Google Employee Forced To Sleep In Car For 3 Months: "Rent In Bay Area Felt Sky High"

A Google employee revealed that he lived out of his car for three months after landing a job in the Bay Area. Unable to afford the high rent, Kento Morita chose not to pass up the opportunity and instead resorted to car living. In his Business Insider article, he admitted to lying about his living situation during the interview, telling the hiring manager he had local family ties that would allow him to work in the area.

Morita was living in Santa Barbara, approximately 500 km away from Google's Mountain View headquarters, when he interviewed in 2019. He admitted to rationalising that landing the contract role at Google, which was booming with AI growth at the time, was worth the risk, and he would figure out his living situation later.

However, Morita faced a daunting reality after landing the Google role. With four months left on his Santa Barbara lease, he couldn't afford to rent two apartments at once, making it impossible to find a new place in the Bay Area. The area's sky-high rent, with a median one-bedroom apartment costing $3,600 per month, further complicated his situation.

Morita made the unconventional decision to live out of his car, commuting on his bike beforehand. He bought a 2005 Volvo at a good price and sold his motorcycle to make ends meet. Luckily, Google's office perks were a huge help - they offered free food, gym access, on-site showers, and even laundry services. Morita initially parked his car in the Google office basement for a couple of weeks.

"I'd go to the gym with my bag filled with clothes, take a shower, and then throw in a load of laundry since there were washers and dryers on campus. After a few meetings, I took the clothes out of the dryer, folded them, and then returned to my car to put them in the trunk next to my makeshift bed," he revealed.

Morita had prepared his car for living by creating cardboard window inserts with black felt and thermal insulation. This helped with insulation and blocked out visibility, allowing him to sleep without drawing attention. However, the car remained too cold, prompting him to start going to work early to escape the chill. After his shift, he'd spend time on his desk until 11 pm, watching YouTube videos.

Morita continued this arrangement until his lease ended, at which point he successfully requested a transfer to Google's New York office.

"Though rent wasn't much cheaper than it was in the Bay Area, I wouldn't need a car, so I could sell my Volvo and use that money to cover my security deposit for a studio apartment in Manhattan," he explained.