In March of 2020, when the first signs of COVID-19 pandemic started to evolve into something much more significant, the majority of the US workforce (well, not just the US, but across the world) started working remotely to avoid exposure to the virus. I was not one of them. In fact, my job in hospital operations just got bigger as I led the Incident Command Center meetings trying to figure out how to protect our staff and patients. In 2021, I resigned my position and switched to another role in operations, this time in veterinary emergency hospital. While the workload was not as high, this was another ER hospital with odd hours.
In mid-2021, just a few months into my new position managing a veterinary hospital, I saw an article in one of the news aggregators "Live Anywhere on Airbnb". I got curious and opened it. This was the first time when the idea of living anywhere while working remotely genuinely became an idea in my head.
I applied to this opportunity, but soon got a notification that I was not one of the winners. Disappointed, but with still the thought in my head that this is a possibility, I started looking for ways to get a remote position. I expressed my desire to relocate from California due to the high cost of living to my manager and told him I would be interested in any roles that are remote within our corporation which did not require regular travel for work. The reason was that I have a cat who is medically compromised.
My cat was diagnosed with feline hyperesthesia syndrome when he was only 2 years old. He is now 13 years old and requires medication to be given twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, to manage his symptoms. He is doing well, but every time I travel, I need to find a pet sitter for him to stay overnight.
I soon was told my my manager that the position I was interested in was open and after a series of interviews, I was offered a remote job with 10-15% travel. I was ecstatic! At this point, I had no ambition to live in Airbnb, but simply to relocate to Tennessee and rent an apartment.
Two months later in December 2021, I got rid of all of my furniture, packed my things in twelve 50 lbs. Home Depot medium boxes, shipped them across the country with FedEx and drove 5 days to my new residence in Knoxville, TN with a fully stuffed Honda Civic and a screaming cat in the back seat under more stuff.
The apartment I subleased was new, but as with many new buildings the construction was just not the same - thin walls and noisy neighbors! I could not wait to get out of there, and after just 3 months I started thinking about my recently forgotten dream - living in Airbnb full-time.
My lease was ending at the end of May 2022, so after some serious soul searching and deliberation, I started my research of listings. Where did I want to go? Where would I forward my mail? How does it work with residency? How would my cat deal with moving constantly? So many questions...
I decided I would have to stay a month at a time (or 28 days) to be able to get a monthly discount that many hosts offer. It also allowed me to truly get to know the area and would not be as stressful on my cat as moving every few weeks. I settled on my first stay in Greensboro, NC renting a studio above someone's garage. After a bit more research two other listings peaked my interest and were also booked. I could not believe I was actually going to do that! I now had to start planning... Nah, not just yet, still have plenty of time.
In mid-February of 2021, I expressed my interest to move out to the property manager who later sent me contact information for a lady who was looking for a rental unit. We texted back and forth. I was not mentally ready to move out, but knew that she needed to move in sooner rather than later. We agreed on mid-March. Mid-March??? Was I crazy??? I needed to find an Airbnb starting in mid-March!!! I started looking and quickly made my decision on the property in Southern Kentucky I previously researched followed by a rental in Tennessee. I booked both. I was moving...
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