This article was originally published exactly 5 years ago (2014). It was my very first blog post.  Today, I am writing a book about my hotel lifestyle!   – Libby February 25, 2019

Growing up in the U.S., the system taught me that I should want to own a house, a car, and “things.”  The system said I should spend most of my adult life working, and that my free time should be spent buying things and participating in one of the government-approved pastimes (such as watching sports or TV). I lived that life for a while. However, the best times in my life have been when I was travelling: experiencing new places, cultures, food, and ideas, interacting with a variety of interesting people, and gaining new perspectives.

While raising my wonderful daughter, I lived in 4 countries: U.S., Canada, UK, and the Netherlands. Now that my daughter is in university, I have a career as an IT consultant. When I traveled for work, my living expenses were paid for by the company. These days I work remotely from my hotel. My husband travels with me.

I don’t own a home, a car, furniture, nor any other products, except for one suitcase with my favorite clothes and a few toiletries.

I don’t pay utility bills. I don’t sit on the phone for hours dealing with utility companies.

I don’t own furniture, cleaning supplies, appliances, computer equipment, art, or knick knacks. I don’t run errands. I don’t do chores.

I don’t pay for home insurance, home improvements, gasoline, tolls, car insurance, parking, or speeding tickets.

If something I am using breaks, I tell someone, and they fix it…. without fees or hassles.

I am fortunate to sleep on a big comfortable bed with a roof over my head every night. I have access to clean water, temperature control, and a variety of food all the time. A housekeeper cleans up my messes and makes my bed daily. I can watch documentaries or Netflix, usually via a large flat screen TV anytime I want. I have free access to workout facilities and swimming pools. I

I often even have free transportation via a hotel shuttle.

Now most of my time is truly free, and most of my income stays mine. I feel very fortunate to have this wonderful lifestyle. It’s far from living the “American dream,” but it enables more freedom to travel and focus on non-material things.