Anyone move somewhere else and just live in AirBnBs? Is that crazy?

Thought I'd ask on here since some Beyonders are well travelled people, either for work or leisure.

I am getting real close to getting a work transfer to Vancouver.

Problem is...you guessed it, where to live?

Money is not so much of any issue (we're already priced out of actual houses but can still easily afford condos/townhouses) as the fact that we have 3 small dogs that we will not give up.

Anyways, so far we've only been able to find actual detached houses that will rent to us...townhomes usually have strata/bylaw rules that ban more than 2 dogs.

So, last night, I thought about AirBnb long term stays (private 1 bedroom suites with running water, kitchen, laundry, cottages, coach houses things like that). We'd be able to move around whenever we want and can live in some interesting places on the island too (my work will be WFH for a long while yet). And I also really want to start living without owning "stuff and things" (like furniture, tvs, kitchen stuff, etc), we'd just buy a vehicle there and bring our clothes and computers and anything else we'd normally bring on a holiday.

My question is more the legalities of it when it comes to things like healthcare and car insurance and what not, because if we do the AirBnb thing, for let's say years, are we technically considered "BC residents"? I'm sure there are a few things like that to think about and I'm hoping some Beyonders will know (we will be selling our house in Airdrie here and essentially cutting all ties and no longer have a permanent address in Alberta and if AirBnB, we won't have a permanent address in BC either, for mail, I was just going to rent a PO Box in Vancouver).

Check out /r/digitalnomad on Reddit. Lots of people float around for life

It's not crazy, but it seems really expensive. I think the treatment for long-term AirBnB stays would be the same as staying in rental properties where you have a landlord, but don't quote me on this.

seems not doable with WFH IMO, not all internet is equal.

I dont think you'd have much luck getting licenses/registration without a fixed address, they typically wont accept a PO box..

(If its all WFH why not just stay here?)

Reminds me of this guy I used to fly with when I was doing medevac in the Arctic. We did a 2/2week rotation. He kept a mailbox in Winnipeg, but he’d go on an all inclusive 2 week cruise for his days off. He could often get last minute deals for like $600-$800 which was cheaper than a months rent.

So the floating house idea didn't work out?

I worked with a guy who did rotation up north. Kept a cheap-ass apartment in Airidre, like a real run-down dump, but actually flew home to rural Nova Scotia or Mexico if he has more than 1 week off. Actual apartment was better than an apartment for him because he needed somewhere to store his gear, and he often needed one nights sleep near the airport anyway before flying home or back to work.

For actually working and needing internet good enough for routine video calls etc, I don't know if the "digital nomad" thing works that well. Particularly in a lce live Vancouver, where cheap isn't good and good isn't cheap.

Now if you could be anywhere with solid internet, heck yeah, scrounge cheap places in San Diego, Charleston, Denver, Portland for 12 months each and keep hopping.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nzwasp

So the floating house idea didn't work out?

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Wow, same person. Good catch.
Maybe he'll be an early adopter of life on Mars.

Not sure if the rules changed in Alberta but for 5ish years I had a po box on my license here in AB.

If you can get away with that in BC, that would be your best bet so you're a resident.