Making Moves

Use This Airbnb Hack to Decide Where to Move

So finding the perfect neighborhood IS possible
four buildings white with red shutters pink with blue gold with red blue with blue

I will never forget the look on the real estate agent’s face when I expressed interest in staying overnight in a house she was listing—before submitting an offer. “Why not? It’s empty,” I rationalized. Her facial expression was a mix between She must be crazy and, even worse, She must be a squatter. That was over a decade ago and long before the widespread use of home-lodging platforms for travel, which are now the next best thing to staying in a specific house before signing on the dotted line.

Consider the possibilities with Airbnb, for example: The company boasts 4 million listings in 65,000 cities around the world. Staying in a local’s place not only offers insight into cultures and neighborhoods that you might not get from a hotel stay but also provides invaluable access to a range of architecture and design styles. Two years ago, my husband and I sold our classic 1917 Tudor to travel the world, and to stay grounded amid perpetual motion we usually opt for home or apartment rentals versus hotel rooms. By now, we've sampled upward of 100 different spaces, from Bangkok to Brighton. And along the way we've amassed a mental portfolio of the design features that light us up and others that send us racing for the front door. When we eventually settle down, we'll be armed with a clear vision of what feels, to us, like home.

You can use this home-sampling approach even if you’re not traveling the world. Maybe you’re looking to transition from city to suburb, but aren’t sure which is right for you. Or maybe you’re thinking about buying a place but aren’t sure whether you want an apartment or a condo or a freestanding house. Why not try a few different options on for size—starting this weekend? Here’s how.

Experiment with neighborhoods

Choosing a neighborhood you can imagine yourself living in can be one of the most stressful aspects of house-hunting, especially when relocating. How are you to know whether you’ll fit in in a place you’ve never lived, among people you’ve never met? Downtown loft-living might seem sexy, but will close proximity to neighbors dim the glow? Likewise, a rolling lawn may fulfill bucolic longings, but is suburban life really for you?

Audition different neighborhoods in different towns, even drilling down to specific blocks or buildings, by taking a test run through a site like Airbnb. Take the opportunity to wake in the morning, open windows, and breathe in the essence of a place. Then, of course, have a walk around: people-watch, café-hop, dog-walk if you’ve got one. Bonus: If you find you love a place, you’ll have a head-start on meeting neighbors!

Fine tune your style

It’s not unusual to like the way a space looks yet not love how it feels. After staying two weeks in a stylish London flat, I appreciated its spartan vibe and sleek lines, but I craved something just a bit cozier. (I mean, what’s so wrong with a few dust-covered books and throw pillows? Answer: nothing.) Experience a range of design, from classic to modern, Art Deco to Victorian, by renting other peoples’ homes to figure out your preferred balance between style and comfort. As I also found out, this exercise can also help you identify compromise points with a partner of differing tastes.

Gather tricks

For an education on space-saving design, rent a city center apartment. People employ clever devices many of us don’t realize exist. I think about a stamp-sized studio my husband and I rented in Barcelona. It had an enormous mirror hanging on one wall. With a flick of a latch, the smiling host flipped it flat and procured fold-out legs, proudly revealing a dining table. It was genius.

And for the record, no place offers a more intense master class on wardrobe storage than a Paris apartment. (Warning: Immersing in Parisian lifestyle also comes with a radical rethinking of footwear needs.)

Pinpoint absolutes

I’ve coveted more than a few design features that look amazing in magazine spreads—and work beautifully for someone else’s lifestyle—but don’t jive with mine. (I like you, easy-to-stain white marble countertops, but I like red wine more.) Use this research vacation as a sensory, tactile exploration of different homes’ finer points. Walk barefoot on a variety of floor surfaces, cook meals in a gamut of kitchen configurations, shower in . . . well, you get the idea. Try as much as you can on for size.

Expand notions of home

From converted train stations to treehouses, Airbnb offerings stretch beyond traditional. So, before creating your own castle, why not try one? (Seriously, there are over 3,000 castles listed.) If medieval doesn’t fit, perhaps a colorful Lego House will. There’s only one way to know your boundaries—and that’s to try as many of them as you can.