Courtesy of Stella Guan
- Designer Stella Guan, 33, felt burned by previous attempts at homeownership and long-term renting.
- She's now living out of two suitcases and staying in short-term rentals around Los Angeles.
- Guan says the "two ingredients" needed for this lifestyle are remote work and a love of travel.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Stella Guan, a 33-year-old designer, about her experience being a digital nomad living in short-term rentals after both owning a home and renting via traditional year-long leases. The essay has been edited for length and clarity.
In 2021, I bought a home in Los Angeles.
There are so many hidden financial aspects of homeownership. You have an idea, of course, but there are just so many costs. I had to spend $50,000 to fix the house, including asbestos and black mold. I had to resort to an iBuyer to sell the house quickly and get out, which meant I lost $100,000.
I'm my own boss. I have a design school called Path Unbound, where we teach UI/UX design. Most of our students are people who change their careers. I've been running it for four years now. I don't have to travel for that, but I choose to.
Around this time last year, I moved into a live/work space as I was focusing on a side hustle of designing furniture. It's very expensive in LA to have a showroom and a place to live at the same time, so it seemed like a good deal at $3,000 a month. There was a ventilation issue, however, and I had to leave.
It was the last straw. I thought, "This housing thing is just not working out." I packed up my two suitcases in two hours. That's how I've been living and plan to live ever since.
I never thought I'd live in a tiny home, but I'm in love with how cozy it feels
I've been following the tiny-home movement for a few years, always watching videos on YouTube. There's an account called Living Big in a Tiny House that I always found fascinating.
As a designer, I really appreciate how clever these small-space designs can be. I always just thought, 'That's a nice idea, but I'm not really into the RV lifestyle.'
I found a spot on Airbnb and moved in 10 days ago. This house is a tiny home on wheels, so technically it is an RV. You can actually tow it. I'm on the east side of LA in a neighborhood called Mount Washington. The owners have the house parked at the top of a hill, so I have a pretty amazing view of the city.
I pay $60 per night. At the end of the month, with fees included, it will be around $2,000. That's pretty on par with normal LA rent.
The biggest upside is that it is so cozy. People think of tiny homes and they think it'll be claustrophobic. But if you design it well, it's perfect. You don't really need that many things with you.
It's 390 square feet in total. The kitchen has been great — it's much bigger than many New York City kitchens I've seen. It has an induction cooktop and two really big windows for ventilation. When I cook, I make sure all the windows are open.
It's very easy to have friends over. There's an amazing outdoor patio with a barbecue and benches for everyone to enjoy.
Every day, I work on top of a foldable table that functions as the home's dining room table.
For someone who hasn't been in this lifestyle, there would be a learning curve. Storage would be the biggest issue, and potentially washing clothes. I bought a portable clothes dryer but it wasn't much more effective than a hair dryer. I tend to just hand wash everything every few days and let it hang dry outside.
For those who work remotely and love to travel, I say give it a try
With a tiny home, things are less permanent. You can leave quickly, and you can shop around.
If there's one month where I want to spend less on housing, I can look for a cheaper rental. If there's a place I'm dying to go, I can search for rentals there.
I'm staying here for 30 days, and then I have another Airbnb lined up on the west side of Los Angeles. It's not a tiny home, but an ADU. It's completely different, a midcentury-modern design completely made of glass and steel.
I've been to around 15 countries across Europe and Asia in my life. This year, I plan on visiting lots of countries in the Balkans, like Albania, Serbia, Bosnia, and Montenegro.
This is what I learned from traveling the world: I am very happy with my two suitcases. Two things anyone considering this lifestyle needs are packing cubes to keep everything together and a mini transformer for your different electronics.
Working remotely and loving to travel are really the two ingredients for this. If you're someone who's not comfortable with that much change, this could be very stressful.
If you're someone who is able to work remotely and someone who loves freedom, I think this is really the way to go. That way, you're not committed to something that may not work out in six months or 12 months.
I'm loving this whole situation, but I know not everyone would. It depends who you are.