Rental Nation

Technology and austerity are making it less attractive to buy things. Welcome to the "sharing" economy

Chris Hornbecker for TIME

Goudarzi, in a Rent the Runway dress with her fianc

Update Appended: Sept. 14, 2012

Gabriel Stempinski is the consummate renter. When he and his fiance Shiva Goudarzi decided to move to Portland, Ore., this spring after she got pregnant, Stempinski didn't even consider purchasing a home even though he thought home prices in Portland were a "sweet buy" and the couple planned on staying in the city indefinitely. Instead they found an upscale three-bedroom townhouse just outside the city center where they could live a "nonpermanent lifestyle" and "be world citizens." On their frequent trips abroad--the couple has traveled to 12 countries in the past year alone--they often forgo hotel stays...

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