Cody Candee spent a decade on the road and learned many life lessons.
CEO and co-founder Cody Candee of the No. 1 luggage storage app Bounce recently celebrated an unusual milestone. He has officially lived in the same city (San Fransisco) for more than a year for the first time in a decade. His on-the-go lifestyle is one of the reasons he started Bounce with his friend Aleks. Collectively, Cody and Aleks have lived in over 15 cities, usually for less than a year, and seen over 60 countries. By way of constant travel, the duo came to realize the memories they were making were more important than the things they owned.
"Honestly, it's just so much better to not care about 'things,'" Candee told me. "I own less than three suitcases worth of things. It's so nice not having a lot of stuff. If something I own gets ruined, I don't care a whole lot because the cycle with which I replace things is frequent enough and I don't have a strong emotional attachment to anything."
He added, "I left my door unlocked by accident the other day and had a split second of worry. Then I realized I have literally not a single thing worth stealing."
And that's just one of the life lessons the entrepreneur learned from his time on the road. Here Candee shares other insights from his travels that have helped him live a fulfilling and happy life while in one place.
1. Treat Your Own City Like A Tourist Destination
"When you travel to a new city as a tourist, you really savor every hour and pack your day with sights and activities to make the most of it," said Candee. "Then you come home, and you reminisce about your travels and dream about the next trip. It was an epiphany for me when I asked myself the question, what would I do if I were a traveler in this city? It's so much fun to take a weekend and treat it like you were a tourist. There's often so much more to see in your own home than you realize."
2. Travel Is Easy. Don't Make It Hard
"Why do we so easily forget that everything we need to survive can be obtained at the destination," said Candee. "Pack that bag and figure the rest out later. That mindset makes packing quite easy and stress-free. I'd argue it can even be cheaper sometimes too because baggage fees are often more expensive than forking out $30 for a decent sweater because your travels brought you someone colder than expected."
3. Your "Strong Beliefs" Are More Local And Subjective Than You Think
"Are you a Democrat or a "Republican," said Candee. "Well, guess what? Those parties don't even exist in most other democracies around the world. Same with your pet peeve of being on-time. If you were born somewhere else, you would think differently. No matter where you're from, you're going to inherit certain beliefs. Once you stet out of that, reality hits you like a ton of bricks, and you realize the rest of the world might think differently on something you've taken for granted your whole life."
4. Take It Easy. You Can Always Retire In Bali
"Did you know most of the world thinks Americans are dumb for spending their entire lives working until they're back in diapers," said Candee. "If you're stressed about work, you're probably making decent enough money to retire on a beach in just a couple years. Doesn't it feel empowering just knowing that can be a backup plan? South East Asia is so cheap that you can take your dollars there and live like a king. If you decide to retire there instead of in a place like the US, it's so much cheaper than you may realize you're not too far off from what you need to make that happen."
5. Cherish Relationships In The Here And Now
"Memories are made in the present moment, not in the future. Think about how impactful someone can be on your life even if you never see them again," said Candee. "You meet someone, have an amazing time, and remove this pressure to try to force a future friendship. If it happens, great. But when you live completely different lives in completely different places, practically it may not be possible to be friends forever. There's something beautiful to living in the present with someone and not trying to force a future expectation on the relationship."
