My husband and I left NYC for 2 years, ditched 90% of our stuff, and lived in 10 cities

When my boyfriend asked to move in with me in 2017, I said no. We’d been dating for a year, and both of our New York City leases were about to expire. We’d save so much money if we lived in just one place, he said. But I panicked. 

Our lives felt so boring. We were on track to follow the traditional relationship playbook. Next we’d get married, then we’d have kids, and before we knew it, our iron-clad routines would guide us straight to a retirement home.

Instead, I argued, we should do something different. We sold 90% of our belongings, stored the rest in his parents’ basement, and moved to a new city every month (sometimes staying longer and occasionally repeating a destination).

For two years, we found short-term rentals through Craigslist, Facebook groups, and Airbnb. We lived in 10 cities total, including Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, and Austin. 

Now we’re back in Brooklyn. We’re married and have a daughter. But the lessons we took from this adventure still inspire how we live today. 

I always placed sentimental value on my stuff. It was hard for me to give away clothes that no longer fit or get rid of books, letters, and other keepsakes. But in order to travel around the country easily, we each brought just one checked bag and one carry-on suitcase.

We packed up items like winter coats and family memorabilia and left them with my husband’s parents. The rest of our stuff we donated, tossed, or sold. 

It was hard in the moment to say goodbye to so much. Every now and then, I wished I still had an item or two of clothing that I gave away or a stack of birthday cards I’d tossed. But those feelings faded fast.

When we moved back to Brooklyn to start a family, I became an ultra-minimalist. I rarely bought new things and found myself cleaning out closets and drawers a few times a month to make sure we weren’t holding on to things for no reason. The less stuff I crowd my space with, the better I feel.

Before we did this, we walked the same path home every day from work, ate at the same places on rotation, and alternated between two or three weekend activities. 

But when we started living in new places, we didn’t have a chance to form routines. We were so eager to see as much as we could that we purposely never walked or drove the same route to get to places, and we made a rule that we couldn’t eat at any restaurant more than twice. 

At first, it was uncomfortable. But it forced us to try new things, from surfing to going on a date at a state fair. 

While this is harder to implement on a daily basis now, we create seasonal bucket lists of things we want to do in New York City, plan a unique date night every month, and switch up our weekend dinner spots. 

While it might seem like a financially irresponsible decision to ditch your home and travel all over the country, we actually saved money along the way. In New York, we were both paying for our separate living spaces. Plus, our monthly expenses included gym memberships, impulse buys, and more. 

When we traveled, we shopped less. We didn’t have space for new clothing or knickknacks, and found low-cost rentals that we shared.

We invested more money in mutual funds and in the stock market so that when we finally moved back to Brooklyn, we were able to afford rent on a one-bedroom apartment that otherwise would’ve been out of our price range. 

By that time, we were used to living with less, and we started following a budget that helped us continue to save.

I had only known my now-husband for a year when we decided to go on this adventure together. We each knew the version of the other that had longstanding routines in a familiar city. 

Once we started moving around, we got to know different sides of each other. For the first time, we dealt with the stress and challenges of navigating a new city, figuring out where to live, and not knowing anybody else there.

We had to find ways to build our own lives in these new places. We’d take up individual hobbies, go to our separate industry events, and plan one solo night out each week so that we could come back and talk about the different experiences we had.

Not only did this make our relationship stronger, but it also deepened our sense of self. I started to feel more like me again, the person I was before I got lost in working my 9-to-5 and living the same day over and over. It helped me find and embrace adventure. 

Even though we’re happy in Brooklyn with our two-year-old daughter, this is something we’ll definitely do again with her before she turns 18. 

Jen Glantz is the founder of Bridesmaid for Hire, the author of “Finally the Bride: Finding Love after Walking down Everyone Else’s Aisle,” and the creator of The Pick-Me-Up newsletter. Follow her adventures on Instagram @jenglantz.

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