booked all of our 2023 lodging in January. I knew anchor points for our travel, such as weddings we’d promised to attend, and figured out where I wanted to go outside of that. I also learned that it’s easier to get my partner to sit down and make several travel decisions all at once instead of doing so every month, so lumping these things together feeds into my love of advanced planning and seems to work with his preferred decision-making cadence as well.
Staggered Payments
I mentioned this in the above post, but a relatively new option on Airbnb is staggered payments, which I find really helpful since I’ve started booking things so far in advance. Now instead of paying it all when I book a house, I put down a small portion of the cost as a deposit and pay the rest closer to my stay. It’s not always an option with all houses, but when it is, I use it. Wins all around!
Airbnb Hacks
Apparently there are all kinds of wild hacks for Airbnbs that I only know about because of all y’all awesome readers! One of them is that if you go to the Australian Airbnb site, it will show the actual total price instead of surprising you with extras of hundreds or thousands of dollars after you click ‘reserve.’ The reader who told me about this mentioned that this exists because Australia wouldn’t put up with Airbnb’s suspicious bullshit, and required them not to bait and switch people…What a concept 🙂 .
I also mentioned in my post about Airbnb comparisons above, that you can get airline miles by going through the airline’s Airbnb referral link like this one for Delta. I haven’t done this yet because I keep forgetting 🙂 , but it sounds like an amazing way to get extra points without extra work.
Another reader mentioned to me that she buys Airbnb gift cards through Amazon or Target at 5% off with an Amazon Prime card or Target red card. That’s too much work for my lazy self, but awesome to know another possibility! I’ve also heard that Sam’s Club is good place to buy discounted Airbnb gift cards – once again, I can’t confirm this myself so explore at your own risk!
Conclusion
And that’s what I learned in my second year of being an Airbnb nomad! Next up: exploring Airbnbs in more of the USA as well as Canada🇨🇦, Australia🇦🇺, New Zealand🇳🇿 and México🇲🇽. I’m excited to see what I learn in Year 3 🙂 .
What have you learned about housing in the last year?
Awesome stuff!
Sounds like you’ve got it down to an art form!
Im a newer reader. I’ve been reading the blog for the past few months and was curious if you still have a home base? Or is it completely the Airbnb life?
I’ve thought about trying this lifestyle in early retirement, and I was curious if you kept a place for extra financial security.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Haha – I try 🙂 . No home base for me right now. I don’t like the idea of owning a house and travel too much for a rental to make sense (since I don’t want to deal with subletting it or anything like that). I also personally think of a house I own as a financial liability instead of security – they’re unexpectedly expensive in a way rent isn’t 🙂 .
I thought I was the only one who did this! I’ve been a nomad for decades but always had a home base..but in 2020 just gave up my house and have 2 storage units in opposite sides of the world. like you, I need beauty and a good location (among other things). some friends think I’m crazy that I only live in airbnbs but I like my current system. so fun to know I’m not alone
That’s so cool!! You’re definitely not alone.
For month long stays ive discovered other short term rental sites, not nearly the same reach as airbnb but a more standard experience for bigger cities
– blueground
– hello landing
– zeus living
Oh cool! I’ll check those out. Have you used any of their services and if so, which did you like best?
I’ve been using Furnished FInder for the past 7 months (5 total rentals running through this fall), and while it takes a bit more vetting depending on who owns the property since you aren’t really backed by FF like you are AirBnb, it’s consistently less expensive and haven’t had any issues.
Interesting! What kind of vetting do you do for these? I flipped through a few and none of them had reviews.
Where in Canada will you be in 2023?
Montréal!
Montreal is an amazing city!! So much to do and explore!
After years of living there, my top three food recs are:
– Le Blueboy (Mont-Royal) for the best artisan frozen yogurt in unique flavours! I love the mojito one when they have it on their ever-changing menu
– Pâtisserie Au Kouign Amann (Mont-Royal) for the Kouign Amann aka the best buttery masterpiece!
– Mandy’s (multiple locations, the one in Westmount being my favourite) for the best salads! The Lumberjack salad is my fav!
I hope you enjoy your time there!!
Oh wow! Thank you so much for these recommendations – I’m saving them to my list.
You are very welcome! Happy to share more Montreal tips/recs as desired!
I’d love more! Feel free to email me here if it’s easier: Purple [at] apurplelife.com
Great! I just sent an email your way! ☺️
I used airbnb monthly for 7 years until just after pandemic and stopped using airbnb all together. because hosts slander reviews against long term guests and expect them to turn over property for next guest. It just became not fun and does not feel like home. I lost trust for hosts and Airbnb. stay in an Airbnb for a month or more , and expect the author of the review to bash you for any reason..
I’m sorry that happened to you. I’ve never had a host expect me to turn over a rental for someone else or bash me in reviews, but will be on the look out if that changes.
Similar! We sold our house and almost all our stuff right before Covid, planning to spend 6 months in Belize scuba diving, then figure out our next steps from there. Instead (since Belize was closed) we’ve done Airbnb’s and a few direct rentals in 11 countries since July 2020. The longest we’ve stayed anywhere was 7 months, the shortest was a week. Our “sweet” spot is about 3-4 months. We come back to the States a few times a year to resupply and do a few doctor/dentist appointments. So many people want us to adopt them 😉
That’s awesome!
I’ve been an Airbnb host for several years with 3 units. I usually stay in Airbnb homes as i like the comfort and ability to cook some of your own meals to save expenses. But, you are paying way too much. I travel internationally choosing cities and areas of interest and with a fair cost. During off seasons or for extended stays you can negotiate costs with reasonable reductions. For what you are paying a month I’ll be visiting Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Egypt and Greece including airfare and transportation costs. Next year it’ll be Amsterdam, Prague and a few months in the Canary Islands. Also a few other places I haven’t decided yet.
I’m glad that works for you. We like to keep our budget the same regardless of location, which allows us to have more luxuries in some places, such as México and Thailand. We don’t usually book places with our own pool and extra bedrooms, but we do in those countries for example. I’m not interested in negotiating costs personally. If it’s higher than I’m willing to pay I look elsewhere. Safe travels!
Other than not dealing with hosts off-platform, do you have any guidelines to find the trustworthy listings and avoid the scammy ones? Do you look for a minimum number of reviews or anything like that?
I’ve mostly had good experiences with Airbnb, but I’ve heard some horror stories, and that always makes me a bit nervous when I check in to a place I’ve never seen. I imagine the pressure is even greater when it’s where you’re planning to stay for a month.
Yeah – I only go to places with over 4/5 stars that have over 100 reviews. I hope that helps!
Curious as to why you turned down the option to pay off the site? I own a few airbnbs and it works great for BOTH parties since Airbnb doesn’t take a cut and you receive a lower rate. The job of the AirBnb owner is to block off those days in the system. Works every-time and works wonders when I travel internationally.
I prefer going through a platform because of the protections in place in case I don’t end up with a good host, such as getting refunds like in the event of covid or another Airbnb at no cost if the place is not as advertised. Saving money isn’t my main concern in retirement – ease and comfort is so I prefer going through Airbnb.