The Upgrade: A Cautionary Tale of a Life Without Reservations

By: Paul Carr

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Synopsis: Bored, broke and struggling to survive in one of the most expensive cities on earth, Paul Carr comes to the surprising realization that it would actually be cheaper to live in a luxury hotel in Manhattan than in his tiny one-bedroom apartment. 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 ability to talk his way into increasingly ridiculous situations, what begins as a one-year experiment soon becomes a permanent lifestyle - a life lived in luxury hotels and mountain-top villas. A life 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 his surviving on cold pizza in his old apartment. Yet, as word of Paul's exploits starts to spread - first online, then through a national newspaper column and eventually a book deal - he finds himself forced constantly to up the stakes in order to keep things interesting. With his behavior spiraling to dangerous - and sometimes criminal - levels, he is forced to ask the question: is there such a thing as too much freedom?