The Upgrade: A Cautionary Tale of a Life Without Reservations

Description

Bored, broke and struggling to survive in one of the most expensive cities on earth, writer Paul Carr is a man in need of a plan. When his landlord threatens to increase his rent even further, Paul comes to the surprising realisation that it would actually be cheaper to live in a hotel in Manhattan than in his one-bedroom London flat. Inspired by that possibility, he decides to sell most of his possessions, abandon his old life and spend a year living entirely without commitments - as a modern-day nomad. Thanks to Paul's highly-developed blagging skills, what begins as a one-year experiment soon becomes a permanent lifestyle - a life lived in luxury hotels and mountain-top villas. An existence solely of fast cars, Hollywood actresses and Icelandic rock stars. Of 6,000-mile booty calls, of partying with 800 female hairdressers dressed only in bedsheets, and of nearly dying at the hands of Spanish drug dealers. And, most bizarrely of all, a life that still costs less than surviving on cold pizza in London. But as word of Paul's exploits starts to spread - first online, then through a newspaper column, and eventually a book deal - he finds himself forced to constantly up the stakes to keep his growing readership interested. With his behaviour spiralling out of control - risking his health and sanity, putting him on the wrong side of the law and alienating even his closest friends - he is forced to ask the question: Is there such a thing as too much freedom?  Read more... Abstract: The bizarre but true story of what happens when you stop worrying about where you live and start concentrating on how you live.  Read more...