I ditched my career and moved to Yellowstone my rent is only $96/mo

Just a year ago, Zoe De La Paz was living like any other 20-something.Earning $75,000 a year, De La Paz worked a steady job as a mechanical designer at an engineering firm, and split the rent for her Chicago apartment with a roommate.On paper, she was doing fine, but inside, she felt unfulfilled.In 2024, a trip to visit a friend who worked at Yellowstone National Park inspired her to realize that there was more out there than a 9 to 5.

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By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.Never miss a story “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 year, she decide to make a change.

She began looking for new gigs, and found a job working at Yellowstone as a seamstress for Xanterra Parks & Resorts, which operates hotels and lodges in Yellowstone.It might not sound glamorous, but the move 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 cost which also covers WiFi and utilities.She also deducts $359 a month from her paycheck to go towards a meal stipend she uses for food at Xanterra’s dining 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.”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 thing.

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