Inside the $96-a-month housing deal in Yellowstone…
Just a 12 months in the past, Zoe De La Paz was dwelling like any other 20-something.
Earning $75,000 a 12 months, De La Paz labored a regular job as a mechanical designer at an engineering firm, and break up the rent for her Chicago condominium with a roommate. On paper, she was doing wonderful, but inside, she felt unfulfilled.
In 2024, a journey to go to a buddy who labored at Yellowstone National Park impressed her to understand that there was more on the market than a 9 to 5.
Zoe De La Paz stop her company job incomes $75,000 a 12 months to live and work in Yellowstone National Park as a seamstress. Instagram/@zoeternal_
“It was what made me realize that life was too short and that I was very unhappy at my corporate job,” the 26-year-old told CNBC Make It.
Earlier this 12 months, she determine to make a change. She started trying for new gigs, and discovered a job working at Yellowstone as a seamstress for Xanterra Parks & Resorts, which operates lodges and lodges in Yellowstone. It may not sound glamorous, but the transfer is saving her big time.
As a seamstress, De La Paz earns $19.25 an hour, and her rent is shockingly low. Each month, she takes out just $96 of her paycheck for rent, a value which also covers WiFi and utilities. She also deducts $359 a month from her paycheck to go in the direction of a meal stipend she makes use of for food at Xanterra’s eating halls.
De Le Paz lives in a dorm-style room in Yellowstone’s Mammoth Village that she shares with a roommate.
“From a young age, I had been told that work must be work and play must be play, and that there isn’t necessarily a world that allows both to coexist with one another,” De La Paz said. “I never thought that my hobby could become my career.”
The 26-year-old pays just $96 per month in rent. Instagram/@zoeternal_
De La Paz has a typical schedule, working 40 hours per week Mondays through Friday, from y 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. with an hour-long lunch break.
Though she makes less than what she did in Chicago, she wouldn’t change a factor. “The trade-off is really worth it to me because I get to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world,” she said.
Zoe De La Paz lives in dorm-style housing in Yellowstone.
In the month of July De La Paz earned tough $2,640. She spent the bulk of it, $1,162, on presents, leisure, home goods, and pet care. $742 went in the direction of food, and $586 went in the direction of financial savings.
De La Paz maintains an emergency financial savings fund of $11,000, as effectively as a 401(ok) from her earlier employer with more than $34,000 in it.
The seamstress spent $1,162 on presents, leisure, home goods, and pet care in July. Instagram/@zoeternal_
Living and working at Yellowstone also has perks for her mates and household, who can go to and keep in a single day at the park for just $5.
“Even though the national parks are land for the people to come visit, there is just a geographical distance and then a financial distance for people to be able to come and visit and stay in the park,” De La Paz said.
De La Paz has an emergency financial savings account with $11,000, and a 401k with $34,000.
“Staying in Yellowstone can be just as expensive as traveling internationally, and I’m really grateful that I get to stay for pennies and dimes, essentially, to live inside of the park.”
De La Paz’s seasonal contract ends at the end of December. For her next transfer, she’s weighing job alternatives in both Los Angeles and New York City.
“It’s scary to think about the fact that less than six months ago, I was working my corporate job, clocking in with my badge, and now it’s like: What comes next?” she said..
“I know that regardless of where I end up, the work I will be doing will continue having me be behind a sewing machine,” she provides. “I’m excited for what comes next.”
Download The California Post App, observe us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters
California Post News: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn
California Post Sports Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X
California Post Opinion
California Post Newsletters: Sign up right here!
California Post App: Download right here!
Home supply: Sign up right here!
Page Six Hollywood: Sign up right here!
Stay in the loop with the latest trending topics! Visit our web site daily for the freshest lifestyle news and content, thoughtfully curated to inspire and inform you.
