This Man Did The Math And It Would Be Cheaper To Move To An All-Inclusive Resort Than Live In His Apartment
BuzzFeedThu, February 15, 2024 at 10:06 PM CST·7 min read
According to data from Zillow, the average rent price in the US was $1,958 in January 2024, making rent 29.4% more expensive than before the pandemic.
Of course, in some cities, rents are even higher. San Jose topped the list with an average rent of $3,177.
Recently, 31-year-old Ben Keenan (@ivebentraveling) did a bit of math and discovered that spending a month at an all-inclusive resort or living on a cruise ship just might come out to be a bit less expensive than the cost of living in his Seattle apartment, and it's giving people lots to think about.
Ben showed his work in a TikTok video that's since been viewed over 5.5 million times. He says, "Have we ever considered that it's actually cheaper to live in an all-inclusive resort than it is to live in the apartments that we currently occupy?" Then, for full transparency, he breaks down his monthly spending on rent, groceries, utilities, going out, and more.
Ben's rent is $2,300, which is fairly close to the current median Seattle rent price of $2,011 (and nowhere near some of the $4k+ prices I spotted while browsing current Seattle listings).
He pays $300 for utilities and $320 for his car expenses and auto insurance. He has a grocery budget of $400 and typically spends $300 a month on dinners out and another $300 on things like drinks and activities with friends.
Add in $40 for wifi and $40 for the gym, and his monthly total comes to $4,000.
Next, Ben scrolls through some all-inclusive resorts in Mexico, noting one that's priced at $4,500 for the month of April. "Yes, that's $500 more than what I normally spend on rent, but bear in mind, I'm not paying the most expensive rent out there compared to, like, what other people in Seattle might be paying, for example. Also, is that $500 worth me never having to do a single ounce of laundry or any of my cleaning or whatever?"
He also looks into a resort that costs $3,100 a month in the Dominican Republic and notes that a double room in a higher-end resort would absolutely be cheaper than his current expenses if he split it with a roommate.
He concludes the video saying, "I just thought it was really interesting that there's a chance I could truly go live an all-inclusive lifestyle somewhere for approximately the same cost as all of my monthly expenses."
In the comments, many pointed out the recent trend of retirees opting to live on cruise ships as a more affordable option. So, in a follow-up video, Ben looked into whether a month-long cruise would be cheaper than his typical month in Seattle.
The longest cruise he found in his search was 19 days, but he figured out a way to make it work by looking into booking two cruises back to back. The total for two cruises (and airfare from Seattle to Hawaii to catch the boat) was pretty surprising.
Ben says, "That grand total is $4,042 which is only $42 greater than what my budget already is. And keep in mind that budget was for 30 days, not 37 days." So it's certainly possible to spend less to live on cruise ships than to rent an apartment in a city. Do with that info what you will.
Other commenters shared tips about booking long-term travel, like this former hotel employee who suggested negotiating a better rate on a month-long stay.
@ivebentraveling / Via tiktok.com
And others pointed out that thanks to remote work, something like this could be totally doable for them.
I found this whole discussion really fascinating — and also pretty dystopian. We all know that it's expensive to live in the city, but I wouldn't have expected the costs to be so comparable to a luxurious resort. Like, you mean to tell me I could have a buffet and housekeeping for what I'm currently paying to make my own meals and do my own chores?? It's a lot to process.
It also made me think more about what urbanist Jon Jon Wesolowski told me in a recent post about how suburban sprawl drains funds from American cities and artificially inflates costs for urban renters. According to Wesolowski, "Suburbs are a luxury, and we shouldn't be forcing society to subsidize this luxury."
Yet, at the same time, when city dwellers are honest about their expenses, people often respond by shaming them for their perceived extravagance. Even Ben found himself being scolded by commenters — the current top comment on Ben's video says, "Or learn to live within your means."
The way we often judge other people's spending reminds me of an old George Carlin bit where he says everyone who drives slower than him is an idiot and everyone going faster is a maniac. We tend to think that we're the only ones doing it right, and we often forget that we have much more in common with the people going a bit faster or slower than we do with the billionaires zooming ahead of us at the speed of light.
Ben told BuzzFeed that he was struck by how many commenters assumed that his spending must be outpacing his income. "People assumed that expenses like $2,300 for rent a month or $600 on dinner and drinks per month was 'living outside my means.' The reality is that this is living in a city — rent is expensive and so are food and drink. A beer in Seattle will run you $8 alone, and a dinner out is easily approaching $100 per meal."
