

Airbnb Lifestyle: The Rise of the Hipster Nomad - grej
http://techcrunch.com/2014/10/03/airbnb-lifestyle-the-rise-of-the-hipster-nomad/

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paulhauggis
"Ownership is a pain. I honestly can’t imagine ever wanting to own a house.
Because I can’t stand the thought of having to deal with all the crap that
comes with owning such a large and expensive thing. Renting is so much more
convenient, and the fact is, I’m willing to pay for that convenience."

Yes, it's convenient..until your landlord raises your rent > 10% every year
and you have to move (multiple times in multiple years). When I rented, my
rent started out at $800/month and I had to leave when they raised it to
$1500/month (after 5 years of raises).

"Freelancers are kings. Freelancing is becoming a way of life, too. I’ve been
hearing from a lot of highly talented engineers, designers and product
managers recently who are going freelance by choice. Work is becoming much
more fluid, and workers have increasing control over when and where they work.
This makes them less tied down."

I freelanced for 3 years and traveled throughout Asia during this time. Yes,
you are less tied down, but when you require a stable (and fast) Internet
connection, your travel choices become limited.

The majority of companies want a meeting a couple of times/week, some over
Skype/Webex. Try this in a popular Internet cafe in Cambodia.

Freelance also isn't all that great. You are treated as a tool for companies
and are used, abused, and the first to be let go. I am much happier running my
own company.

"The royal we. Families are getting smaller. Many of us may never have kids or
get married at all. As family sizes shrink, there’s less incentive to settle
down."

I know plenty of people that say this in their 20s and now have 2 kids in
their 30s.

"Democratization of style. There is a convergence happening in aesthetic
style. We all basically like the same things, at approximately the same time.
But, what we like changes relatively quickly, according to the latest hipster
fashions. Ergo, borrowing is better for us than owning."

As I've gotten older, I tend to sacrifice fashion for convenience. Borrowing
gets tiring and is not nearly as convenient as owning.

