Items

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  2020-10-22

  Julian Adventure

  Julian Adventure My story takes place in the fall of 2020 while many travel restrictions related to Covid-19 were still in place. Like everyone, my girlfriend and I, who are residents of San Diego, CA, had undergone lockdown for a period of time, only leaving the house for essential reasons. We worked from home, ate at home, and entertained ourselves at home. We avoided people as much as possible. Needless to say, after months of isolation, we needed to get out of the apartment. We decided to book an Airbnb in Julian, CA–a mountain retreat about an hour away from San Diego. Upon arriving at the Airbnb home, I remember we felt a bit nervous. How clean was it? Were there germs about? What if the owners did not disinfect the countertops? Driven by anxiety, we had brought our own cleaning supplies and went to work wearing gloves and masks. The place was already spotless, but cleaning it ourselves gave us a sense of control, a little certainty that we had done everything we could. The place sat on twenty-five acres of land with mountain views and horses about. We tried to feel at ease in our new environment and maintained limited, if any, contact with others. We avoided Julian town, but driving through it revealed significantly less people than usual. Although it was a nice getaway, the trip within the milieu of Covid-19 prevented us from fully relaxing.
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  2020-08-26

  Travelers are flocking to Airbnb, Vrbo more than hotels during COVID-19 pandemic. But why?

  This article claims that people are so desperate to go on summer vacations that they are flocking to AirBnBs and Vrbo spaces. I see importance in this article because it shines light to the ways people are finding loopholes to social distancing and closed boarders. Many people need to get away for their mental health, and some use these opportunities to throw parties and blatenly break the rules. What ever their reasons may be this article highlights the surge in AirBnB and Vrbo usage.
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  2020-05-26

  The Accidental Quarantine Family

  This is the story of a family from China who were renting an AirBnB basement in a home. COVID hit, travel was prohibited, so they had to stay put. They were stranded together and became a temporary family. They all pitched in together and made it through, helping with chores, meals, and babies. The stranded couple came to Salt Lake City to complete their surrogate pregnancy since it wasn't allowed in China. Their advice? "Never quarrel with each other. Cooperate with each other. If we have some difficulties, just get it together."
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  2020-06-16

  How the Airbnb ban led to lower rental prices in Canada's major cities

  Many of Canada's largest cities have been experiencing what have been dubbed housing crises in the past few years; rental and purchasing prices have shot through the roof while availability shrinks, pushing out many poor or even middle class residents. This article explores how the drop in demand and government restrictions for AirBnBs (short term online rentals), as a result of the pandemic has impacted the market. To ensure they are still receiving income from their properties many who were renting their units for short term stays are instead turning to leasing them out traditionally, causing an influx in housing availability and driving the prices down with the increased supply. While this is not the best for those looking to turn a profit off their real estate it is an unexpected benefit of the pandemic for many average citizens.
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  2020-04-02

  American Physician Locked Down in Mumbai

  A journal of one physician's experience under Covid19 lockdown standed in a foreign country