• Jensen Huang advised Abridge's Shiv Rao to love every aspect of his job as a founder.
• Abridge is a healthcare tech startup that was last valued at $5.3 billion.
• The Nvidia CEO has famously flipped the conventional script on finding a career in what you love.

Jensen Huang can talk about founder mode even at midnight.

On an episode of the "20VC" podcast released on Sunday, Shiv Rao, the CEO of healthcare AI startup Abridge, shared the leadership advice the Nvidia CEO gave him during a late catch-up.

"He once called me at midnight, and it was like on his way home, and I knew it was him. I picked it up, and it was awesome," Rao said. "He wanted to unpack a challenge that I was experiencing."

Rao said that he had emailed Huang earlier that day for guidance — Nvidia is one of Abridge's investors. When Huang called him back, the startup founder said he was impressed by the quick turnaround.

"One of the lessons for me that day was your job is to fall in love with whatever the job is," he said, about Huang's advice. "That is something you can do, and you can convince yourself."

Abridge, which makes tools for transcribing and summarizing patient visits, was cofounded in 2018 by Rao, a cardiologist. In June, Abridge raised a $300 million Series E round led by Andreessen Horowitz, with participation from Khosla Ventures, valuing the company at $5.3 billion.

On the podcast, Rao said one of the things he learned to "bend" his DNA to love was "living on an airplane."

"If you caught me like five years ago, I'd be like, 'Never. We're not going to do that. We're going to find other ways to grow and scale,'" he said. "But this is what the job requires, and I enjoy it."

Huang, who cofounded Nvidia in 1993, has famously flipped the conventional script on finding a career in what you enjoy doing. He has repeatedly said that it is easier to fall in love with what you do than to find what you love.

"I loved it when I was a dishwasher. I loved it when I was a busboy. I loved it when I was delivering papers," he said in a 2023 podcast. He added, "I loved every single day at Nvidia that I've ever had, and I just learned to love what I'm doing."

• Tse Hao Guang is a researcher and writer in Singapore.
• He started a side project publishing literary pamphlets that spotlight emerging writers' works.
• He wanted to show that a creative venture does not have to bleed money.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tse Hao Guang, a 38-year-old researcher and writer based in Singapore. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I started a creative publishing project to spotlight emerging writers, with the goal of not losing money doing it.

My journey in literature began when I was young, traveling to meet my dad's side of the family in suburban Canada during the holidays. There was nothing to do, and I'd beg my uncle to drive all the way to the library, 20 minutes away, and borrow huge stacks of books.

Since 2015, I've published two books of my own and edited several anthologies.

It's very, very rare that you can survive just by writing books. When I was a freelance writer, I taught writing workshops at schools and universities and did copywriting gigs. It tired me out, because client writing and creative writing used similar parts of my brain.

Now, I work full time as a strategic foresight researcher. Earning a stable salary has removed the pressure to make money from my writing, allowing me to pursue many creative projects.

One of those projects is Paper Jam, an annual publication that spotlights Singaporean writers.

Starting Paper Jam

The big gap I saw for emerging writers was that when they want to showcase their work, there are only a few avenues.

They can either publish in a journal alongside many other writers, so it's not their solo work, or amass enough stories to create their own manuscript, which has a much higher bar to entry. They would also need to print up to 1,000 copies for their first run, which is tricky to manage financially and inventory-wise.

I noticed that Singapore didn't have a flourishing independent zine culture like other countries do.

So I came up with the idea for Paper Jam, a literary pamphlets publishing venture. I received funding from Sing Lit Station, a Singapore-based nonprofit that supports local writers, and launched in 2024.

Limited copies for exclusivity

The idea was that I'd pick three writers each year via an open call on Instagram, and each would write a 28-page pamphlet. For the last two years, I've put out the open call in November.

While editing, I tend to over-suggest, giving them many edits. I expect them to push back and encourage them to disagree with me until we find a middle ground.

I decided to print only 100 copies each of the three A5-sized pamphlets and not reprint if they went out of stock. The idea is that a pamphlet isn't meant to stay forever. The appeal of it is that it's a limited edition, something they might not be able to buy again.

Then in September, I sell the pamphlets at bookstores in Singapore and at literary events.

Won't lose you money

From the start, I set a constraint on myself — the business may not make me a lot of money, but it shouldn't cost me any. And so far, we have been successful in that.

In 2024, I priced the 300 pamphlets at SG$16 each, and in 2025, I raised the price to SG$18. The cost of producing, without design and labor costs, is roughly SG$2,000 to SG$3,000.

The past two years, we've about broken even. Last year, we earned a bit more, and I've used that money to hire an intern to help me with this year's run.

If you think about this project as a way to earn extra money, it doesn't work. You can earn a lot more easily by doing other things.

But I see it as a success that we don't lose money. It's not a vanity project where you spend too much, and the readership is too low.

Paper Jam's intent has always been to publish works that would not have seen the light of day otherwise. That's been the value of it to me, so I see it as a success.

• Kevin Elliott and his wife, Camille, moved from the US to Qatar for his job.
• Eight years later, when it was time for him to retire, they chose not to return to the US.
• Instead, they moved to Hua Hin, a beach town in Thailand, where they live with their four dogs.

When Kevin Elliott's job in Qatar ended, he and his wife, Camille, had to decide quickly where to retire.

The couple had spent nearly eight years in Doha after moving from South Carolina in 2018 for Kevin's job. Life in the Middle East took some getting used to, especially the heat and the language barrier when dealing with bureaucracy. But once they settled in, they built a social life and traveled extensively.

"It was fun," Kevin, now 63, told Business Insider.

Staying long-term in Doha was never their plan, nor did they want to return to the US, given the political divide and the high cost of living.

They had traveled to Malaysia and Thailand over the years and later visited Costa Rica and Panama to explore them as retirement options.

"One of the things we always tried to look at was, 'Where could we live off of our Social Security alone?'" Kevin said.

In the end, Thailand won, with its lower cost of living and relatively accessible retirement visas.

After Kevin's contract ended, the couple traveled to Hua Hin, a coastal town about 90 miles southwest of Bangkok, in November to see if it could check all the boxes in their long-term plan.

With about a month before their visas in Qatar expired, they were on a tight timeline. "It was a compressed schedule because my goal was, at least, by the time we flew back to Doha, we had to sign a lease," Kevin said.

"And we did," he added.

Thailand, their next chapter

Back in Qatar, they teed up their Thailand retirement visas and pet relocation plans. Bringing their two dogs — a Pomeranian and a Mauzer — to Thailand cost about $750 between paperwork and airline fees.

The couple moved to Hua Hin on January 1, settling into their two-story home in a gated community. Rent is 28,000 Thai baht, or about $870, each month.

After paying 8,000 Qatari riyal, or about $2,100, for a one-bedroom apartment in Doha, their new three-bedroom house with a yard felt like a major upgrade. The neighborhood's greenery and space also reminded Camille of Jamaica, where she grew up.

"We knew it needed work, but I loved what I saw," Camille, 62, told Business Insider.

Their neighborhood has its quirks, too, including monkeys that occasionally show up in their yard.

"Right now, it seems like a bonus, but I don't know. At some point, it might not. But we kind of like watching the monkeys because we're not used to them," Kevin said.

For a while, the couple relied on a ride-hailing app for food, groceries, and transportation. After they borrowed a friend's car, they plan to buy their own.

Their goal is to keep their monthly expenses under $2,500, though they're still getting a clear sense of their spending. "We're just starting to get out of that phase of buying stuff for the house," Kevin said.

They're still waiting to file their Social Security, but estimate they'll get about $4,000 a month.

While most things in Thailand are inexpensive by US standards, they say costs can add up quickly if they don't pay attention.

"If you're always comparing to Doha or the US, you forget that at some point it needs to be Thai affordable. I'm in Thailand. Is this affordable? Not compared to the US and Doha, because you'll overspend," he said.

Even with that, they said the move has given them a quality of life they don't think they could replicate in the US. "It's not possible," Camille said.

They can eat better for less, Kevin said. "We're eating a lot of seafood, fresh vegetables, and fruits here. If we tried to do that in the US on a regular basis, it would probably be cost-prohibitive, especially in retirement."

Thailand also has a robust healthcare system. More importantly, they said they've never felt unsafe living there, unlike in the US, where gun violence is "a concern," he said.

A new country, a new rhythm

Though it's difficult to determine exactly how many American retirees live in Thailand, at least 7,178 retirees there received Social Security benefits as of December 2024, according to the most recent US government data.

Unlike in Doha, where social life often revolved around surface-level interactions, Kevin says that it's easier to form stronger social connections in Thailand among the established expat scene.

"If we're out somewhere to eat, it's nothing for us to say, 'What is your WhatsApp number? Let's stay in touch,'" he said.

Even so, they said they haven't fully tapped into that social scene yet, as they've been focused on settling in — and looking after two more puppies they recently adopted.

"I'm probably going to plug into some of the golfing groups because golf is big here. I hadn't played in years, but I enjoy the game," Kevin added.

Life in their new home has taken some getting used to.

The couple said adapting to Thailand's heat and humidity has been a challenge, especially compared to the more air-conditioned lifestyle they had in Doha.

"We are still trying to adjust to the language barrier," Kevin said.

Even though Google Translate has been a great starting point, it's not a long-term solution. "Having to pull out your phone, open the app, and go back and forth sometimes wears on you," he said.

The couple said they sometimes miss the efficiency of getting things done in Qatar and the US, but have learned to adjust to a slower pace.

If anything, the cultural differences have been a positive, especially the friendliness and openness of the people they've met.

Kevin says he tries to live by two pieces of advice he once received.

"One, it's their culture. You don't have to forget your culture, but plug into theirs. And then two, try to make most of your life an adventure," he said. "And if you do those two things, you should be OK."

Do you have a story to share about relocating to a new city or country? Contact this reporter at agoh@businessinsider.com.

• Citadel CEO Ken Griffin has long been one of the most prominent skeptics of AI.
• In January, he called the technology "garbage."
• Now, he says AI is "profoundly more powerful" and will reshape society.

Citadel CEO Ken Griffin has finally joined the AI hype train.

While many CEOs have been saying for years that AI can do the work of many white-collar professionals, and remaking their companies accordingly, Griffin had been a notable holdout.

At the beginning of the year, during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the hedge fund billionaire said AI was impressive on the surface, but as soon as you dug deeper, "it's all garbage."

Griffin has long been seen as one of AI's most prominent skeptics.

Earlier this month, however, during a conversation with professors at Stanford Business School, Griffin took a starkly different view.

"I got to tell you, I went home one Friday, actually fairly depressed," Griffin said. "You could just see how this was going to have such a dramatic impact on society."

Griffin said AI had become "profoundly more powerful" than it was nine months ago, and had allowed the hedge fund to "unleash" a wider range of use cases for the technology.

"For the first time, AI is real," he said.

While AI has impacted all kinds of jobs, it's been most visible in the tech industry, where bots like OpenAI's Codex and Anthropic's Claude Code are doing the work of software engineers in vastly compressed timelines. Tech companies like Cloudflare have laid off thousands of employees, citing AI's ability to do their work instead.

Now, Griffin says the technology is at a place where it can do work once reserved for highly trained finance professionals.

"To be blunt, work that we would usually do with people with master's and PhDs in finance over the course of weeks or months is being done by AI agents over the course of hours or days," Griffin said.

He emphasized that this goes beyond what he called "mid-tier white-collar jobs" that are now being automated with agentic AI.

While AI-assisted software engineering has delivered productivity gains — "you get a 15 or 20% boost or 25% boost," he said — he described the impact on research as more jarring.

"When you're seeing really high-level research being done by AI engines, it's, it's quite eye-opening," Griffin said. Work that used to take humans years is now being done in days or weeks, he added.

The broader implication, he said, is that both companies and workers will need to become more adaptable.

"The success in your career will be defined as to whether or not you will be a lifelong learner or not, and AI will just make this all the more important," Griffin said.

• We went to India to introduce our son to family, and ended up healing our own burnout as new parents.
• Two months of community support showed us how much we were missing by parenting in isolation.
• We learned to trust our instincts, embrace flexibility, and lean on others for support.

Six months postpartum, I collapsed on the floor after work, exhausted from eczema-driven nighttime wake-ups and the thought of another day. After third-degree tearing, iron infusions, and mood struggles, I was running on empty.

As my son's first birthday neared, nights slowly improved, but daytime exhaustion ramped up as his mobility increased. My husband and I had hit a wall.

Needing a reset and for our new son to meet the family, we booked a two-month trip to India.

We had family support

Two layovers and three flights later, we touched down in Bagdogra in the Himalayan foothills. Stepping from sterile airport air into thick humidity, we were greeted by a dozen family members offering namastes and Himalayan khada scarves.

Steaming dal bhat awaited us at the family home — the copper-plated home-cooked meal felt indulgent. Kichari was ready for our son, whose grandmother spooned it in his reluctant mouth, leaving my husband and me to eat in peace — another luxury.

After a year of sprinting, we finally caught our breath.

The journey was grueling: over 24 hours of travel and a 12-hour time change. In India, we traversed 6,000 feet of elevation, enduring both heat and cold, and all three of us got sick.

But throughout the challenges, we had a community backing us. My father-in-law rose at dawn to buy fresh vegetables for a healing soup. When our son threw up at midnight, his grandmother helped change the sheets.

My parenting softened in India

I observed parenting practices in our family: breastfeeding through toddlerhood, frequent babywearing, and long-term bedsharing on firm floor mattresses.

Watching our son play in a village kitchen with dal bhat cooking on a wood fire nearby, I marveled at our relatives' patience. When he toppled a shoe rack for the third time in five minutes, our uncle turned it into a game while my mother-in-law smiled, unfazed.

With others watchful of his safety, I leaned back with tea and let myself enjoy the moment.

In the US, my parenting resource was the internet. Late-night searches insisted my son should sleep from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. with two daytime naps. In India, a community of elders provided guidance. They encouraged me to trust my instincts and follow my son's cues, not the clock.

This was daunting at first — one day he took three short naps, then skipped the nap entirely the next morning in the excitement of taking an auto rickshaw to a cousin's for brunch.

One evening, as we took aunts and uncles out to a restaurant, we had just sat down when our son yawned and rubbed his eyes. With rocking and humming, he soon fell asleep on the padded bench despite the chatter of conversation.

The next evening, I rocked until my stomach grumbled and my shoulders ached, but he wouldn't settle. I gave in and let him play with pots and pans with his cousins for an hour while I ate dinner. My tension eased, he was happy, and he later drifted off easily on his own timeline. Sometimes, the best sleep trick is to stop trying so hard.

Though it wasn't always so simple — and I still couldn't let go of tracking sleep hours — local tips boosted my intuition and showed me we were more adaptable than I'd realized.

He had less toys, but more people to play with

In the US, we had piles of toys. They were a survival mechanism — a toy airplane might buy me 10 minutes to finish dinner; a stacking toy might allow me to drink coffee while it's hot.

In India, the dynamic shifted: relatives' homes had few toys but many playmates. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins — there was always an ongoing game of peekaboo or hide-and-seek. I didn't need a new toy to get a moment to breathe; I just needed to step back. Our son's uncle played with him while my husband and I had a meal together. A neighbor watched him outside while I showered.

When we returned home, the piles of blocks and stuffed animals felt suffocating, prompting us to declutter. Then we finally knocked on our neighbor's door and invited them over to play the new games we'd been taught.

We learned we don't need toys to survive parenthood — we need a community willing to share the load.

Coming back to the US felt lonely

Coming back to the US — from crowded village kitchens to a spacious living room with no one to fill it — felt painfully lonely.

But the lessons translate. It's OK to ask for help — even an uninterrupted meal or shower helps me reset. I can drop a routine when it's no longer working. Parenting is hard — I'm trying to give myself grace.

Our trip to India didn't magically fix everything. There are still 3 a.m. wake-ups. I'm still working on being patient. But it reminded us of what matters most: relationships with our son and the people we love.

And sometimes, that's enough.

• No one is happy in Silicon Valley, Menlo Ventures partner Deedy Das says.
• Not the average tech worker, not the middle manager, not even the founders who've struck it rich.
• He said that while the AI boom is creating huge wealth, workers are facing an existential crisis.

In San Francisco, the AI boom is creating fame, fortune — and existential dread.

As rapid technological development widens the gap between the haves and the have-nots, a sort of machine-age ennui has set across San Francisco, says Deedy Das, a partner at venture capital firm Menlo Ventures.

Das said in a post on X, which had almost a thousand responses by Sunday afternoon, that over the past five years, the fortunes of a small group of employees at leading AI companies, like Anthropic, OpenAI, and Nvidia, as well as some smaller startups, have "skyrocketed."

Money, however, it seems, really doesn't always buy happiness.

Those who've made it feel a "profound" lack of purpose, Das wrote, as some of them watch their wealth multiply from less than $150,000 to over $50 million in a matter of years.

"It flips your life plans upside down."

Many, he said, are hitting that threshold young, long before they expected to be financially set. He recalled asking one founder why they didn't simply sell their company. The founder's response: If they sold, they would have money — but lose the attention and relevance that came with always building.

The under-$500,000 bourgeoisie, meanwhile, feel like they're on a path with no end, Das wrote. As layoffs ripple through the industry — most recently at Cloudflare and Coinbase, which both cited AI as a reason for the cuts — once lucrative roles are fading away. "Many software engineers feel like their life's skill is no longer useful," he said.

Middle managers, too, are unhappy, Das wrote, as another wave of the "Great Flattening" rears its head. "They see the writing on the wall: middle management is being hollowed out in many companies."

Instead, people are racked by a new kind of existential dread, Das said. "Am I in the right place? Should I move? Is there time still left? Am I gonna make it?" he wrote.

This other half has a name, too: Several users in the replies called it a "permanent underclass."

One possible solution: Move to New York. New York City-based tech blogger Packy McCormick, responding to Das on X on Saturday, said that amid 70-degree, sunny weather in New York City, he was heading to a kite festival.

"I haven't heard the words 'agent' or 'token' once all morning," McCormick wrote. "Greatest city in the world."

In the end, everything is relative. Das said that it can be easy to scoff at the "champagne problems of the valley."

One user in the replies summed it up: "May you get everything you want quickly and with little effort," they wrote. "An old curse."

• Audemars Piguet and Swatch dropped their new collaboration on Saturday.
• Police responded to Swatch stores worldwide due to large crowds.
• Some fans camped outside the Times Square Swatch store days ahead of the debut.

The release of the new Audemars Piguet and Swatch pocket watch was not exactly fine-tuned.

Throngs of enthusiasts and resellers, who hoped to turn a profit, swarmed Swatch locations around the world this weekend for a chance to snag a piece of the Royal Pop collection.

Hype around the release — a mashup between Audemars Piguet's sleek Royal Oak and Swatch's POP line from the '80s — has been building since the companies unveiled it on Tuesday. Audemars Piguet watches can cost tens of thousands of dollars, making its partnership with Swatch, an affordable brand, all the more enticing.

The excitement around the collaboration was so intense that dedicated fans camped outside stores for days in advance.

By Saturday morning, the furor had reached dangerous levels, forcing Swatch to close several stores across the United States and Canada due to "public safety considerations." As the day went on, the company announced additional store closures.

"Some of our stores had to be closed in accordance with our security staff and local authorities to ensure a safe environment for everyone," the company said in a statement shared online.

That list included a Swatch store at Roosevelt Field shopping mall in Long Island, where one TikTok user at the scene captured footage and shared it on social media. The video showed a large, jostling group of people gathered inside the parking garage. The TikTok user, who asked not to be named, told Business Insider that police officers used pepper spray on the crowd.

A spokesperson for the Nassau County Police Department said he could not confirm if pepper spray was used. He said officers arrived at the Roosevelt Field mall at about 1:40 a.m. after store employees called, and that "several" people were arrested.

The TikTok user, who goes by ggchang.nyc online, said the event felt disorganized from the beginning. He arrived at the Swatch store around 1:30 a.m., though some people had been waiting outside for hours before that.

He said confusion over which lines attendees should stand contributed to the chaos, which came to a head around 6 a.m when employees began letting people purchase the pocket watches. People in the back of the crowd grew antsy and began pushing toward the front, he said, creating an uncomfortable squeeze he compared to a wave.

He said the situation felt especially intense because police officers were shouting and making physical contact with attendees amid the uproar. He left the product drop around 8 a.m. — without a new watch.

Swatch, in response to the bedlam, asked fans "not to rush to our stores."

"The Royal Pop Collection will remain available for several months. In some countries, queues of more than 50 people cannot be accepted, and sales may need to be paused," Swatch said on Saturday.

Some of those who managed to get a watch were quick to put it on eBay, where it is already going for as much as $15,000. Swatch is selling the pocket watches for about $400.

I've been reviewing audio gear for more than 10 years. Since I started running regularly in 2020, I've been especially interested in testing headphones built for exercise. The best headphones for workouts need to do more than just sound good — they have to stay comfortable and secure while you move, handle sweat without issue, and offer controls you can use without breaking your rhythm.

I tested every recommendation in this guide during real workouts, including runs, walks, bike rides, and strength-training sessions. My favorite workout earbuds overall are the Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 because they strike such a great balance across the board. Some headphones are excellent for one specific activity, but the Powerbeats Pro 2 perform well in just about every workout scenario, whether you're heading out for a quick jog or lifting weights at the gym. But if you mainly care about running, the Soundcore AeroFit 2 earbuds stand out thanks to their open-ear design. This makes it easier to stay aware of traffic and everything happening around you.

No matter which option you choose, these headphones earned their place through hands-on use in real conditions. I didn't just listen for audio quality — I made sure each pair could genuinely keep up with demanding workouts.

Our top picks for the best workout headphones

Best overall: Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 - See at Amazon

Best for running: Soundcore AeroFit 2 - See at Amazon

Best for biking: Sony Linkbuds Fit - See at Amazon

Best overall

For a lot of gym rats, it's important to be able to drown out ambient noise while lifting weights or using cardio machines. On the other hand, if you're running or exercising outside, it's important to be able to hear your surroundings. The Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 stand out for working well in both scenarios.

These in-ear buds deliver good active noise cancellation (ANC), making them a solid choice for blocking out distractions in the gym. Equally impressive is their transparency mode, which uses the earbuds' built-in microphones to let in ambient sounds when you want to stay aware of traffic or hear other people.

In either setting, I found the headphones' bass to be deep and the overall sound quality to be full and detailed. These earbuds pump out lively audio with all kinds of music, which helped me stay motivated while working out.

The Powerbeats Pro 2 also fit securely without being too tight. They feature IPX4 water resistance and didn't shift around when I got sweaty. Plus, they have physical volume buttons that are easy to reach while in motion. A battery life of up to 45 hours means I can run for weeks before needing to charge the case. I also appreciate that the case is smaller than past models and now supports wireless charging. However, it's still a bit bulky compared to some competing options.

As an added bonus, each bud has an integrated heart rate sensor for fitness tracking. This feature is negated if you pair the earbuds with an Apple Watch (the watch's data is used instead), but it's a cool perk if you don't already have a separate health tracker.

The audio quality, noise cancellation, transparency performance, and fit combine to make the Powerbeats Pro 2 the best workout headphones for people who want versatility. As a jack-of-all-trades option, the Powerbeats Pro 2 earbuds stand out from the competition.

Read our full Beats Powerbeats Pro 2 review.

Best for running

The Soundcore AeroFit 2 are the best running headphones I've tested. These open-earbuds deliver good sound quality and won't plug your ears or drown them in sweat. This means you can run at a high intensity while still hearing your surroundings, which is important for safety.

I also like that the ear hooks are adjustable and that placing them in the charging case won't change their position. With other earbuds that use an adjustable hook, I need to readjust them every time I take them out of their case.

Many open-fit earbuds suffer from poor audio performance since they can't create a seal to lock in sound. But despite their open design, the AeroFit 2 offer surprisingly decent audio quality with good volume and solid bass. They still can't match the fidelity and depth you'd get on a good pair of in-ear buds, like the Powerbeats Pro 2, but this kind of design is a better fit if your main form of exercise is outdoor running.

Though I don't love the earbuds' use of touch controls rather than physical buttons, I still found these to be workable and a little bit better than competing earbuds. The case might seem a little bulky, but it does support wireless charging, and its internal design makes it easy to wipe the contacts so they don't corrode from sweat. Battery life is also great. The buds last around 10 hours, and the charging case lasts 42 hours.

Best for biking

If biking is your fitness activity of choice, then you know how annoying it can be to have earbuds that stick out and mess with your helmet's straps. The Sony Linkbuds Fit are fairly standard workout earbuds, but their design is perfect for avoiding this.

Unlike my other picks, these in-ear headphones sit all the way in your ears with no large stems or hooks poking out. They do have small fins, but they don't stick out, so they don't get in the way.

The Linkbuds Fit come with silicone tips and rubber ear wings in different sizes for a secure fit. With the right combination, they hardly moved around in my ears. Yet the extremely soft rubber makes them comfortable for long durations.

As long as you get the right fit, they deliver punchy sound quality. I also liked how the earbuds' solid bass gave songs an energetic feel, which is a great fit for pushing yourself on a bike ride.

Like the Powerbeats Pro 2, the LinkBuds Fit have ANC and transparency modes, so they can block noise or let it in depending on whether you're biking outside or inside on a stationary bike. Silencing wind is always tough, and your mileage may vary, but I found them to be pretty good at this tricky task.

What else we tested

Though the three earbuds above are my top recommendations, a few other options stood out for their solid performance. These models didn't quite make the cut, but they're still worth considering for specific needs.

Raycon Open Earbuds - See at Amazon
Though they didn't offer the best sound quality or overall value, among the dozens of earbuds I tested, the Raycon Open stayed in place the best. This makes them a solid choice if you're planning to focus on high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and want a pair of workout earbuds that won't fly off during extreme movements.

Baseus Eli Sport 1 - See at Baseus
The Eli Sport 1 earbuds are well-equipped, fitness-focused headphones with an open design. They fit securely, and despite their open build, they can get plenty loud to wear inside a gym. They hover right above your ears rather than create a seal inside, which makes them a good fit for people who need to hear a trainer or spotter during exercises. They also come with a removable neck strap that provides extra security from drops.

How we test workout headphones

To find the best headphones for working out, I tested several models during runs, HIIT exercises, and using various gym equipment. I listened to music, podcasts, and other audio to get a sense of how the earbuds sounded with different types of content in different fitness environments. I put them through various exercises and workouts to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.

I used a range of headphone types — ones that go in your ears, around your ears, and those that clip on to the side of your ears — to figure out which ones worked best for different types of fitness activities. In addition to the actual earbuds, I also evaluated their charging cases to test battery life and build quality.

I primarily connected the best workout earbuds directly to my Apple Watch via Bluetooth, but I also connected them to my iPhone to check out their companion apps, if applicable.

Meet the expert behind this guide:

Tyler Hayes, contributing reporter: I've been covering consumer tech since 2013 and reviewing headphones for Business Insider since 2019, so I've tested more pairs than I can count. But when it comes to this guide, I didn't just listen to them at my desk — I wore every pair during my own workouts, from sweaty gym sessions to miles of outdoor runs. I'm a daily runner, so I'm picky about what stays put, sounds great, and survives a tough workout. If a pair of earbuds made this list, it's because I've personally put it through its paces.

Learn more about the Reviews team at Business Insider.

Workout headphones FAQs

What's the difference between waterproof and water-resistant headphones?

Waterproof headphones can be submerged for extended periods. Meanwhile, water-resistant headphones can still get wet, but can't be exposed to water for as long or get submerged. The IPX system rates a product's resistance to water (and dust), with higher numbers indicating greater exposure before damage occurs.

All the best headphones for working out in this guide are IPX4- or IP55-rated. This means they're water-resistant to sweat and splashes, but are not designed to be submerged.

Can I use earbuds for swimming?

There are waterproof earbuds and headphones meant for swimming, but they're less common. The biggest reason waterproof earbuds aren't more popular is Bluetooth's inability to transmit underwater. Instead, swimming-specific earbuds for the pool need to be preloaded with downloaded songs.

What's the difference between in-ear and open-ear headphones?

Open-ear buds are designed to sit right outside your ears rather than further inside. This design lets you hear more of your surroundings because your ears aren't plugged. This is important when exercising outside so you can stay aware of vehicles for safety.

In-ear headphones create a seal inside your ear canal. Though this leads to passive noise isolation that can make it difficult to hear ambient sounds, it enables better audio quality since there's less sound leakage. To make them suited for outdoor fitness, some in-ear headphones feature a transparency mode that uses built-in microphones to pass through outside sounds.

Our guide to the best headphones for working out includes both in-ear and open-ear options.

Can any headphones be used for workouts?

Technically, yes, you can use any pair of headphones or earbuds while working out. However, larger over-ear models can make movements difficult and are less secure. Likewise, some earbuds are better for active use than others. The best headphones for working out will include features like an open design or a good transparency mode. They will also have some level of water resistance. Generally, if you plan to use headphones regularly during workouts, it's best to find a pair designed for active use.

For headphone recommendations geared toward other uses, check out our full suite of headphone buying guides:

• Best headphones
• Best earbuds
• Best over-ear headphones
• Best budget headphones
• Best noise-canceling headphones
• Best AirPods
• Best AirPods alternatives
• Best Bose headphones
• Best Sony headphones

• My son calls his classmates himself to arrange playdates and activities.
• I encourage independence while still guiding social awareness and etiquette.
• His confidence has strengthened both his friendships and our community ties.

My now 8-year-old son consistently uses our landline to call his friends and classmates and ask for playdates. He has been initiating these telephone calls since he was 6 years old.

He doesn't wait for me to text their parents first. Oftentimes, I am so busy that I rarely find the time to even do that. He takes the class list, finds the phone number, decides who he wants to invite, and makes the call himself.

My son grabs the friends list, finds who he wants to call, calls, and asks for a playdate. Then I step in to confirm the logistics with the parents. He has no hesitation speaking with anyone, whether it's their mom, dad, grandparent, or a friend.

Watching him do this in real time has made me realize how rare everyday social independence has become for children.

Parents do so much for kids right now

So much of childhood is now managed by adults. Parents text parents. Parents make the plans. Parents get the birthday reminders, buy the gifts, and manage every social detail from start to finish. We say we want independent kids, but many of us are still operating as their assistants, schedulers, and intermediaries.

My son, Ben, is a self-starter. He is mature in ways people sometimes dismiss because of his age. He chooses his own outfits, hangs up his clothes, helps with the laundry, and empties the dishwasher. He likes responsibility. At home, we leave plenty of room for reading, creativity, and board games. We keep internet exposure very limited. We are outside a lot more. He spends time catching fireflies with his friends, running around, and doing carefree activities that don't need an overstimulating screen to feel meaningful.

I ask my child hard questions

I am very hands-on with him, mostly through conversation. I ask him hard questions. I push him to think, then think some more. I do not want him to take everything at face value. I let him lead in some ways, even in small things like choosing parts of dinner or helping shape social plans, but not in everything. I am firm when he misbehaves. If I hear he was not on his best behavior at someone else's house, I take action and address it immediately.

When he initiates playdates with other children, it becomes my responsibility to also strengthen the connection with the parents. I want them to know that the other parents can talk to me openly. For this to work, it has to be open communication, not just between the children, but between the families.

In some ways, I am acting like my son's personal secretary. From time to time, Ben's friends call my phone, and I change my tone almost instantly, from speaking like an adult to speaking with a child who is politely asking for Ben, or trying to figure out a playdate, or wanting to get together for tennis or practice. It is so sweet. These children are trying. They are learning to initiate contact rather than waiting for adults to do it for them.

Ben has expanded that instinct beyond playdates. He arranges practice times with his jiu-jitsu buddies. He helps set up tennis games with his fellow young players. In the transcript, I also pointed out that he has picked up practical skills through all of this: learning phone numbers (and understanding area codes), dialing them, memorizing them, even understanding the basics of group calls.

The class list includes names, phone numbers, and email addresses of parents.

Independence also creates its own challenges

Ben gets this burst of energy early in the morning, and with that, immediately wants to call his friends. I have had to teach him phone etiquette because not everyone expects a call at 7 a.m. Not every missed call needs to be followed by four more in a two-hour span. There is social confidence, and then there is social awareness. He needs both.

Ben loves making handwritten birthday cards at home from construction paper. It allows him the freedom to be creative. He wraps his friends' presents too. And when we shop for them, I will sometimes give him a debit card with a set budget and let him choose.

The first birthday card I really remember was for his best friend, Mark. His mother texted me to tell me Ben had tucked the card into Mark's desk that morning before school. It was not only a sweet gesture but also self-directed. He thought of his friend and seized the opportunity to surprise him without adult support.

I also think parents underestimate how much children's social lives affect our own. Ben has helped me grow my friendship circle, too. Through his friendships, I have deepened relationships with other parents. What starts as one playdate or one conversation after an activity can turn into something much more meaningful. Over time, these relationships can begin to feel like extended families — not formal, not forced, but real. There is more overlap, more trust, more openness, and more shared life.

On a practical level, that has helped me professionally too. Stronger community ties have a way of expanding everything. But more importantly, it has made our lives feel richer and less isolated. There is more social time. More time outside. More natural connection. More spontaneity. More people who know one another, look out for one another, and communicate honestly.

He is still very much a child

Too often, parenting swings between overmanagement and total passivity. I am seeking something in the middle: I want to give both my son and my daughter the ability to act while allowing them the space to think and reflect.

One day, these same habits will become adult skills such as taking initiative, building trust, reaching out first, respecting boundaries, and understanding that independence and community are not at opposite ends. They are the pillars for strengthening each other.

When my parents and I immigrated from Liberia to the US in the 1990s, our first home was my grandmother's two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Her house became a refuge as my parents found their footing in a new country. Living with her gave them childcare help and the breathing room to find work, save money, and eventually move into a place of their own. In turn, she benefited from their companionship.

In many cultures around the world, multigenerational households — in which grandparents, parents, and grandchildren live under one roof — are a way of life. Though American culture has long prized independence and individualism, many families in the US are now embracing this way of living.

June Boyd, for example, is 90. After a series of health scares in her family, Boyd's Toldelo, Ohio, home now includes 13 people — her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, ranging in age from 3 to 69. Together, they care for the young children and split the home's $700 monthly rent.

"In our case, there are no downsides to multigenerational living. The main thing is that it reduces the cost of living, given how high prices are."

Whatever the setup, many families like Boyd's are finding that living together and pooling resources is the best way to cope with an economy that has made raising children, caring for aging parents, and affording a home more difficult.

American family structures are changing

If you grew up on cable TV, you probably know the trope of the perfect middle-class, nuclear family living in a large house with a white picket fence. It's the classic setup: a married mom and dad, and, if the kids are lucky, maybe a dog or two — the kind of household seen in 1980s sitcoms like "Family Ties" and "Growing Pains."

That script no longer holds for many families.

It is easy to see why. Over the years, inflation in the US has made everyday necessities like groceries, gas, and electricity more expensive. At the same time, wages have not kept pace with rising childcare and housing costs.

A higher cost of living also means that, for many older Americans, retirement savings are falling short.

Natasha Pilkauskas, an associate professor of public policy at the University of Michigan, added that the growing share of children born to unmarried parents, who don't live in the same household, is also helping drive growth in multigenerational living.

"A lot of it is driven by changes in family structure," Pilkauskas told Business Insider. "You do see that there are much higher rates of multigenerational households among divorced families than among married families."

When Vanessa Gordon's 13-year marriage ended in 2024, the mother of two had to leave her marital home and look for a new place to live in East Hampton.

Gordon found a rental within her budget, but setbacks like a broken car made daily tasks difficult. To ease the burden, her parents moved into a secondary bedroom in her home and now pitch in with childcare.

"Multigenerational living isn't necessarily a step backward," Gordon, 37, told Business Insider. "Support systems can be strategic."

Still, Pilkauskas said multigenerational living often isn't a household's first choice, and that for many families, the traditional nuclear family model remains the ideal.

"I still think people would desire the 'Leave It to Beaver' lifestyle," she said. "I think that this is coming from necessity, more than preference."

Younger generations are now able to buy homes thanks to their parents

In 2015, Juli Ford bought a home in the Boston area with a basement apartment, so her widowed mother could move in with her and her family.

Ford's mother contributed to the down payment on the $630,000 home and has, over the years, pitched in for utilities and other household expenses. The arrangement has helped Ford afford the purchase of two other properties. But one of the greatest benefits has been living closely with her mother, now 82, as she ages.

"I cannot imagine how much harder it would be to be a daughter of an aging mom if we weren't in the same house," Ford, 57, told Business Insider.

Ford's decision to move in with her mom is a choice many households are making in today's real estate market.

Data from The National Association of Realtors' 2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends report shows that between July 2023 and June 2024, 17% of all home buyers purchased a multigenerational home. That's an increase from 14% the previous year.

Tali Berzak, a New York-based Compass agent, told Business Insider that in the Brooklyn brownstone neighborhoods where she works, including Bed-Stuy, Bushwick, Crown Heights, and Clinton Hill, it is common to see multiple generations of a family living in the same home or on the same block.

"What we're seeing more now are situations in which parents are helping their adult children buy a home. The parents may live in one of the units, while the adult children occupy one or two of the others," she said.

She recently worked on a three-family property where a father used one unit as his secondary apartment in the city, and his two children lived in the others.

Homebuilders are designing for multigenerational living

Jené Luciani-Sena's mother paid $200,000 to build a separate, but attached apartment onto her daughter's home. The 900-square-foot apartment has its own bedroom, bathroom, and living room.

"The kids love having 'Nema' around all the time; Mom joins us for meals," Luciani-Sena, a mother of four, told Business Insider. "I love having an extra person to help with housework, such as grocery shopping and the occasional laundry, and shuttling kids to and from various events and practices."

Luciani-Sena said the apartment also increased the property's value by about $75,000.

Houston-based Newmark is one homebuilder that designs and builds houses for multigenerational families.

The company offers one- and two-story floor plans for 40 to 100-plus-foot lots, with homes ranging from about $350,000 to $3.2 million, including closing costs.

Rodney Mican, Newmark's director of product development, told Business Insider that buyers in multigenerational households often ask for features such as larger bedrooms, oversize bathrooms and showers, and second kitchens.

Newmark's Umbria floor plan, for example, offers a "dual home" option. Similar to Luciani-Sena's mothers' apartment, it's a separate living space within the home that has its own bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living room.

Berzak said her multigenerational buyers are especially drawn to homes with separate apartments because they offer both togetherness and privacy. They also work well for grandparents helping with childcare.

"People are looking at childcare in a different way," she said. "Instead of bringing a nanny or someone who isn't part of your family into your home, having a parent live within the home feels more connected."

Mican said homes like the Umbria resonate because they are built around that very sentiment. "Human nature has not changed for millennia; families will always take care of their loved ones if they can."

• Higher-education options in the US can vary from state to state.
• US News & World Report ranks colleges and universities across the US every year.
• Princeton, MIT, and Harvard were ranked as the top three schools in 2026.

At a time when AI is reshaping classrooms and raising questions about the future of work, some young people are questioning the value of pursuing higher education at all.

While some founders encourage promising students to go into ambitious startups and forgo traditional education, high-earning tech execs continue to champion the value of a college degree, even if it's for completely different reasons.

For families, choosing a school can be one of the biggest financial and personal decisions teenagers make right out of high school, shaping their access to alumni networks, research, and internship opportunities.

For some students, moving away for a stronger academic program or better long-term earnings potential is worth the cost. For others, the sticker shock of tuition costs in out-of-state schools makes in-state options much more appealing.

The good news is that quality education is available across the US, whether it's in the big cities or charming college towns.

Every year, US News & World Report ranks schools across the US, from large public institutions to private research universities, and compares their offerings to students across categories, like different academic disciplines and overall value.

Rather than providing a definitive college list, it ranks institutions by type. For this story, Business Insider consulted the publication's 2026 Best National Universities ranking, which evaluated 434 schools using up to 17 measures of academic quality, drawing on data reported by schools and third-party sources. The ranking looked at data like graduation and retention rates, graduates' debt loads and earnings, faculty and financial resources, and admissions selectivity, among others.

The list, while broad, doesn't include liberal arts colleges focused on undergraduate education, like Amherst College or Pomona College, or regional universities with limited doctoral programs.

College rankings have faced criticism over the years. Critics of US News & World Report's lists have said they can put pressure on schools to perform well in certain categories to boost their perceived prestige, and its ranking methodology has been questioned by skeptics who emphasize the importance of non-quantifiable factors — which may not be well represented in the publication's method — in determining how good a school is.

US News has defended its rankings as a useful resource for students and families.

"Our rankings don't capture every nuance," US News & World Report executive chairman and CEO Eric Gertler wrote in a 2023 Wall Street Journal op-ed after a coalition of law and medical schools decided to boycott the list by not submitting their data.

"Academic institutions aren't monolithic or static; comparing them across a common data set can be challenging," Gertler continued. "But we reject our critics' paternalistic view that students are somehow incapable of discerning for themselves from this information which school is the best fit."

The rankings have also been at the center of legal controversies. In one case, the former dean of Temple University's business school was convicted of fraud after prosecutors said false and manipulated data was submitted to the publication to boost the school's online MBA ranking.

Still, its rankings remain one barometer for school standards and can indicate particular strengths at institutions across the country.

We identified the highest-ranking school in each state on the 2026 list. See which university topped the list in your state.

ALABAMA: Auburn University in Auburn

National rank: #102 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 64

Set in a small college town in eastern Alabama, Auburn University has a major SEC sports culture and local entertainment scene.

In US News & World Report's rankings, the school tied for 49th among top public schools and ranked in the top 50 for first-year experiences, innovation, and nursing.

ALASKA: University of Alaska Fairbanks in Fairbanks

National rank: #395-434 (The school ranked at the bottom of the list of 434 schools, but wasn't given a specific rank).

Score (out of 100): Bottom 25%

The University of Alaska Fairbanks offers a remote, outdoors-heavy college experience shaped by Arctic research, Alaska Native and Indigenous programs, and access to wilderness.

The school ranked 161st for undergraduate engineering and placed 213th-225th among top public schools in US News & World Report's rankings.

ARIZONA: Arizona State University in Tempe

National rank: #117 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 62

Set in the Phoenix metro area, Arizona State University offers a large urban campus experience and a major sports scene.

The school ranked first for innovation and second for supply chain management/logistics. It also landed in the top 20 for undergraduate teaching, co-ops/internships, analytics, management information systems, and production/operations management.

ARKANSAS: University of Arkansas in Fayetteville

National rank: #183 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 53

Located on a hilltop in Fayetteville, the University of Arkansas offers a classic Northwest Arkansas college-town experience with outdoorsy student life and a big SEC sports culture.

The school ranked 11th in supply chain management/logistics, 74th in nursing, and 96th in undergraduate engineering. It also tied for 100th among top public schools.

CALIFORNIA: Stanford University in Stanford

National rank: #4 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 95

Ranked fourth in the US, tied with Yale University, Stanford University is the best school in California, per the US News & World Report ranking.

Located near the heart of Silicon Valley, the school offers a Bay Area campus experience with startup energy, outdoor access, and a significant sports culture, with students competing in 36 varsity sports and 43 club sports.

In US News & World Report's rankings, the school came first in the nation for economics and second for undergraduate engineering and computer science. It also ranked within the top ten nationwide for best value, undergraduate research, innovation, psychology, and several engineering and computer science specialties.

COLORADO: Colorado School of Mines in Golden

National rank: #80 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 68

Located west of Denver and in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, the Colorado School of Mines has an outdoorsy, STEM-heavy campus culture with 200+ student organizations.

The school tied for 40th among the top public schools in the US News & World Report ranking and ranked fourth nationwide in petroleum engineering. It also ranked in the top 50 for undergraduate engineering, undergraduate teaching, and best colleges for veterans.

CONNECTICUT: Yale University in New Haven

National rank: #4 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 95

Tied for fourth place nationwide, Yale University offers students an Ivy League experience built around its 14 residential colleges, with students also plugged into the city's local restaurants, arts, and culture.

The school ranked third for best value in the US News & World Report Ranking, and placed second in economics, fifth in psychology, and sixth in undergraduate research, as well as ranking within the top 10 for undergraduate teaching, learning communities, senior capstone, and writing in the disciplines.

DELAWARE: University of Delaware in Newark

National rank: #88 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 66

The University of Delaware offers a small-college-town campus with access to larger metro areas and a long tradition of athletics, including club sports, intramurals, and fitness activities.

The school ranked 43rd among top public schools and was ranked fourth-best in the US for chemical engineering.

FLORIDA: University of Florida in Gainesville

National rank: #30 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 82

Set in the swampy town of Gainesville, the University of Florida offers a large college-town experience with a major sports culture and an active student-life scene.

The school tied for seventh among top public schools and ranked in the top 10 for biological/agricultural engineering, real estate, accounting, and marketing. It also landed in the top 15 for best colleges for veterans and innovation.

GEORGIA: Emory University in Atlanta

National rank: #24 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 86

Located in Atlanta's Druid Hills neighborhood, Emory offers a city-campus experience, with arts, restaurants, and career opportunities nearby.

The school tied for second place nationwide in nursing and landed in the top 30 for best value, undergraduate teaching, and innovation.

HAWAII: University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu

National rank: #169 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 55

Set in Honolulu, the University of Hawaii at Manoa offers an urban island campus experience, with access to beaches, hiking, and a wide range of cultural and recreational student activities.

The school ranked 92nd among top public schools, 118th in nursing, and 150th in undergraduate engineering.

IDAHO: University of Idaho in Moscow

National rank: #183 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 53

Set in a small town in northern Idaho, the University of Idaho offers an outdoorsy campus lifestyle with trails, recreation, and 16 NCAA Division I sports teams.

The school tied for the 100th place among top public schools and ranked 62nd for best value nationwide.

ILLINOIS: University of Chicago in Chicago

National rank: #6

Score (out of 100): 94

Set in Hyde Park on Chicago's South Side, the University of Chicago offers an urban campus experience with prestigious academics and easy access to one of the country's biggest cities.

In US News & World Report's rankings, the school was named the best college for veterans, placed second in economics, and ranked eighth for best value. It also ranked in the top 50 for data analytics/science, undergraduate research, innovation, and undergraduate teaching.

INDIANA: University of Notre Dame in Notre Dame

National rank: #20 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 87

Located near South Bend, Indiana, the University of Notre Dame offers a residential campus experience with more than 500 clubs and organizations and one of the country's best-known game-day cultures.

The school tied for fourth place in service learning and ranked 10th for both undergraduate teaching and accounting. It also landed in the top 25 for best value, study abroad, and first-year experiences.

IOWA: University of Iowa in Iowa City

National rank: #102 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 64

The University of Iowa offers a Big Ten college-town experience with game days, school pride, and a strong campus community.

The school tied for 49th among the top public schools and ranked in the top 10 for nursing and insurance (a business program) in US News & World Report's rankings.

KANSAS: University of Kansas in Lawrence

National rank: #143 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 58

The University of Kansas offers a classic college-town experience, with a strong sports culture and easy access to Kansas City.

The school ranked 74th among top public schools, 40th for nursing, and 86th for undergraduate engineering. It also ranked 99th for economics and in the best colleges for veterans ranking.

KENTUCKY: University of Kentucky in Lexington

National rank: #143 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 58

Located in Lexington, the University of Kentucky offers a large-campus experience in Kentucky's horse country with a strong basketball tradition.

US News & World Report ranked it 74th among top public schools, and it placed within the top 100 in nursing, undergraduate engineering, economics, and best colleges for veterans.

LOUISIANA: Tulane University in New Orleans

National rank: #69 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 71

Set in New Orleans, Tulane offers an urban campus experience shaped by the city's lively music and food scenes, festivals, and service culture.

The school ranked fourth in service learning, and placed within the top 100 in undergraduate teaching, undergraduate engineering, economics, and best value.

MAINE: University of Maine in Orono

National rank: #257 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 45

The University of Maine offers a rural New England campus experience with access to forests, trails, and outdoor recreation. Its athletics scene includes intercollegiate, club, and intramural sports.

The school tied for 145th among top public schools, 161st for undergraduate engineering, and 135th for nursing in US News & World Report's rankings.

MARYLAND: Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore

National rank: #7 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 93

Johns Hopkins offers students an urban campus experience centered on research and medicine, with access to Baltimore's neighborhoods, museums, restaurants, and waterfront areas.

The school was ranked by US News & World Report as the best school in the country for biomedical engineering, and it placed in the top 10 for undergraduate research, innovation, and biocomputing/bioinformatics/biotechnology. It also ranked 12th for best value and 13th for undergraduate engineering.

MASSACHUSETTS: Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge

National rank: #2

Score (out of 100): 98

MIT offers an intensely STEM-focused urban campus experience with access to labs, startups, museums, and the wider Boston college scene.

The school ranked nationally as the best for undergraduate engineering, computer science, undergraduate research, artificial intelligence, computer systems, theory, business programs, production/operations management, quantitative analysis, and several engineering specialties. It also ranked second nationally, second for innovation, and fourth for best value, per US News & World Report.

MICHIGAN: University of Michigan—Ann Arbor in Ann Arbor

National rank: #20 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 87

The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, offers a lively Big Ten college-town experience with a huge sports culture with more than 50 national championships across 12 sports.

The school ranked third among public schools and ranked in the top 10 for undergraduate engineering, business programs, nursing, learning communities, and best colleges for veterans. It also ranked as the best school for management and marketing nationwide.

MINNESOTA: University of Minnesota—Twin Cities in Minneapolis

National rank: #59 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 73

Set in Minneapolis and St. Paul, the University of Minnesota offers athletics, school-spirit traditions, and access to Twin Cities internships, arts, restaurants, and nightlife.

The school ranked 26th among top public schools, ranked within the top 10 for nursing and management information systems, ranked 12th for chemical engineering and quantitative analysis, and ranked 28th in undergraduate engineering.

MISSISSIPPI: University of Mississippi in University

National rank: #169 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 55

The University of Mississippi offers a classic SEC college-town experience, with a major sports scene and a famous game-day culture.

The school tied for 92nd place among top public schools, and ranked in the top 150 for nursing, undergraduate engineering, and best colleges for veterans.

MISSOURI: Washington University in St. Louis

National rank: #20 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 87

Washington University in St. Louis offers a city-adjacent campus experience with access to parks, museums, restaurants, and internships.

The school ranked 11th for best value, 10th for quantitative analysis, 27th for economics, and 42nd for undergraduate engineering in US News & World Report's rankings. It also tied for 58th place for first-year experiences.

MONTANA: Montana State University in Bozeman

National rank: #318 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 40

Ranked 318th nationwide, Montana State University offers an outdoors-heavy college experience, with skiing, hiking, biking, and mountain access minutes from campus.

The school tied for 74th place in nursing, 161st for undergraduate engineering, and 170th among top public schools.

NEBRASKA: Creighton University in Omaha

National rank: #117 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 62

Set in Omaha, Creighton, a private Jesuit university, offers a mid-sized city campus experience, with access to downtown restaurants, internships, entertainment, and campus athletics.

The school ranked within the top 50 schools for nursing, first-year experiences, undergraduate teaching, and undergraduate research/creative projects.

NEVADA: University of Nevada—Reno in Reno

National rank: #192 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 52

Located near the Sierra Nevada and Lake Tahoe, the University of Nevada—Reno offers a city-campus experience with easy access to skiing, hiking, nightlife, and outdoor recreation on its 290-acre campus.

The school tied for 104th among top public schools, 150th for undergraduate engineering, and 186th for nursing. It also ranked 138th for the best colleges for veterans.

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Dartmouth College in Hanover

National rank: #13 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 90

Dartmouth offers an outdoorsy, prestigious Ivy League experience near the White Mountains.

US News & World Report ranked the school third nationwide for undergraduate teaching and placed it in the top 15 for best value and study abroad.

NEW JERSEY: Princeton University in Princeton

National rank: #1

Score (out of 100): 100

Located between New York City and Philadelphia, Princeton offers an Ivy League college-town experience built around rigorous academics, residential colleges, and campus traditions.

According to US News & World Report, the school is the best school in the country and also placed first for best value, and senior capstone. It ranked second for economics and psychology, and third for undergraduate teaching. It also ranked in the top 15 for engineering, computer science, writing, research, first-year experiences, veterans, and learning communities.

NEW MEXICO: New Mexico State University in Las Cruces

National rank: #222 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 48

New Mexico State University offers a desert-campus experience in southern New Mexico, with mountain views and outdoor recreation.

The school tied for 87th place in social mobility, ranked 122nd among top public schools, 135th in undergraduate engineering, and 160th in nursing.

NEW YORK: Cornell University in Ithaca

National rank: #12

Score (out of 100): 91

Set in New York's Finger Lakes region, Cornell offers an Ivy League college-town experience on a scenic campus known for gorges, waterfalls, and access to outdoor recreation about four hours away from New York City.

The school ranked second among schools for veterans and ranked in the top 10 for computer science, business programs, undergraduate engineering, writing in the disciplines, and co-ops/internships. It also landed in the top 15 for economics, finance, quantitative analysis, several engineering specialties, and multiple computer science specialties.

NORTH CAROLINA: Duke University in Durham

National rank: #7 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 93

Duke University offers students a residential campus experience with access to restaurants, arts, startups, and opportunities in North Carolina's Research Triangle.

US News & World Report ranked the school first in nursing, second in writing in the disciplines, and third in service learning and biomedical engineering. It also ranked in the top 10 for undergraduate research and undergraduate teaching, and in the top 20 for engineering, economics, study abroad, first-year experiences, senior capstone, co-ops/internships, innovation, and best value.

NORTH DAKOTA: North Dakota State University in Fargo

National rank: #232 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 47

North Dakota State University offers a land-grant campus experience in North Dakota's largest city, with student organizations, arts, athletics, housing, and dining shaping campus life.

The school tied for 129th among top public schools, and it placed 160th for nursing, 161st for undergraduate engineering, and 216th for economics.

OHIO: The Ohio State University in Columbus

National rank: #41 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 78

Set in Ohio's state capital of Columbus, The Ohio State University offers a big-city Big Ten campus experience with one of the country's most prominent college sports cultures, especially around Buckeyes football.

The school ranked fourth in nursing, fifth in supply chain management/logistics, and 15th among top public schools.

OKLAHOMA: The University of Oklahoma in Norman

National rank: #110 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 63

The University of Oklahoma offers a classic college-town experience with a large SEC athletics scene.

In US News & World Report's rankings, the school tied for 54th among top public schools and ranked within the top 100 for undergraduate engineering and as one of the best colleges for veterans. It also ranked fourth nationwide in petroleum engineering.

OREGON: University of Oregon in Eugene

National rank: #110 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 63

The University of Oregon offers students a Pacific Northwest college-town experience with a major sports culture and access to trails, rivers, and outdoor recreation.

The school ranked 54th among top public schools, 66th in economics, and 73rd among the best colleges for veterans.

PENNSYLVANIA: University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia

National rank: #7 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 93

Set in Philadelphia, the University of Pennsylvania offers an urban Ivy League campus experience with access to restaurants, museums, internships, and city nightlife.

The school tied for first place in business programs and placed first in finance, as well as second in nursing, management, marketing, quantitative analysis, and real estate. It also placed eighth in economics, ranked 13th for best value, and 21st for undergraduate engineering.

RHODE ISLAND: Brown University in Providence

National rank: #13 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 90

Brown University offers students an urban Ivy League experience, with access to restaurants, arts, and city life.

The school ranked as the best school for writing in the disciplines, second-best for undergraduate teaching, third-best in the ranking of colleges for veterans, and fourth-best for senior capstone. It also ranked fifth for first-year experiences and eighth for service learning.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Clemson University in Clemson

National rank: #75 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 69

Located in a small college town in upstate South Carolina, Clemson University offers a spirited campus experience in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, about 2.5 hours from Atlanta and Charlotte.

In US News & World Report's rankings, the school tied for 36th place among top public schools, 15th for co-ops/internships, 28th for innovation, 39th for first-year experiences, 40th for nursing, and 50th for undergraduate engineering. It also tied for 45th for the best colleges for veterans.

SOUTH DAKOTA: South Dakota State University in Brookings

National rank: #257 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 45

Set in the city of Brookings, South Dakota State University is the state's largest university, with student traditions like Hobo Day and an active sports scene.

The school tied 145th place among top public schools.

TENNESSEE: Vanderbilt University in Nashville

National rank: #17 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 88

Located in the heart of Nashville, Vanderbilt University offers an urban campus experience on a 340-acre arboretum campus about 1.5 miles from downtown, with access to the city's music, restaurants, internships, and nightlife, as well as a strong SEC sports culture.

The school ranked seventh for best value, fifth for learning communities, 11th for undergraduate teaching, and 15th for both first-year experiences and innovation.

TEXAS: Rice University in Houston

National rank: #17 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 88

Set on a 300-acre tree-lined campus in Houston, Rice offers an urban college experience shaped by its residential college system, where students live, dine, socialize, and join intramural teams through small campus communities.

US News & World Report ranked the school fifth nationwide for best value, eighth for undergraduate teaching, and ninth for biomedical engineering, and ranked it in the top 15 for entrepreneurship, undergraduate research, and innovation.

UTAH: Brigham Young University in Provo

National rank: #110 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 63

Located at the foot of the Wasatch Mountains, Brigham Young University offers a large private-university campus experience shaped by students' faith, outdoor access, and a major athletics culture.

The school ranked third nationwide for accounting, 17th for best value, and in the top 100 for economics, nursing, and undergraduate engineering.

VERMONT: University of Vermont in Burlington

National rank: #132 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 60

The University of Vermont offers a scenic college-city experience with access to skiing, hiking, biking, and downtown restaurants and music. Athletics, recreation, and fitness are also a visible part of student life.

The school tied for 68th place among top public schools, 59th for nursing, and 91st for best colleges for veterans.

VIRGINIA: University of Virginia in Charlottesville

National rank: #26 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 85

The University of Virginia offers a historic college-town experience with an active student life and a strong sports culture.

The school tied for fourth place among top public schools, and ranked eighth for best colleges for veterans, ninth for management, 12th for finance, and 13th for nursing.

WASHINGTON: University of Washington in Seattle

National rank: #42 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 77

Located in the heart of Seattle, the University of Washington offers a big-city campus experience with access to tech, healthcare, arts, restaurants, and outdoor recreation.

The school ranked 16th among top public schools, 9th in computer science, 8th in nursing, and 21st in undergraduate engineering. It also ranked third nationwide in biocomputing/bioinformatics/biotechnology and seventh in artificial intelligence.

WEST VIRGINIA: West Virginia University in Morgantown

National rank: #222 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 48

Tied for 122nd place in the top public schools nationwide, West Virginia University offers a spirited college-town experience with athletics, outdoor recreation, and easy access to hiking, biking, climbing, and other Appalachian Mountain activities.

The school tied for 135th in undergraduate engineering and nursing, and 158th in economics, per US News & World Report's rankings.

WISCONSIN: University of Wisconsin—Madison in Madison

National rank: #36 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 80

Set in Wisconsin's capital, the University of Wisconsin—Madison offers a big-campus Big Ten experience with lakefront access, a strong sports culture, and city life around State Street, the Capitol, restaurants, and music venues.

The school ranked 12th among the best public schools in the US and ranked first for real estate, third for insurance, and eighth for nursing. It also ranked 14th for undergraduate engineering, 18th for economics, and 19th for best colleges for veterans.

WYOMING: University of Wyoming in Laramie

National rank: #222 (tie)

Score (out of 100): 48

The University of Wyoming offers a college-town experience with access to the mountains, outdoor recreation, and strong athletics.

The school ranked 122nd among top public schools, 160th in nursing, and 176th in undergraduate engineering.

• I took a weeklong trip to Phoenix for the first time in 2022.
• During the week, I worked and spent my nights and weekends exploring the city and natural areas.
• I loved the food, scenery, and architecture in and around Phoenix, and I can't wait to go back.

I traveled to Phoenix for the people, but I'll be back for the place.

In February 2022, I left my home in New York City to spend a week in Arizona's capital. I was there to visit loved ones, and I was surprised to find that I'd plan a trip to the Southwestern city even if I didn't know anyone.

The warm weather in Phoenix was so refreshing compared to the cold winter back home in New York.

During February in New York, I always miss the warmth of the sun. So my week in Phoenix was a pleasant break from the bitter cold. While it snowed back home, I was experiencing 70-degree days and 50-degree nights in Arizona.

While I was in Phoenix, it seemed like every drive was scenic.

Thanks to the mountains in the distance, there was always a nice view when driving in Phoenix. There are no mountains in my city, so I marveled at these landscapes every day while I was there. 

Some of the tallest nearby mountains include Camelback Mountain, Piestewa Peak, Two Bit Peak, and Mummy Mountain.

Even from the most urban parts of Phoenix, you can see mountains in the distance. Viewing them amid downtown buildings and traffic gave the city a strong sense of place that I don't experience in the northeast.

I was in awe of otherworldly landscapes that were just a day trip away.

I took a day trip to Sedona while visiting Phoenix, and the peaceful hiking trails and epic views of the Red Rocks made it worth the two-hour drive.

Next time, I want to visit the Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon, and Glen Canyon, too. 

I was fascinated by the diversity of plant life in Phoenix.

From palm trees to succulents, I noticed that Phoenix was full of plant variety in neighborhoods, on busy streets, and in natural areas.

There are many more kinds of plants native to Arizona than in other US states because of the region's varied climates and altitudes, according to the Arizona Native Plant Society, which estimates about 4,000 native plant species in the state.

For that reason, I'm especially interested in visiting the Desert Botanical Garden during my next trip.

In downtown Phoenix, I wasn't expecting to find an eclectic mix of historical and modern architectural styles.

Art Deco, Spanish Colonial, Victorian, Pueblo Revival, Art Moderne, French Provincial — these are just a handful of architectural styles I saw while strolling the streets of Phoenix. The eclectic mix comes from Phoenix's rich history of various influences, according to Historic Phoenix Districts.

I love photographing various architectural styles, so walking around downtown Phoenix was really inspiring. Next time, I want to explore the architecture outside the downtown area to see more Victorian and Pueblo Revival architecture in residential areas.

I never knew Phoenix was covered in street art, and I was pleasantly surprised by all the colorful murals painted over building facades.

Walking through downtown Phoenix, I felt like I was in an immersive art museum. There seemed to be a mural around every corner with varying styles and color palettes.

I wasn't expecting to find so many good restaurants in Phoenix, but the city has some delectable eats.

I had some of the best guacamole I've ever had, with heaps of pomegranate seeds mixed in, from Barrio Cafe in Phoenix. 

Another great spot, Snooze, is a breakfast eatery with locations across the US, except the northeast. I've been to other Snooze locations in Austin, and the Phoenix location was just as delicious.

After watching the sun go down in Phoenix, I understand why people say sunsets are better in Arizona.

Many of my friends who have lived in the state have told me that sunsets are better in Arizona. After spending a week in Phoenix, I agree.

There's something epic about watching the sunset over a mountain range, and in Arizona, the view felt especially inspiring with so many saturated colors. 

I watched the sunset nearly every day in Phoenix, and I'm sure I will next time, too. 

There's a lot of standstill when you travel. This downtime goes by a lot slower if my pants aren't comfortable. The best travel pants for women need to be soft, stretchy, and flexible so you can sit for hours in whatever tangled-leg position feels right. That said, you should avoid anything too cozy in case you're stuck in an idle plane with a broken AC (yes, it happened to me once, and I shall never forget it).

To find breezy options you can wear right out of a packed suitcase, we tested 21 pairs to see which resist wrinkles and add virtually no weight on a luggage scale. The pairs below are what we actually wear in order to nail the perfectly laid-back-yet-chic airport outfit. I'm styling them with some strappy sandals and a silk tank this summer, but they pair just as easily with comfy sneakers and a protective hat.

Check out our guides to the best travel jackets and travel purses to pack ahead of your trip.

Best overall travel pants for women: M.M. LaFleur Colby Travel Pant

We elected the Colby Travel Pants as our best overall pick because they're low maintenance, effortlessly chic, and will work hard while you're on the road. With their stretchy waistband and deep swishy pockets, it hardly feels like I'm wearing suit pants. The lightweight fabric drapes crisply, yet remains soft and breathable on the skin after multiple washes.

These will hardly wrinkle, even after being stuffed unceremoniously to the bottom of a travel tote. When you're on a trip with a packed itinerary that leaves you no time to iron, these are the pants to wear. M.M. LaFleur is one of our favorite sources for splurge-worthy office staples, and the Colby Travel Pants are precisely why. They're made with a remarkably silky and light polyester blend that holds its shape and doesn't crease while crammed in a carry-on.

We know: "polyester" and "luxury workwear" may not sound like they go together. But trust me, these are worth it. After all, not all polyester is created equal — the scratchy, suffocating polyester you'll find at the mall is another thing entirely compared to M.M. LaFleur's 'Origami Tech,' which is soft, smooth, and machine washable. Nothing else I've touched — not even the crepe Aritzia Effortless Pant — can approach the Origami Tech's silk-like texture.

They're so flexible I can sit in them for hours in bizarre cross-legged positions. The sleek, tapered legs allows for smooth movement while I navigated a busy train platform. On my 5-foot-9 frame they're cropped, which I like because it means they won't drag on the floor as I move through crowded public transit stations. They fit full-length on our 5-foot-2 executive editor Sally Kaplan.

The secretly stretchy waistband is bloat-friendly. It's tucked in the rear while the front features a pintuck detail, making them unmistakably polished. I was especially grateful for this feature when I was seated for hours on a train and had to go straight to dinner after. — Gabrielle Chase, senior associate style editor, Insider Reviews

A clever denim dupe: Rag & Bone Miramar Wide-Leg Pants

"I get compliments on my 'sweans' wherever I go," writes senior associate style editor Gabrielle Chase. They're some of the best not-so-secret style solutions we've witnessed from the past few years. Real jeans are often too bulky and stiff for travel, but these faux denim terry cotton pants are a worthy replacement. They roll up neatly and look cool with a simple tee and sneakers.

The "denim" looks surprisingly real. When I wore the jogger version of these pants, I fooled my husband who believed I was wearing traditional denim — until I had him feel the soft sweatpant fabric and elastic waistband. "I too was amazed at how real they looked — right down to the faux fly and lightly distressed denim details," adds Gabrielle.

They flatter a variety of body shapes. "I'm 5-foot-9 and when pulled all the way up around my waist, the inseam reaches a bit past my ankles in flats, so I'd definitely recommend these jeans for tall women. Thankfully, because the waistband is so stretchy, I have the option to sling them low and let the hems puddle around my ankles," writes Gabrielle.

"I love the look of a wide-leg jean but have also sworn off hard pants, so these are my dream come true!" writes Sally Kaplan, executive editor. "I'm short and curvy, so I knew these would be a little long on me, but I don't even care. I just safety pin them at the back of the hem to keep them from catching under my heels, and no one is the wiser. Since my first pair arrived, I've already ordered a second."

The fabric is lightweight yet substantial. "The stretchy terry cloth sweatpant air dries quickly, as it's more breathable than fleece sweats," Gabrielle notes. I found the pants were even wearable in New Jersey's July heat. They accompanied me on a six-hour road trip, keeping me snug during the long drive but looking pulled together when we stopped for a mid-way lunch.

Read more in our full Rag & Bone Sweatpant Jeans review.

Sporty-chic and lightweight: Lululemon Align Palazzo Pant

If you're traveling somewhere warm, these allow for plenty of breathing room. The legs are wide and billowy, but the pleats give them a bit of structure in the lap area. I also felt the sweat-wicking properties kick in when I landed in 80° with high humidity. I honestly feel like I could've slept in them the same night and wouldn't have felt sticky.

The material is buttery soft and stretchy. I wore these on my 3-hour flight to Florida and loved the way the smooth, high-rise waistband hugs my middle without constricting it. When I wore the Align Palazzo Pants with this cropped lululemon tank, I noticed the hemlines perfectly lined up at my exact waist. It shows the brand designs its pieces to be worn as full ensembles, even though they look great on their own.

As a bonus, the right pocket has a mesh card sleeve. I wouldn't actually use it to carry a card I cared about, since it's not very secure. But I did use it to hold my earbud case, which prevented it from rolling around loosely in my pocket. There's also a slip pocket in the rear for a small set of keys.

Best for hot weather: AE Stretch Low-Rise Linen-Blend Pull-On Pant

Our favorite linen pants for summer travel are perfect for stuffy cars and hot weather destinations. This affordable pair comes with an adjustable elastic waistband, with side pockets and back pockets for convenience. Plus, they're made with a stretchy, machine- washable fabric blend that gives off a coastal-chic elegance.

The touch of elastic helps them hold their shape better than pure linen. We've all been there: You do one final fit check in the mirror, step into your car, and those linen pants that looked so polished mere seconds ago are already wrinkled. Because linen is made from stiff flax fibers with virtually no elasticity, it doesn't snap back into shape easily. One way around this is to blend linen with other fabrics, which is what American Eagle cleverly did with these Stretch Low-Rise Linen-Blend Pull-On Pants.

The addition of cotton, rayon, and elastane not only makes the pants feel super soft but also helps keep them relatively wrinkle-free. That makes them an ideal piece to pack in your suitcase. And because they feature a touch of stretch and a drawstring waistband, they're comfy enough to wear even for long-haul flights — but you also won't have to worry about looking sloppy when you arrive at your final destination.

As a general rule, I avoid low-rise pants like the plague (hey, I'm a millennial and I barely survived the early 2000s unscathed). However, I have to say these pants pleasantly surprised me. They only come in one inseam length, but still offer a reasonable amount of coverage. Thanks to the adjustable waistband, I never had any sagging or slipping. — Rebecca Strong, style contributor, Insider Reviews

A tapered ankle-length fit: Cozy Earth Always Cropped Pant

Cozy Earth makes my all-time favorite pajamas, so I was excited to try the brand's daywear. I tested the Always Cropped Pant and found it aptly monikered, thanks to its versatility.

They're easy to dress up or down. I wore these elastic-waist pants with sandals and a t-shirt for a day of running errands. The nylon-spandex blend fabric was about as comfy as yoga pants, but looked more put-together. In the evening, I switched into heels and a blouse for a dinner date. I was impressed with how polished the pants looked, especially since they were forgiving after a pasta dinner. The faux fly helps give a more flattering look, too.

They're not too hot in the summer. Thanks to the cropped silhouette and lightweight, stretchy fabric, these pants kept me plenty cool in 80-degree weather.

They don't wrinkle despite hours of wear. I love that I could wear these for long travel days since they're comfortable, stretchy and don't wrinkle. They're equally great for packing, though. They fold up nicely and are compact.

Though the website says these run true to size, I found they run a touch small, though it wasn't too bothersome for me. I'm 5-foot-7 and they hit me right above the ankle — shorter people might find they fit more like long pants.

Best high-waisted: Athleta Endless High Rise Pant

Athleta's Endless High Rise Pants earned high marks when I tested the most comfortable work pants, but the buttery-soft semi-fitted bottoms are also well suited for travel. For a cozy matching ensemble to wear on your journey, Athleta also make some of the best sweatsuits I've tested.

They're the most versatile pants I own. Comfortable as loungewear, elegant enough for the office, and stretchy and lightweight for workouts, these pants can truly do it all. I've worn them with sneakers and a t-shirt for a light hike but also paired them with heels and a sweater for an evening out. The comfy, wide elastic waistband is always flattering, and the faux zipper makes these pants look dressier than they feel.

They barely wrinkle in a suitcase. I've packed these bottoms for multiple trips and have appreciated not needing to whip out the hotel ironing board when I pull these from my suitcase. The recycled polyester-Spandex fabric stretches and naturally releases wrinkles.

There are so many size and color options. Right now, the Endless High Rise Pants are available in seven colors, but Athleta is constantly adding new hues into the mix. There's also a cargo version, which has two functional cargo pockets along with the same zip pockets as the OG version. Both the cargo and the regular come in petite, regular, and tall lengths.

Best for work trips: Aritzia The Effortless Pant

I've long been on the hunt for the perfect pair of loose trousers, and I've finally found them. Aritzia's wrinkle-proof Effortless Pants check all boxes: comfort, style, versatility, and sophistication.

When you compare the whole collection, we like the Crepette and (Re)ssential light versions best. They both drape nicely, are appropriate for year-round wear, and don't wrinkle much. The CruiseLinen feels nice in the heat, but required a good ironing after being packed away.

The Japanese crepe fabric is wrinkle-proof. The Essential Pants come in a variety of fabric options, but the Japanese crepe is ideal for travel thanks to its subtle texture, breezy drape, and ability to resist wrinkles. I sat in these pants for over eight hours, and they looked just as polished at the end of the day as they did the beginning.

Despite not having a super stretchy fabric, they're unbelievably comfortable. As far as pants without elastic waistbands and super stretchy fabrics go, these are the most comfortable ones I've ever had on my body. The lightweight fabric with a wide-leg silhouette gently drapes like a luxe but not flimsy pair of pajamas. The hook-and-bar closure waistband fits snugly without digging in. I could easily wear these on a long flight without issue.

They come in various lengths and a curve fit. Initially, I sampled the non-curve silhouette and didn't find it flattering on my pear-shaped figure. I then tested the curve version, which has an additional 2 inches in the low hip and 1.5 inches in the thigh, and those fit me perfectly. The only downside to the curve version is that there are fewer colors and only one length option available (Aritzia, please make more!). The original version comes in 22 colors and has four length options, with the Regular inseam just hitting the floor on my 5-foot-7 frame.

Read more in our full Aritzia Effortless Pant review.

Budget-friendly and super stretchy: HalaraFlex Wide Leg Micro Waffle Work Pants

These affordable wide-leg slip-ons are like pajama pants you can wear to work, thanks to their plicated tailoring. They'd be perfect for long plane rides since they're cozy enough to snooze in.

After hours of wear, they didn't wrinkle at all. Crafted from Lycra, these Halara pants have a fine waffle knit that's designed to resist wrinkles. I wore these all day both sitting and standing and they didn't get a single wrinkle. They packed nicely, and once unfolded they were still crease-free.

The fabric is stretchy and breathable. According to the brand, the material absorbs sweat and you can even work out in it. There are functional side pockets, too. Unfortunately, there's only regular and long inseams available — I'm 5-foot-7 and the regular length grazed the floor when I go barefoot.

You can comfortably fly in these pants. Thanks to the stretchy fabric and elastic waistband, these pants are definitely comfortable enough to be worn on long plane rides. Then, you can rewear them as part of a casual or dressy outfit during your trip, saving you precious luggage space.

Best for long flights: Cozy Earth Brushed Bamboo Joggers

The value of these comfy travel jogger pants is that they also come as a matching set. Together they're priced competitively against popular sweatsuits we've tested. However, the Brushed Bamboo Joggers stand in their own right as some of the softest lounge pants to wear on long journeys.

For long-haul journeys and redeye flights, I prioritize comfort and softness above all else. But when I don't want to arrive looking totally disheveled after hours crammed into tight quarters or a sleepless night, I reach for this two-piece Cozy Earth set. They're extremely soft and have substantial weight to them.

Made from a buttery-soft blend of brushed bamboo, acrylic, and Spandex, it's ultra comfortable to wear for long periods of time. I've yet to see a single crease since I started wearing it several months ago. I own the navy color, though it also comes in black, charcoal, or olive. The pullover top and slim-fitting joggers look far nicer than standard sweatpants, and I feel like I'm wearing pajamas without looking the part. — Emily Hochberg, style contributor, Insider Reviews

Best joggers: Beyond Yoga Spacedye Commuter Jogger

Meet the perfect pants for plane travel. The best part of these ultra-comfy Beyond Yoga joggers is that they can be repurposed and dressed up during your trip. They're a bit different than the Cozy Earth joggers in that they're more like a swishy nylon than a soft brushed bamboo. This makes them better for hikes and adventures long after you've deplaned.

The comfy fabric is perfectly warm, but not overly insulating. Plane cabins can get chilly, so I always travel in a pair of comfy pants that'll also keep me warm. That said, you don't want to go overboard on the warmth in case you're stuck idling on the tarmac and the plane's AC is broken (yes, this has happened to me, and it was brutal). These buttery soft joggers with four-way stretch are the perfect mid-weight.

They're durable enough for outdoor activities. The pants are made from a moisture-wicking fabric, so feel free to work out in them. They also offer UV protection for your outdoor adventures.

They can be dressed up, too. Versatile pieces allow you to travel lighter. I paired these slim-fit joggers with a sweater and a pair of heeled boots and wore them out to dinner. They looked plenty cute, and I appreciated the elastic waistband after finishing my meal.

Sharp yet buttery-soft: Carbon28 Split Bootcut Legging

Black flare leggings are some of the best pants for travel because they're both flexible and sporty-chic. This svelte pair by Carbon38 ups the style factor with a split flared bootcut hem.

How they compare: Against Aritzia's wide-leg Effortless Pants or Halara stretchy work pants, they accomplish a different look entirely: a sleek, leg-lengthening fit that contrasts nicely with an oversized tee or wide-shoulder blazer.

They're compact for packing. Dressy leggings are great for packing since you can fold them down a lot and they don't take up much space in a suitcase.

They transition from day to night. I wore these during the daytime with sneakers and an oversized sweater. For dinner and drinks, I threw on a blazer, changed into pumps, and swiped on a red lip. The pants looked polished in both scenarios.

The high waist is flattering and comfortable. I love the high-waisted cut on these pants, which was tummy-smoothing and figure-flattering. It also helps elongate the look of your legs. The light support was comfortable but not compressing, which is better for travel and long hours spent sitting.

The fabric is moisture-wicking. Even though they look elegant enough to wear out, I love that these versatile leggings still have everything you'd want in workout pants. I recently wore them to a workout class and they didn't budge through squats and kicks. My one caution is for pet owners: These attracted a lot of fur from my cat. Now I know to use a small lint roller before I wear these out.

How we tested to find the best travel pants

To find the best travel pants for women, our team tested 20 pairs from popular brands like Athleta, Lululemon, Everlane, and Aritzia. We focused on the features that you can feel when you're traveling. Beyond how I want to look in vacation photos, the best travel pants have to perform over long days in transit.

Each pair was evaluated based on the following:

• All-day comfort: We wore each pair for at least six hours, often while sitting for extended periods to mimic long flights or road trips. We also washed and dried each pair according to the brand's instructions to make sure they held their shape, softness, and overall quality after repeated wear.
• Wrinkle resistance: A non-negotiable with travel pants is that they're actually wrinkle-proof, because realistically, there won't be a garment steamer in every hotel room. We packed each pair in a suitcase, then unpacked and wore them to see how well they resisted creasing.
• Packability: We considered how easily the pants folded or rolled, and how much space they took up in a carry-on. Airy pairs made from crepe or nylon blends helped us lighten our luggage weights at the airport.
• Versatility: I styled each pair for multiple scenarios — from casual travel days to more polished outfits for dinners or business trips. The Colby Travel Pants were the favorites because they even out an off-duty look, but later when you throw on a blazer, they look instantly dapper.
• Breathability and temperature control: We paid attention to how each fabric performed in warm weather and whether it felt too heavy or restrictive. Airplane cabins can get stuffy or drafty, so the best travel pants for women have to wick moisture and not cling to sweat.
• Fit and sizing: I noted how each pair fit on different body types, including feedback from other editors on our team. The best travel pants for tall and petite sizes is Aritzia's Effortless Pants for their multiple inseam options. Overall, the most important aspect for getting the best fit is a stretchy waistband, which allowed us to pull up pants up or sling them low around our hips.

Learn more about how the Reviews team tests clothing at BI.

Other travel pants we tested

Alo Yoga Muse Sweatpant: These are definitely a contender among the best joggers, according to travel writer Maria Yagoda. However, the slouchiness makes them feel a bit too heavy and casual for anything else besides long flights. We must also strongly urge Alo to make pants in a more inclusive range for petite, plus, and tall sizes.

The Everlane Dream Pant: These were our former best overall pick until they were phased out by the brand. The pintucked double-knit fabric has a flat finish, so they looked sharp but still felt comfortable enough to nap in. Everlane, if you're listening: please bring back The Dream Pant.

Lululemon Dance Studio Relaxed-Fit Mid-Rise Cargo Pant: These went viral on TikTok for restocking after a year of us patiently waiting (and yet again, they're largely sold out). The buttery soft, relaxed-fit pants are a more tailored answer to athleisure. It's helpful they have plenty of pockets for storing loose odds and ends while on the go.

What to look for in the best travel pants for women

Your favorite lounge pants aren't necessarily good for travel, as comfortable as they may be. The best travel pants for women come with practical features that make them easy to wear, pack, and rewear throughout a trip:

Wrinkle-resistant fabric: This obviously comes first so you don't have to even think about ironing. Look for materials like polyester blends, nylon, or crepe that naturally resist wrinkles. Ideally you can pull your pants out of a suitcase and wear them immediately on multiple occasions.

Functional pockets: Unfortunately in women's fashion, we're trained to think pockets are a fun bonus. The truth is, pockets are essential for travel. Look for styles with deep or zippered pockets that can hold your phone, wallet, or ID securely.

Stretchy waistbands: When you're bloating or digesting, there's nothing worse than a tight button pressing on your abdomen. Look for high elastane content, four-way stretch fabrics so you're not restricted while seated on a long flight.

Lightweight and packable: Packing cubes can only save you so much luggage space. Your travel pants should tuck and fold easily, and be flexible enough to fit in tight corners.

Low maintenance: Pants that can be spot-cleaned, sink-washed, or air-dried quickly are especially useful for longer trips when you won't have access to a washing machine. If you're prone to mess and stains like me, try carrying these Downy wrinkle-release sprays and Tide To-Go pens.

FAQs on the best travel pants for women

What are the best travel pants for women?

Our favorite pair is the Colby Travel Pants, which are comfortable, wrinkle-resistant, and have a business casual flair that we also dressed down for long train rides. They're made with a lightweight stretch fabric that comes with functional pockets. It speaks volumes that they fit well on two style editors of vastly different heights.

What pants are best for long flights?

If you're about to board a plane for more than 3 hours, prioritize wearing soft, stretchy pants that are breathable enough for unpredictable temperatures. We suggest relaxed-fit joggers and wide-leg pants with a stretchy waistband.

Are travel pants supposed to be wrinkle-free?

Ideally yes, though not every pair has to be 100% wrinkle-proof. It's a win as long as they resist deep creases and quickly smooth out when worn.

What fabric is best for travel pants?

Nylon, polyester, elastane blends, and lightweight crepe fabrics are ideal. These materials are typically the most wrinkle-resistant and breathable. Avoid heavy fabrics that take too long to dry, like ponte, fleece, or thick cotton.

Can you wear travel pants in warm weather?

Yes, and several of us who run cold do so regularly. Plane cabins can turn frigid in an instant. It's best to be equipped with loose travel pants that can protect you from a chill, yet be able to wick sweat once you step out in the heat.

How many pairs of travel pants should I pack?

If you're headed somewhere warm, you may be able to get away with wearing a single pair you alternate with other resortwear. For most trips, two to three pairs of travel pants will suffice.

• John Cena said his pro wrestling career taught him how to adapt to any challenge, even aging.
• At 49, he's prioritizing rest days and mobility so he can still do a heavy squat when he's 85.
• He said his one regret from his WWE career was not seeking help sooner, especially for his health.

John Cena is one of the most decorated athletes in WWE history, with a career spanning more than two decades.

After retiring from the ring late last year, the 49-year-old is now looking ahead to the next chapter of life by prioritizing longevity.

"The goal is to be physically active until they put me in the dirt," he told Business Insider. "I would like to be active enough in all capacities, spiritually, mentally, and physically, where I can enjoy the whole ride for as long as I can."

Cena spoke with Business Insider in an interview tied to his partnership with Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, the makers of a medication called XDEMVY, which he used after a recent health scare.

The former pro wrestler said he was struggling with itchy, red eyes and vision problems before being diagnosed with Demodex blepharitis, a condition related to eye mites.

The treatment is part of his overall approach to better caring for his body and mind for the long haul.

Cena shared his top strategies for long-term health and the biggest longevity lessons he learned from his WWE career.

"I'm into doing things correct, protecting my health and body," he said. "I want to be able to bury a squat when I'm 85."

From heavy lifting to longevity training

Cena said that as a pro wrestler, his persona was built around being as strong as possible. He trained accordingly, often lifting big weights at the expense of straining his back or knees.

"Resistance training is heavy, hard, dull, repetitive. It's trench warfare," he said.

That kind of challenge has always been Cena's comfort zone, he said. The real struggle for him was the transition from chasing PRs in the weight room to future-proofing his body.

"It's a little bit more cardiovascular health, a whole lot more mobility, and a whole lot of knowing when to pump the brakes," he said.

For instance, Cena said he used to hate stretching, but learned to love how it made him feel afterward.

"Mobility and warming up, cooling down, all those things may seem tedious and docile until you find your why," he said. "After 45 minutes of static stretching, I feel excellent. I stand tall, I walk smooth. For a second, I feel 20. All the BS to get there is for that one second. So that's the win."

Cena still lifts weights and hopes to keep doing so for decades. He said he particularly loves squat exercises — front squats, back squats, and overhead squats — because they build strength and muscle while improving balance and stability as he ages.

"If done correctly, it's a great full range of motion movement that moves a lot of joints and a lot of muscle and activates most everything," Cena said. "For me, it's a mobility as well as strength and performance benchmark."

Learning to take a rest day

With a career spanning decades from the WWE to acting, entrepreneurship, and philanthropy, Cena said he's learned the importance of adapting through tough situations.

"The consistent schedule of physical performance after physical performance after physical performance in a different location every night, you can't really get any stasis. It allows for a great amount of independence and malleability. You can kind of put me anywhere, and I'll figure out how to get myself comfortable," he said.

The tradeoff is that after a 30-hour stint of travel, media interviews, and other work, he has to carve out time for recovery.

Cena said he typically loves going to the gym to unwind, so it's a red flag if he shows up to work out and isn't feeling it, as he did recently after a particularly hectic schedule.

"That is essentially your body's dashboard with every warning light on. Do not drive the car," he said. "I turned right around and went to sleep."

The one regret from his WWE career

Cena said he wouldn't change a thing about the past few decades, since even the biggest challenges in his life became learning experiences.

The one thing he'd do differently, however, is ask for help sooner, particularly regarding health conditions like hair loss and skin cancer.

"It's only in recent years I've been brave enough to ask for help, especially in concern to my health, and it's worked wonders," he said.

Cena has been open about being diagnosed with skin cancer twice after years of not wearing sunscreen while living and training in sunny Florida. He's also been candid about a hair transplant that he wished he had gotten sooner.

"There was just that acceptance of like, 'This is never going to change,'" he said. "Unless you ask for help, you're right, there's nothing you can do. It doesn't have to be like that."

Most recently, he was concerned about red, itchy eyes and vision problems he thought were related to too much screen time or aging.

He was diagnosed with Demodex blepharitis, inflammation caused by an overgrowth of eye mites. He said he'd never have guessed the condition or managed it on his own, underscoring the importance of seeking expert advice.

"I think it's very important to know that you're not indestructible, you're not alone, and you're not perfect. And anytime you have an ailment, asking for help is not a weakness, that's a strength," Cena said.

• Sofia Palacios and her family moved into a new home in January.
• She decided to turn the garage into her bedroom so her grandparents could stay in the main house.
• Palacios uses one part of the garage as her bedroom and the other half as an art studio and study.

When Sofia Palacios wants to spend time in her backyard, all she has to do is step outside her bedroom door.

Palacios, 22, lives in her family's detached garage, so the yard is only ever a few steps away.

Although it might not be the most conventional sleeping spot on her parents' property, Palacios told Business Insider she loves her garage apartment. It keeps her close to her family and frees up space inside the house for her grandparents.

Sofia Palacios loves living with her family.

Palacios is a student, real-estate agent, and content creator based in San Diego. As she told Business Insider, her family is the center of her world. Palacios and her two sisters are close to their parents and make time for them whenever they can.

"Anytime we go out with friends, we just kind of get going on how much we love my parents," Palacios said. "They're the best."

In fact, all three sisters still live with their parents, preferring to stay close to them rather than live independently.

"It's a safe place to come home to," Palacios said of her parents' home. "My parents are never overbearing. They're never intrusive. They've always just allowed us to come and talk to them whenever we're ready, and they take an interest in our lives without being judgmental of what we're going to tell them."

Their parents also don't charge them rent, as they're happy to have their daughters living at home.

When her family moved into a new home in January, Palacios was concerned about the bedrooms.

Palacios' parents had been renting a home in San Diego when the perfect house for their family went up for sale a few blocks away.

The house had four bedrooms, so Palacios, her parents, and her sisters could each theoretically have their own. However, Palacios' grandparents visit often, and if each daughter had her own room, there wouldn't be a dedicated space for them to stay.

"We really wanted them to be able to come and visit and stay with us as much as possible," Palacios said.

Then, Palacios thought of an unconventional solution: she could make the detached garage her bedroom, freeing up a room in the house for her grandparents.

The large garage could be converted into a bedroom.

Palacios thought that if she moved into the garage, the fourth bedroom in the main house could be a dedicated guest space.

The garage already had a fan and electricity installed, so it wasn't a stretch to turn it into a bedroom. She also often stored her art supplies in her family's garages, so it seemed like a natural fit.

"With the garage, the deal was if I could fit all of my art stuff in there and all of my bedroom stuff in there, then I could have it," Palacios said.

She found a way to make the space work, so Palacios moved into the garage when her family made the house their home in January 2026.

The garage isn't attached to the house, so Palacios has her own space.

The garage door faces an entrance to the house that leads to the laundry room.

The garage has a sink, but no bathroom or kitchen. Palacios has to walk to the main house to use the restroom, shower, or make food, which she said is only "annoying" after the sun sets. She has to unlock her door, step across the dark alley, unlock the door to the main house, go to the bathroom, and then do it all in reverse.

During the day, Palacios leaves the door open, and she comes and goes through the main house as she would if her room weren't a stand-alone garage.

"We eat dinner together probably every night," Palacios said. "My sisters barge into my room. I think the only one that knocks is my dad."

Palacios set up her bedroom in one half of the garage.

The garage was a blank canvas when Palacios moved into the small space, giving her the freedom to arrange it however it worked best for her.

She decided to put her bed next to the doorway (convenient for late-night bathroom runs), and it's against the garage door that leads to the street.

Her nightstand is tucked in the corner, and a dresser sits across from the bed. White cabinetry stores the rest of her clothes directly across from the doorway.

Rugs warm up the space, while a chair facing the bed helps the bedroom feel separate from the rest of the garage.

Palacios has the other half of the garage open as a studio space.

The garage actually has two large doors, one of which is a glass-paned door leading to the patio. It fills the space with natural light, making the area around it ideal for Palacios' artwork.

She stores the majority of her art supplies in the built-in cabinetry lining the walls, using the corner opposite to paint or work on her pottery.

And although there isn't a kitchen space, Palacios did create room for an espresso maker and a mini-fridge, which she said has been helpful.

"My sisters and I love the gym, so we always fight over the proteins that we buy," she said. Having her own mini-fridge ensured she could keep some of her items private.

She also has a multipurpose desk.

Palacios set up her desk in the garage right under the only window in the room.

She stores her school materials in the bottom cabinet, and her makeup supplies are in the top drawer. A mirror with a cover rests atop it, so the desk doesn't feel like only a vanity when it's not in use.

The garage has a fan but no central AC or heat, but Palacios has a small heater she uses for winter. She plans to get an AC unit for the summer.

Although Palacios doesn't have a bathroom in the garage, she does have a sink.

Palacios told Business Insider that having a sink in the garage apartment comes in handy. She uses it to wash her face and brush her teeth.

She installed open shelving near the sink for her products, and she also has a drawer dedicated to her toiletries. Prints hanging on the wall bring some personality to the corner.

Direct access to the patio is a big benefit of the garage.

A wall surrounds the yard, so Palacios felt like she had plenty of privacy. However, she hung up curtains at her grandfather's behest, though they had to hang from the outside so they wouldn't get in the way of the garage door's opening mechanism.

Palacios loves that the glass door leads to the backyard, as it feels like an extension of the yard when it's open.

"My sisters tan out there sometimes because that's where we get the most sun," she said. "I'll have the door open and be working, and they'll be tanning and talking to me."

"It was so annoying in the winter because crickets would constantly slip through the bottom," she added. "I actually didn't fully figure out a fix. I had to get used to sleeping with them through the night."

The garage works well for Palacios.

"I love it," Palacios said. "I was just really excited to have an open layout. I've obviously had rooms before, but to have almost an open loft studio type of thing is such a cool experience."

She told Business Insider she couldn't get that kind of space living in her own home.

"San Diego is very expensive," she said. "Even studios here can be a bit more pricey, and I would always want to stay with my family for as long as I could."

Aside from having to trek to the bathroom at night and dust collecting in the space, Palacios said she has no complaints about the garage. Plus, her grandparents are visiting more often, and for longer stints, so she feels like the decision has paid off.

"Having the peace of mind that they can come and stay here and have their little space, it motivates them to actually come," she said. "I think it's motivating them more and more to stay longer and longer, which was the goal."

• My husband was unemployed for 10 months and couldn't find a job; his résumé was lost in piles.
• He came up with a plan to show up at an office he was interested in, unannounced, with doughnuts.
• I was skeptical of his plan as a former recruiter, but it got him the job.

My partner was laid off in January of last year. Hundreds of applications later, he'd only landed two interviews with no job offers.

We had managed to stay optimistic during the job search, using the time to travel and see family, but our positive attitudes began to wear thin as January turned into September.

As a tech professional, he found it difficult to find work in the field as AI surges and companies grapple with the uncertainty it brings. Even with my help as a previous recruiter, he was ghosted by most companies. I reviewed and tweaked his résumé multiple times, edited his cover letters, gave him tips on finding leads on LinkedIn, and we even practiced mock interviews.

At one point, I listened in on a remote second-round interview to make sure I didn't have any additional pointers. He was doing great, but when he didn't land that position either, our worry grew.

Desperate, he stepped outside his comfort zone and began applying to non-tech companies. But with no experience in other fields, that effort was also fruitless. He wasn't even getting a call back. That's when he came up with a unique plan.

Nothing was working, so he decided to try something old-school

One day, after seeing an open role that was locally posted online, he decided to try an old-school tactic by visiting in person after submitting his online application.

When he told me, I worried about how they'd react to an unexpected drop-in. But he's a social person, and being at home so much was tough on him. If nothing else, putting in an appearance at their headquarters would let him be social in the middle of what would have been a workday, instead of searching through postings at home for the thousandth time.

I had serious doubts that showing up unannounced would work, but we were approaching the 10th month of his job search, and he looked excited about an opportunity. That had become rare.

I wished him luck and held my breath when he left that morning.

He showed up with doughnuts

Now, my husband is a pastry lover, and on the way to their office, he stopped for a box of doughnuts to bring as a nice gesture. The move drew attention during his visit and jump-started conversations with staff.

He came home hopeful but nervous, telling me about who he had met and how the sweets had gone over better than expected. And it was true: his visit pulled him to the top of the applicant pool, and he finally received a call from HR later that day. The woman mentioned the doughnuts and how the staff had appreciated the treat.

A few interviews with them finally turned into a job offer.

When he first told me he planned to show up at their office with a box of sweets, I didn't think the visit would do much. Truthfully, dropping his résumé in person for that level of role seemed outdated to my recruiter's mind. I worried they would find his actions antiquated. I was wrong.

His visit earned him the chance to land a job he wouldn't have been considered for otherwise. Six months later, he's been offered a raise and recently had a great review. We still joke that doughnuts are responsible for his employment, even though they were just a symbol of his tenacity in this hard job market.

Making things personal opened the door to his new role

Unemployment isn't for the faint-hearted. It chips away at your confidence and finances while escalating life's stressors. I feel for anyone currently on the hunt when I look back at those 10 months of uncertainty.

What I love about the story is that showing up with a box of doughnuts is a very "him" thing to do, and it was when he let his personality shine that he finally got recognized as a person instead of just another applicant in their email inbox.

As a former HR professional, the job market and hiring process can feel brutal and impersonal on both sides. He forced it to be personal, and that's when things clicked.

• When I was in college, I did everything I could to set myself up for success after graduation.
• After applying to over 100 entry-level jobs, however, I struggled to land a full-time paid gig.
• Now, I've decided to pivot to a different career path and go back to school for my master's.

When I graduated with a degree in journalism three years ago, I'd hoped to have a full-time, salaried job in my field by now.

Instead, most of my days are a hectic blend of part-time and unpaid roles.

I often find myself running to my retail job in the morning, catching the train in the afternoon to pick up the kids I nanny for, coming home for a quick dinner, and then wrapping up the day with a few hours at my unpaid, remote internship.

It's not exactly how I envisioned spending my 20s in New York, but here we are.

In college, I did everything I could to prepare myself for the 'real world'

During my time as an undergraduate student in San Diego, I asked pretty much anyone I could about how to be successful after graduation.

Following advice from professors and industry professionals, I did everything "right."

I made the dean's list every semester, served on the board of a student organization, held multiple jobs, won an award for my thesis project, and even graduated summa cum laude. At the time, I thought these accomplishments would make it easier for me to land my first full-time role.

However, when it came time to start applying to full-time jobs, the only offers I got were for unpaid internships. I felt like a failure — like I had worked too hard in college just to end up in unpaid or minimum-wage jobs, scrambling to make rent every month.

Plus, seeing my friends and LinkedIn connections land full-time jobs and grad school acceptance letters only added fuel to the fire. I felt alone.

So, after two years of struggling in San Diego, I decided to take a risk and move to New York City to continue my job search. Unfortunately, though, I still wasn't having any luck.

But as I began networking more and sharing my experience with others my age, I realized this was happening to many other people, too.

It wasn't just me who was struggling — I had graduated into a difficult job market, one marked by fewer entry-level positions, hiring freezes, and uncertainty surrounding new technology like AI.

Now, I've decided to pivot to a new career path — and return to school

After years of throwing my hat in the ring for over 100 entry-level positions — and working multiple jobs to avoid gaps on my résumé — I finally stopped beating myself up.

Instead, I leaned into other things that make me happy, like pottery classes, yoga, and volunteer work. In fact, the more involved I became with local and national nonprofits, the more I discovered my passion for working within these spaces.

Now, I'm particularly interested in women's health issues and have decided to pivot to a career in public policy. However, I know that having a master's degree in this field could make me a more competitive candidate.

So, even though I poured my heart and soul into undergrad experiences that would help me stand out in a competitive job market, I've decided to take a risk and go back to school again — this time, abroad.

Luckily, I was accepted to a prestigious school in France with a scholarship that will cover a significant portion of my tuition.

Of course, there's no guarantee I'll easily get a job after completing my master's program, and the thought of returning to school is intimidating. However, I'm eager to continue networking and learn more about a career path I'm excited about.

• My family of five moved from a small town to a bigger city to live with my parents.
• I'm trying to bring the slower, more intentional ways of living to our lives here.
• I'm focusing on building a sense of community and making sure we still spend time outside.

I grew up on the Gold Coast, Australia's sixth-largest city. In my 20s, my partner and I lived in Canada, then England. When we returned to Australia, we spent eight years in Melbourne, then the last four years in Bright in country Victoria, so that we could be close to his family.

Bright was a small town of fewer than 3,000 people, and I fell in love with the lifestyle and people pretty quickly. I couldn't get over how genuinely nice they were. It felt like the community really had each other's backs, and I soon found myself slowing down and relaxing into country life.

However, after four years in Bright, my family of five moved to the Gold Coast to be closer to my aging parents in January. It was a tough decision, and the hardest part was leaving behind our friends and family, but I didn't want to have regrets down the track.

Since moving back to the city, I've found myself trying to bring a few of those slower, more intentional ways of living into our lives here.

I'm building my community

Bright might be small, but it has an enormous heart. The people there are some of the warmest and most generous I've ever met. It's the kind of place that feels like a warm bowl of soup on a cold day, a hug when you're feeling blue.

Since my family moved in with my parents, I've tried to carry that same community spirit with me. I've been cooking meals for friends, offering to babysit when someone's stretched, or simply checking in with a message if I sense someone might be having a tough time.

The other day, I even texted a new neighbor to ask if we could borrow a couple of eggs. It felt like such a small, old-fashioned thing to do, but it broke the ice.

A few days later, I invited her daughter over to play and sent her home with some of our eggs. Then, for my birthday, the neighbor made me candied almonds and left them on our doorstep. That initial simple gesture helped us connect on a deeper level and establish a sense of community.

I'm still enjoying simple fun

Living in regional Victoria, there was plenty to do outdoors, but a lot of the time, you had to make your own fun. Our best family adventures were often the simplest, like packing a picnic and heading to a swimming hole, picking fresh fruit at a local berry farm, or hiking through the mountains.

Now that we're back in the city, though there's more to do here, I'm so grateful for the mindset I gained in a smaller town. I rarely feel bored, because even on quiet days or rainy afternoons, I can think of countless ways to make time together feel special.

I try to connect with nature

One of the things I loved most about country life was the connection to nature. I slowed down and began to appreciate the simple things. The shift in seasons, the depth of color in a rainbow, the scent of pine in the morning air, the energizing feel of icy mountain water.

It's not always as easy to find that connection to nature in the city, but I make a point of seeking it out. Sometimes we'll drive out to the Gold Coast hinterland for a hike, or head to the beach for a quick swim before school. Floating in the Pacific Ocean at sunrise is a simple reminder that staying connected to nature doesn't depend on where you live; you just have to make space for it.

There are aspects of city life that I'm really enjoying, like having access to amenities and a wide variety of sporting clubs for my kids. But sometimes I do miss the slower pace of country life and the people.

On harder days, I make even more effort to slow down and build a sense of community. Sometimes that means reading on the veranda in the sunshine and giving myself permission to say 'no' to activities without guilt. Other times, it looks like wandering through the local farmers' markets or lingering at the local coffee shop and getting to know the owner.

Those simple moments sustain me and remind me of the best parts of country life.

• Billionaire Jim Thompson founded Crown Worldwide and built it into a logistics titan.
• His daughter, Jennifer Harvey, rose to become CEO of Crown in 2023.
• Thompson told Business Insider about Harvey, and how he balanced being a founder and a father.

Jim Thompson became a billionaire by building Crown Worldwide from scratch into a global logistics giant.

His daughter, Jennifer Harvey, was appointed CEO in 2023. Read our interview with her here.

Thompson recently told Business Insider how he balanced the demands of building a business and raising his children, how he felt about keeping the company in his family, and whether he hopes his grandkids will join Crown one day.

The founder said that in Crown's early days, he spent much of his time traveling or with his management team and customers. But he made it home most weekends, bonding with his young daughter over boating, water sports, and other activities.

Thompson felt he was "always able to be a big part of Jenny's life as she was growing," and he was there to "help her develop her values."

He said that he never expected Crown to become so successful, so it was only about 30 years ago that he began to think seriously about whether his children might take the reins of the family business from him. Yet he also wanted his kids to have fulfilling careers, he added.

"It would have been a bit of a disappointment if Jennifer chose not to join the family business, but I would be more unhappy if she chose to join the company just to please me and not because she felt she wanted the challenge," he said.

Thompson said he "placed Jennifer's happiness above the need for her to be my successor." He added that he felt fortunate she did ultimately take on that responsibility, and he's found that to be "very fulfilling."

He knew that Harvey becoming CEO of the company he founded would raise questions of nepotism and doubts over whether she was qualified for the role, he said.

Harvey was "well aware" that taking charge of Crown "would be a challenge" for those reasons, Thompson said. But she "dealt with this in a very mature way," he continued, and the other executives came to see she was the right person for the job.

Father and advisor

Thompson also spoke about their differing personalities. He described Harvey as "much more of a people person" than he is, with a "talent" for reading people. He also hailed her as an "excellent communicator" with a "natural ability to motivate and get the most out of her managers."

As for mentoring Harvey, Thompson said he's "very much in the background" but he's happy to offer advice if she wants it.

"I do not look over her shoulder or comment on all her decisions," he said.

Thompson said he doesn't struggle to separate the roles of father and advisor.

"She's strong, very independent, and a good leader, but also a loving daughter," he said.

Thompson said he's tried to pass on two key lessons to Harvey. The first is that "integrity is invaluable," and it's "paramount" for a CEO to make sure their company earns the respect of employees, customers, and competitors.

The second is how crucial it is to be a "company with a heart," and encourage all employees to be charitable to those less fortunate.

Thompson said that as a private company, Crown is able to do this in a "very effective and personal manner," and giving back has become "embedded in our culture."

As for the question of whether any more of his descendants will run Crown, he said that will be up to them.

• When family dynamics meet business empires, sparks can fly.
• Jennifer Harvey is the CEO of Crown Worldwide, a company founded by her billionaire father.
• She spoke about the family business, her relationship with her dad, and her hopes for her own kids.

From "Succession" to "Yellowstone," families with business empires are a rich source of drama and conflict with huge financial stakes.

Jennifer Harvey is the CEO of Crown Worldwide, a logistics company with more than 3,000 employees and operations in 45 countries. She's also the daughter of Crown's billionaire founder, Jim Thompson.

Harvey recently spoke to Business Insider about the rewards and challenges of taking over the family business, how she navigates her relationship with her father, and whether she wants her own children to continue the dynasty.

Heir to the Crown

Thompson founded Crown in Japan in 1965 to support US military families relocating there. Read our interview with him here.

Harvey recalled her father's startup being a constant presence in her childhood.

"Crown was definitely part of the family," she said, adding that her parents would often take her to the office, and she knew the employees.

Harvey said the reality for many children whose parents are building a business is "you have to share them with that all-consuming exercise."

But she said her father did a "really good job of making sure he knew what was going on in our lives, even if he was phoning us from abroad."

Harvey moved from Japan to Hong Kong around age 10. After she graduated from high school, she relocated to New York to attend Columbia University, where she majored in East Asian Studies with an economics concentration, and learned Japanese.

Her first job after college was at an investment bank, but she found the culture of working all hours "brutal" and realized it wouldn't make her happy in the long run.

She remembered that before leaving for college, she'd had dinner with her father at a "little tonkatsu restaurant." Thompson had told her there's "no pressure," but "if you ever want to work for the company, we'd love to have you."

Disillusioned by her banking gig, Harvey thought to herself: "Maybe now is the time to give it a shot."

She had "mixed feelings" about asking her dad for a job, so she told him to "send me wherever you want," and he promptly dispatched her to Japan.

Some years later, she moved to Singapore, where she met her husband and had three children. They relocated to New York after he was offered a big promotion there, and have lived there ever since.

Harvey had been working at Crown for more than 30 years when the CEO who succeeded her father retired. She was chosen to be the company's next chief and took the role in August 2023.

Honoring a legacy

Over the years, Crown has evolved from primarily relocating employees and military personnel, to becoming a specialized logistics business.

It now provides everything from information management and workspace fit-outs to healthcare logistics and fine art and wine storage.

Harvey said she's adapted to changing market needs while staying true to the values and culture that define her father's company.

She said that she wants to "leverage what he did that worked," and doesn't "want to break anything."

Crown's industry has become more international and interconnected, so she's had to "really promote an enterprise mindset" and encourage her managers to "think globally," she said. Otherwise, a strong performance in one country could be offset by a weak performance in another.

Harvey hailed Thompson's ability to spot unmet needs in the market that Crown could service, and said she wants to keep that "entrepreneurial mindset."

She gave the example of the sprawling property portfolio that her father assembled for Crown. It helps the company meet "all sorts of storage needs" across the world, and remains "one of the most valuable" parts of the business, she said.

Harvey also highlighted her father's "magical way with employees."

She learned from him the importance of ensuring workers feel seen and appreciated. On a trip to Crown's Dubai office last fall, the company's warehouse workers told her they remembered Thompson visiting more than a decade earlier. The fact that he took the time to meet and take pictures with them had a "lasting impact," she said.

Harvey also discussed their contrasting management styles. While her dad was more likely to "delegate a tough conversation," she's "much more willing to lean right into it," she said, adding that neither approach is superior.

She focuses on doing the "best job" she can rather than judging herself against her father, she said, as that "seems like a recipe for a nervous breakdown."

"I try not to compare myself to him because he's such a special guy in our industry," she said. "He's a legend."

She likened her mindset to that of a marathon runner, who might just give up if they dwelled too much on the monumental task ahead of them. They're "probably better off" focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, she added.

Harvey praised Thompson for always being "very, very supportive," and available when there's "something hard that I really want to talk to him about."

She said the "hardest part" of their relationship is separating the business from the personal. She actively works to draw a line, for example, by not talking shop during a weekend call.

"I try to balance it because him being my father is much more important to me than anything else," she said.

Harvey also mused on what makes her job meaningful and purposeful, joking that the thought process was a "little bit millennial of me."

"There's something about working for a business that he built that does give me this other dimension of reward," Harvey said. It feels like she's helping him and adding value to "something he spent his lifetime building," she added.

Instead of working for some faceless corporation, "I'm doing it for family, and that matters to me," she said.

The next generation

Growing up with a founder as a father, Harvey witnessed firsthand how difficult it can be to juggle work and family.

"It may have had an impact on my decisions as a parent," she said. With her three children, she wanted to "make sure they felt that their parents were giving them time — not because I didn't get that, but I think I was hyper aware of it."

Harvey said she's followed her father's lead in not pressuring her children, now in their 20s, to join the family business.

"I really appreciated that there wasn't this expectation just put in front of me at a young age," she said.

Her children know the option is there, but she's encouraging them to pursue their own paths first, "and then we'll see," she said.

Harvey said she doesn't mind whether they join Crown or not, as a family can maintain ties to a business without running it.

"It's not always the best answer just because they've got a certain surname," she said.

• My son, 14, loves traveling, and has shown me that he can handle it.
• He has a list of places he wants to go, and talks about studying abroad.
• I have a hard time thinking about letting go, but I'll support what he wants to do.

When my youngest son was little, I called him my "koala baby." He wanted to be carried on my hip at all times and would tuck his head into my neck to hide whenever he was in an unfamiliar environment.

It's almost impossible to reconcile that little boy with the one who now talks about traveling the world. He'll be 15 in a few months, and he already has a long list of places he wants to visit. College is something he's actively looking forward to, and one of his main criteria is a school that has a strong study abroad program.

He recently mentioned he might want to be an exchange student next year. I smiled and nodded, because of course it's a terrific opportunity. But internally, I felt that familiar lowkey dread that seems to pop up with every new step toward independence.

He's been building toward this version of himself for a while now. The summer after he completed sixth grade, he spent a week in Washington, DC, at a student leadership conference. It was the first time he was away from home without my husband and me, and though he was very excited about it, I could also tell he was nervous. We bought trip insurance, just in case he decided to back out at the last minute. He didn't.

With every trip, he grows a little more

Last summer, he went even further on a school trip to England. I struggled more with that decision than I expected, even though I trusted the chaperones and knew the friends he was traveling with.

Of course, he did great. He navigated airports, kept track of his luggage, rolled with the unexpected, and came home with stories and experiences entirely his own. He's been building confidence with each new adventure, and it's a joy to watch, even while I hesitate to let go.

It's not that I don't trust him. He's grown into an incredibly responsible teenager, and I trust his judgment and his ability to figure things out. He's already more well-traveled at 14 than I was at 40, and he moves through new environments with a level of confidence I didn't have at his age. There's something deeply reassuring about that — and something a little humbling, too. Somewhere along the way, my koala baby has learned how to take care of himself.

I still struggle to let him go

A week in Washington, DC, or even 10 days in England wouldn't make me blink now. But a month — or longer — as an exchange student, living with people we've never met, in a place that isn't home? That feels like an entirely different leap. One that I'm not ready for.

I can hear my worry in the questions I ask him, even when I try to keep them casual. What if something goes wrong? What if you get homesick? What if it isn't what you expected? He answers confidently, like he's echoing the reassurance I've given him his whole life. I'll be fine. I know what I'm doing. It'll be fun. And I believe him.

He's shown me that he's ready for the world, again and again, in ways both big and small. He's learned how to plan, how to pack, how to adapt when things don't go exactly as expected. He knows how to dress for the weather, navigate a new city, use a credit card, and ask for help when he needs it. He's figured out how to be okay without me right there beside him.

He'll be OK — and so will I

I don't know yet if he'll commit to an exchange program in high school or if he'll wait until college to study abroad. Either way, I'll have to figure out how to be OK with it because there's no good reason to discourage him. As much as I feel that pull to hold on, I also feel — strongly — that I can't hold him back. Not in what he wants to do, and not in who he's becoming.

That's what we hope for when we're raising them, even if we don't always think about what it will feel like when it actually happens.

So when the time comes, I'll do what I've done every time before. I'll make packing suggestions, even if he doesn't really need me to, and ask all of the questions to reassure myself that he's prepared. Then I'll watch him leave, feeling that familiar mix of pride and worry, and remind myself that both things can exist at once.

He's ready to see the world. And I'm learning, one trip at a time, how to let him.

Hannah Bates didn't believe the email.

"Congratulations! We received the final payment on your loan," read the surprise message from Sallie Mae, her student loan lender.

It was October 2024, and Bates owed Sallie Mae $55,000, with years of payments remaining. She called customer service for an explanation. "They told me there was a glitch in the system and I probably got emailed by accident," Bates, 30, said. "How do you make an accident on something that big?"

Bates was behind on her payments at the time. After graduating in 2022, she initially kept up with the full $1,500 monthly bill. But about six months later, after taking a nursing job that paid $45,000 a year, she could only afford to pay roughly a third of it.

During her call with customer service, she says she was advised to make a payment to avoid default. The payment she made over the phone never reflected on her balance, she says, and within a few weeks, she defaulted. About six months later, Sallie Mae sued. Sallie Mae said it consistently communicates with borrowers throughout all phases of repayment, but did not comment on Bates' situation.

Bates hopes to negotiate more affordable payments with Sallie Mae. If she doesn't reach an agreement and fails to make her required payments, she risks wage garnishment and a hit to her credit score.

Situations like Bates' could become a reality for more students with President Donald Trump's federal repayment changes, which take effect in July, expected to drive more borrowers toward private lenders. Business Insider spoke with dozens of private student-loan borrowers, industry representatives, and lawyers, and reviewed court filings and borrower complaints to the federal watchdog responsible for student-lending regulation. The reporting revealed confusion over loan balances and notices as borrowers moved toward default and, in some cases, litigation.

After Bates defaulted, her full balance became due. A customer service representative called to collect, asking if she had friends or family she could ask to help make the lump-sum payment.

"I said to her, 'Ma'am, I'm not trying to be funny nor sarcastic, but if I had $55,000 to give you right now, we wouldn't be in this position,'" Bates said.

A confusing phone call

Although Sallie Mae denied her request for lower payments in calls ahead of her default, Bates tried to make a dent in her balance by paying what she could afford — around $560 a month. Since that was below the required payment amount, she became delinquent at the beginning of 2023, which is when a borrower misses a payment and is reported to credit bureaus.

What came after the "Congratulations!" message, Bates said, was confusion. Just a few weeks later, she got a notice about her "right to cure delinquency," informing her that if she didn't make payments, her account would default, which typically happens after 120 days without full payments.

Bates wanted to reverse her default after receiving the "Congratulations!" email, but she didn't know how.

"I didn't hear anything for months," Bates said. "And I had no access to any of the information on my dashboard anymore. They removed the loans. I had contacted them once or twice throughout this process, waiting to hear back, and no one ever had an answer for me."

A Sallie Mae spokesperson told Business Insider that "customer success is core to our mission," and fewer than 3% of Sallie Mae loans default annually. The spokesperson added that the company "proactively and consistently" communicates with its customers, including sending notices when the customer defaults, when that defaulted loan is sold, and who the new owner is. The spokesperson said the company could not comment specifically on Bates' account.

A customer service call between Bates and a Sallie Mae representative showed her efforts to avoid default.

Listen to a snippet of Bates' customer service call:

"What information was I supposed to follow? Because I'm confused now," Bates said during the call.

She then asked what the next steps were if there was no way to reverse the default proceeding.

"You would have to make arrangements with the company that your loan does go to," a Sallie Mae representative said.

"Okay," Bates answered. "Do you have any information on that?"

"We don't have it right now," the representative said.

A day in court

Once a loan defaults, it's standard practice for the lender to clear the defaulted balance off their books and transfer it to collections, either in-house or through a third party. The borrower still owes the full balance, but communications can vary depending on the account's manager — and the borrower doesn't always know who holds their loan.

Private lenders are subject to laws governing when and how they must communicate with borrowers. In some cases, a default can make it difficult for borrowers or regulators to track the loan.

That was the case for Bates — after defaulting, she lost access to her account and couldn't find her payment information. Bates could not afford a lawyer to help navigate her lawsuit, so she used ChatGPT instead.

That research prepared her for the first hearing in her case on March 6, 2026, held over Zoom in Michigan's Third Circuit Court. Bates asked the judge to set aside her default judgment. The judge denied the request and encouraged her instead to reach a settlement or agree to a payment plan with Sallie Mae's lawyers.

"I'm seeing this happen more and more," the judge, Annette Berry, said. "They're going after people for unpaid student-loan debt. And so if you think you're the only one, you're not."

Bates is now waiting for a response from Sallie Mae on the next steps.

"I am representing myself. I understand that there are some obstacles that come with that, and I'm trying to learn the processes as best I can because this is the only option I have to do so," Bates told the judge. "I'm just trying my best to juggle it."

• Jennifer and Paul Tessmer-Tuck leveraged REPS (real estate professional status) to save big on taxes.
• REPS can allow rental losses that are typically considered passive to offset active income.
• Qualifying for REPS required Paul to shift to part-time work to focus on real estate activities.

Jennifer and Paul Tessmer-Tuck used to owe a lot in taxes.

"Our single biggest expense every year was our state and federal taxes, for sure," Jennifer, a physician at a major Minneapolis hospital, told Business Insider.

That changed when they started buying real estate. A unique IRS designation called real estate professional status, or REPS, can allow rental losses that are typically considered passive to offset active income, such as W-2 wages.

For married couples, only one spouse needs to qualify, and those losses can be used to offset both spouses' incomes. That's why some tax professionals and investors refer to this strategy as the "marital loophole."

"For a married couple, if one person has the real estate professional status, then as a couple, we can count our real estate losses against my W-2 income, which is a big advantage for us as high-income earners," Jennifer said. In their case, Paul is the spouse who qualifies for REPS.

How REPS works

Typically, rental real estate losses are considered passive and can only offset passive income. For example, if you work as an accountant and invest in rental properties on the side, losses from your real estate business can offset rental income — but not your accounting salary. In the eyes of the IRS, those are separate categories of income.

REPS can change that. If one spouse qualifies as a real estate professional and materially participates in the rental activity, rental losses may be used to offset active income, including W-2 or 1099 earnings.

To get the tax benefit, investors still need to show a loss. In real estate, it's possible to generate positive cash flow while reporting a tax loss, thanks to deductions such as depreciation and expenses tied to repairs, renovations, and other property costs.

For the Tessmer-Tucks, who built a 16-property portfolio between 2020 and 2026, the tax benefits tied to REPS have been significant.

"If we can reduce the amount of money that we're paying in state and federal taxes and generate some cash flow from our rentals, that really gives us a leg up financially," Jennifer said.

Who qualifies for REPS?

You qualify for REPS based on how you spend your time. Two main requirements must be met:

1. You must spend more than 750 hours a year on real estate activities.
2. More than half of your total working hours must be in real estate.

For the Tessmer-Tucks, qualifying did require a major lifestyle adjustment: Paul, an elementary school teacher, cut back to part-time work.

"And then he dedicated the other half of his time to doing real estate renovations," Jennifer said. That shaped their acquisition strategy: They looked for single-family homes that needed light rehab so Paul could log enough real estate hours. He does everything from installing bathroom vanities and cabinets to remodeling kitchens.

Letizia Alto and Kenji Asakura, both physicians who later scaled back their hospital work after building a large rental portfolio, said they used REPS to "zero out" their income taxes for seven years and accelerate their path to financial independence.

Asakura transitioned to part-time hospital work in 2015 so he could qualify for the status. Again, only one spouse needs to qualify, meaning Alto could continue working and deduct the real estate losses against her clinical income.

Documenting those hours is critical. CPA Kristel Espinosa told BI that REPS can be closely scrutinized by the IRS.

"You can have other jobs, but you just have to be able to show that to the IRS if ever audited that the real-estate business really is your main thing," she said.

• Otis CEO Judy Marks says there's growing demand for skilled elevator mechanics around the world.
• Otis offers an apprenticeship program starting at age 18 and tuition perks for workers.
• Elevator mechanics can earn wages up to $158,890, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.

In an era of rampant layoffs, it can feel like no job is safe.

Except, perhaps, elevator mechanics.

Judy Marks is the CEO of elevator giant Otis and oversees a workforce of roughly 72,000 employees. That includes about 45,000 mechanics — and she says the company can't hire them fast enough.

"The demand is high," Marks told Business Insider.

When Otis spun off from its parent company in April 2020, it employed about 40,000 of these field professionals. Today, that number has increased by about 12.5% to 45,000, Otis said. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projected that elevator and escalator installers and repairers will grow by 5% between 2024 and 2034, which is 2% above the average for all occupations.

Beyond installing elevators and escalators, mechanics also maintain and repair equipment, she said. In some markets, including Japan, she said a declining population combined with a boom in refurbishment and construction has made hiring a challenge.

Mechanics also don't have to worry about losing their jobs to automation in the immediate future. As a regulated industry in most countries, Marks said humans are essential to the job. The role requires years of training and physical labor, which hasn't been easily replaced by robots so far.

"This is truly a craft skill," Marks said.

A long-term career

Many skilled-trade jobs have been on the rise in recent years. LinkedIn released data last year that revealed construction was the fastest-growing industry for new college grads. In 2026, it ranked construction fifth among the fastest-growing industries for new grads.

Marks said elevator mechanics, in particular, tend to stay in the profession for decades. She said Otis has roughly as many mechanics with zero to five years of experience as it does workers who have been with the company for more than 30 years.

"We don't have this kind of 'silver cliff' that's coming," Marks said, referring to how some older workers struggle in other trades.

"Most of them stay in the trade the rest of their life, and a lot of them, their fathers or mothers or grandfathers were in it."

In the US, Otis elevator mechanics are represented through a multi-employer union. Marks said it offers an apprenticeship for people starting at 18 years old, working for Otis during the day as helpers while attending elevator service school at night. After completing a four-year apprenticeship and passing a mechanic's exam, workers achieve journeyman status in the trade.

One of the highest-paying trade jobs

Elevator mechanics sit at the top of the pay scale when it comes to trade jobs.

The BLS released data on Friday that found that elevator and escalator installers and repairers earned the highest average salary among construction and extraction occupations in May 2025, at $109,820, with the 90th percentile at $158,890. That's well above both the category's average wage of $65,360 and the overall US average wage of $69,770, according to the report.

Other top-paying trades in the category included first-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers, who earned an average of $86,450, and terrazzo workers and finishers, who made $84,920, the report said.

In addition to solid pay, elevator mechanic roles at Otis also include eligibility for paid college tuition.

"When they come out and come work for us, I'll pay if they want to go to college," Marks said.

• Samsung's later-than-usual Galaxy S26 launch gave Apple a boost in the first quarter.
• Apple outperformed the US smartphone market in Q1 2026, according to Counterpoint Research.
• iPhone sales volume grew 1.3% in the US while the overall market fell 5.7%.

The iPhone 17 is on a hot streak for Apple while competitors cool down.

Apple's iPhone sales volume in the US grew 1.3% year over year in the first quarter, while the broader smartphone market fell 5.7%, according to market research firm Counterpoint Research. Samsung's later-than-usual launch of the Galaxy S26 helped give the iPhone a leg up.

Samsung's Galaxy S26 series was delayed from a typical January release to March 11, giving Apple a head start in smartphone sales for the quarter, market research firm Counterpoint Research said. Last year, the Galaxy S25 was unveiled in January and went on sale in February.

"When one brand delays a flagship launch, it opens a window of opportunity to fill that vacuum," Tyler Graham, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, said in a statement. "Apple did just that."

Apple has been racking up smartphone wins since it launched the iPhone 17 in September. The company said it had a "historic" holiday quarter for iPhone demand last year, and that strength continued into the March quarter, with 22% growth in iPhone sales.

Aside from delayed launches, economic challenges for consumers also contributed to declines in the overall US smartphone market during the period, according to Counterpoint Research.

Apple's pricing strategy helped it keep its edge in the smartphone sales battle. The iPhone 17e, Apple's entry-level smartphone, stayed at $599 — the same price as the iPhone 16e before it — while gaining 256 gigabytes of additional storage.

Samsung, meanwhile, raised the price of its Galaxy S26 base and Plus models by $100 from the previous lineup and phased out the entry-level phone with 128 gigabytes of storage. The price hike came as consumer electronics makers have wrestled with the rising cost of memory chips.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has been tight-lipped on whether the company would raise prices due to the memory shortage, but it said in April that it expects "significantly higher memory costs" for the June quarter.

Apple could strengthen its competitive edge in the smartphone market if it holds prices steady and continues to stimulate iPhone demand.

"If Apple can avoid significant price increases and continue to outpace its peers in promotional dollars, it will be tough for Android OEMs to keep up in the year ahead," Counterpoint wrote.

Being wealthy in America has long come with the expectation to keep it a little bit secret. The nouveau riche may commit the faux pas of conspicuous consumption, but the real money — often code for old money — knows not to commit such sins. If anything, it's their decorum that betrays their status.

No longer. These days, things among the rich and famous are looking decidedly more uncouth. Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez glommed onto the Met Gala. President Donald Trump is building a lavish, $400 million White House ballroom and adorning the Oval Office in floor-to-ceiling gold plating. The point of "Mar-a-Lago face" is that people can tell you've had work done. Everywhere you look, aesthetic preferences are turning loud and gaudy, whether it be the Masters tournament taking a Barstool Sports-esque turn or young guns on Wall Street showing off their watches in glossy magazine features.

"Aspirational stopped coming from taste and started coming from the lowest common denominator," says Ana Andjelic, a brand advisor and author. "That's why you have Lauren Sánchez looking the way she looks. But those people, it's the same thing as the robber barons in the Gilded Age — they came into money, but they don't have taste."

Tacky is back in a big way. Being loud and unabashed is cultural currency in a culture that prefers signaling vice over virtue. We're living in a digital Gilded Age where greed is again good, and the only way to prove you're a winner is to make sure no one can look away.

The term "conspicuous consumption" was coined by economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen at the end of the 19th century to describe people spending money as a way to signal social status. He didn't mean it nicely — he was referring to the new wealthy social class emerging from the second industrial revolution and their wasteful spending. The original Gilded Age was full of newly minted industrialists in fast-developing fields who built lavish mansions, threw over-the-top parties, and tried to buy their way into high society.

Consumption patterns among the upper echelons have historically pivoted around the fine-tuning of taste. The higher classes used their preferences as a weapon to set themselves apart, constantly moving the goalposts of decency and discernment to stay ahead of the masses. As soon as the middle class learned how to set a proper table or decided to buy a midcentury modern sofa, the elite moved on to something else.

Over the past 10 to 20 years, the most conspicuous form of consumption has been intentionally inconspicuous: quiet luxury. After the Great Recession, it was a bad look for Wall Streeters and others left unscathed to flaunt their wealth. Stealth wealth took over as it became fashionable to reject logos and at least profess to care about sustainability — the affluence on display in "Succession" is apparent, but muted. It's an "if you know you know" ethos for clothing, vacations, interior design, leisure, and more. It's marked by a modern minimalism — barely-there makeup, low-key logos, and, infamously, millennial gray.

That sort of soft superiority is on the outs. The latest shift is toward gauche, garish, and over-the-top. The richest of the rich aren't huddling in hidden compounds in the woods or walking around the office sluggishly in hoodies. They're buying islands, renting cities for their weddings, and wearing gold chains. And the signals are showing up in the wider culture. Gen Z is nostalgic for the McMansion, and maximalist interior design is back. Knick-knacks at estate sales are flying off the shelves, and individualism reigns supreme. Trucker hats have made a return. The modern-day jeans motto seems to be more is more is more. Young men are looksmaxxing to be at their hottest. Software engineers are tokenmaxxing to impress their AI-worshiping bosses. Everyone's proteinmaxxing to an extent even Robert Atkins would find excessive.

Call it tacky. Call it trashy. Call it "boom boom," which is how Sean Monahan — who coined "normcore" and "vibe shift" — described the aesthetic a little over a year ago. At the time, he characterized it as the fetishization of the past, the yearning for a reinstitution of boundaries between work and play, and, importantly, "supervillain vibes." It's the '80s, but with the internet.

"After a decade of executives dressing like interns (normcore), touting anti-growth platitudes (degrowth), while smartphones enabled the total dissolution of work/life boundaries (email jobs), is it any wonder the youth find inspiration in the glamour of the past?" he wrote at the time.

Whereas wealth, taste, and social status were once intertwined, they've now diverged. Instead of setting the agenda, the wealthy and elite are taking cues from pop culture — the Kardashians, "Real Housewives," and their TikTok and Instagram algorithms.

Indeed, some of the modern-day ultrarich distinctly and perhaps deliberately lack taste.

"Who has a lot of money doesn't necessarily have taste and status," says Andjelic, the brand advisor.

Kate Wagner, an architecture critic and the author of McMansion Hell, an architecture and design critique blog, tells me that bad taste has become a form of "vice signaling." It's in opposition to virtue signaling — stating one's pronouns, or posting about a social cause on social media — which is often liberal-coded. Instead, vice signaling embraces the taboo. It's rebellious and bucks the establishment.

Wagner points to the example of Trump, whose gold-leafed, neo-baroque taste has always trended toward tacky. "He just openly embraces having bad taste," she says. He loves McDonald's, the playlist at his events screams boomer, and he would really like it if everyone saw the musical "Cats." For Trump, the willingness to push his aggressive style on everyone goes beyond his personal leanings — it's a way to exert his authority and sway. "For him, forcing bad taste on the world is a form of power," Wagner says.

It also allows the president to communicate to his base that he's just like them (though as a billionaire, he isn't) and to distinguish himself from the liberal and traditional conservative milieus. Much of the American public chafes at the snooty, understated elites who they feel have long looked down on them. At the end of the day, many of us just want to enjoy a decent, cheap meal, watch whatever's on TV for the night, and call it a day. "It's a way of doing populist posturing. It's like, 'Look, I have bad taste, just like you,'" Wagner says.

I don't mean to imply that it's bad that tacky has become the 2026 theme. Tacky may not be fancy, but it is often fun. Nobody looks back at the "Miami Vice" era and is appalled — it's a neat time capsule. For those of us who survived homes overwhelmed by millennial gray and wore a uniform of strictly black and beige for years, it's exciting to allow a little color in. Gen Zs longing for McMansions are yearning for an era when houses were more than Zillow-optimized, indistinguishable boxes you can extract the most value from on the market. If you think that Bezos and Sánchez cheapened the Met Gala, did you really feel that much better about it in other years? Did you feel anything at all?

The same goes for complaints about the Masters golf tournaments and other high-ish society sporting events, such as the US Open. Traditionalists have begun to complain that the experience is being degraded. They're upset that NFL star Jason Kelce and actor Kevin Hart are part of the low-brow golf broadcasting, and they're irked that spectators are getting a little too enthusiastic (and drunk) during tennis matches. There are certainly echoes between the golf types who would prefer a pop culture megastar weren't at the tournament and those who didn't want minorities at their country clubs 40 years ago. These shifts, though, aren't necessarily about democratization and inclusion — they're about commercialization and the "more for more (money's) sake" attitude that pervades society. Maybe it's OK that golfers and fans prefer the applause and attire to remain hushed. At what point is taste a polite form of exclusion?

The tension between the quiet past and the loud present is accelerated by a force that previous generations could never have imagined: the algorithm. If taste was once a ladder of education and exposure you climbed, now it's a treadmill powered by Big Tech. You no longer need to learn about history or art or fashion to develop your own take and sense of style; you can just take whatever cues are coming from your phone. Whether it's TikTok's "For You" page, Instagram reels, or AI-generated anything, the internet has a flattening effect on discernment. If you want everyone to agree, a good strategy is to point them all to the same machine that will give them the same answers.

The result is decidedly mid and, often, decidedly tacky. At best, the algo-driven aesthetic looks generic, and at worst, it looks weird as hell. It works for tech elites such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, who feel alienated from the actual cultural elite and don't know what good taste is. Now they don't need to know, because their money and products can move the culture toward them — plus, they have so much money they really don't care. On the social media end of things, Instagram is warping how we see each other and ourselves. Whereas previously one might have had some light plastic surgery to look good (and untouched) in real life, the internet has created a feedback loop in which people strive to look like whatever the social media filter dictates, no matter the cost. The ability to pay to have work done — your lips, your forehead, your breasts — is something you want to show off as a status symbol for a certain group of women. That you were visibly able to pay for it is part of the point.

"Digital or physical. There is no such thing anymore," Andjelic says. "The internet ate reality, and because AI transforms reality to such a degree, what you're basically seeing is the digital transformation of reality."

Our reality is cartoonish and pixelated.

It's not clear whether our current version of tacky is particularly delightful or generally depressing. Labubus are fun, albeit embarrassing for anyone over the age of 18 who is sporting them. Quirky kitchens and loud bathroom wallpaper are charming ways to zhuzh up your home. But watching an AI-made Marvel movie trailer that a random tech evangelist prompted up is not heartening if you are about the future of art and cinema. Neither is staring at celebrities whose plastic surgery is borderline clownish.

Taste is constantly evolving, and the era of tacky will almost certainly move toward something else. The excess and greed of the '80s gave way to '90s grunge and rejection of "selling out." In the meantime, enjoy the billionaires going on joy rides to space, and if you've been considering lip filler, this is your moment — we've decided it's OK it looks like that. For now.

Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

• Yoni Assia believes the rise of AI is ushering in a new opportunity for retail traders to prosper.
• The CEO of eToro told Business Insider that retail can't be thought of as "dumb money" any longer.
• He thinks individual investors are poised to grow even more powerful with the help of AI.

Yoni Assia, the founder and CEO of trading platform eToro, has had a front row seat to the evolution of the retail investor over the last few years, and he thinks the day trader crowd is the new smart money in markets.

Speaking with Business Insider last week, Assia said the traders who are still often thoughts of as meme-stock chasers, have become much more sophisticated.

"They're definitely not dumb money," he said. "I think it will become the smartest money out there, and potentially the dumb money will be that which stays in institutions."

Terms like "dumb money," "exit liquidity," or "bag holders" get tossed around frequently to dismiss retail as less savvy than institutional investors. The meme stock craze hasn't helped, with the group often seen as chasing momentary rallies that often fizzle and end with a loss.

Recent events, thought, have proven that retail can navigate volatility as well as the big guys on Wall Street. Exhibit A is the tariff crash of 2025. A strategy of relentless dip-buying put day traders on top, allowing them to come out of some of the worst selling relatively unscathed compared to the broader market.

This year, retail investors have shown a new level of sophistication as they shifted from "buy the dip" to "sell the rip" while the Iran war sent stocks on a roller coaster ride.

Now, Assia sees another fundamental shift taking place in how retail traders operate, particularly due to the rise of AI, and he says that there's a constant trend of retail investors creating tools to help improve their trading.

"They've been building like crazy," he said. "People who have the passion toward something specific can suddenly build something, whether it's an algorithm to trade the markets, or whether it's an app to access institutional data."

In recent months, some of the barriers between retail and institutional investing have indeed started to come down. Prominent investing voices such as Michael Burry and Ray Dalio have begun sharing their market research on their personal Substack pages, providing retail traders with information previously gated off behind the velvet rope of institutions or only accessible via a pricey Bloomberg terminal.

Assia added that he thinks the trend will have wind-ranging implications as retail traders continue to make use of these resources and implement more sophisticated trading strategies.

"Whether they're building apps and sharing their knowledge with everybody else, that shared intelligence of retail investors will just grow stronger and stronger to actually, in my view, take a lot of the institutional asset managers' money direct to retail investors," he said.

He believes the recent rise of retail investing since the pandemic is among the "great revolutions" in modern market history. He also said the trend has changed the investing landscape permanently, forcing financial institutions to rethink their strategies.

"They thought they could short GameStop," he said of hedge funds who went toe-to-toe with individual traders. "Retail investors showed them that they couldn't. Institutional investors thought that crypto was a joke until they stopped laughing and joined the party and set up ETFs."

Amazon's "Day 1" culture primes employees for constant change. And there's been plenty of it lately: a five-day return-to-office mandate, an AI push, and mass layoffs. Business Insider interviewed 12 current and recent employees about how it's going.

Here's what they told us. The responses have been edited for length and clarity.

AI is now central to my work

Andrew Z. Chen is in his early 20s and lives in New York City. He began working for Amazon last year as a software development engineer.

As a software engineer, AI has become a big part of my day-to-day job. I spend most of my time talking to AI agents, and I can't really imagine going through a day at Amazon without using AI at this point.

I'm expected to work from the office five days a week, but I don't mind my commute — 20- to- 30 minutes one way via subway, from Brooklyn to Manhattan.

I started a book club at Amazon, and during the last round of layoffs, someone who had RSVP'd was laid off. It was a bit awkward since our meeting was on the day of the layoffs, and the "book" discussion turned into a discussion about the layoffs. But overall, I feel pretty safe in my role because no one on my team was affected by the cuts.

Despite layoffs and RTO, it'd be hard to land a new role

This Amazon employee is in his 20s and works out of a Seattle office.

Like many of my colleagues, I've become more conscious of business priorities and evolving performance expectations, but for now, I feel reasonably stable in my current position.

I generally work from the office five days a week, with exceptions for things like illness, appointments, or occasional travel. My commute is about a 15- to 20-minute walk each way.

One of the biggest benefits of working from the office is that it creates a clear boundary between work and home. The downside is that most of my stakeholders are spread across the country, so nearly all of my meetings are still virtual.

I sometimes think about looking for a job with more flexibility, but I think it could be difficult to land a new role, in part because remote and hybrid roles are very competitive.

I'm more efficient from the office, but I don't eat as healthily as I'd like

This Amazon employee is a software engineer who works out of a San Francisco office.

Overall, I feel positive about working from the office five days a week. My commute is about 10 minutes by cab or 15 minutes by scooter. Few companies offer the career benefits of a place like Amazon while also providing a hybrid schedule.

One of the biggest benefits is that it helps with work-life balance — I can leave work at the office and not worry about it when I get home. The downside is the limited flexibility during the day. I have less time to cook in the mornings, which makes it more likely that I'll eat unhealthy food at the office.

After the layoffs over the past year, there was some speculation internally that remote employees — or those not following return-to-office expectations closely — were more likely to be affected. But a few friends of mine who consistently came into the office still lost their jobs.

When it comes to AI, I use it frequently in my software engineering role. It improves speed and execution, but I don't want to become too dependent on it.

There seemed to be a push to reduce management layers

This Amazon employee is in his 30s and lives in Los Angeles. He worked for Amazon as a product manager before being laid off last October.

When I heard layoffs were likely coming the next day, I set my alarm for 3 a.m. When I woke up, I saw an email informing me I'd been laid off.

While I wasn't a manager, my understanding was that the cuts were part of a broader effort to reduce management layers. Some managers were converted to individual contributor roles, while others were laid off.

Before I was laid off, I was required to work from the office five days a week, with no exceptions. Attendance was strictly monitored, and when I requested remote work — for example, when I had a cold — I was told to either come in with a mask or take a sick day. No remote days were allowed. That said, I know other teams were more flexible. In many cases, it seemed to depend on the manager.

When it came to AI, Amazon was all in, and usage was tracked. From what I saw, morale around AI adoption was low. I and many others used AI, but it felt like fear of irrelevance drove most adoption, rather than excitement about the technology.

My short commute makes five-day RTO worth it

Sarthak Gupta is a data scientist who lives in Seattle. He began working for Amazon in 2024.

I'm expected to work from the office five days a week, but my commute is easy — only a five-minute walk.

The short commute has allowed me to focus on building my career instead of feeling drained by getting to and from work. Another major advantage is the networking and visibility — I naturally get to talk to leaders during lunch, coffee breaks, or quick walks.

The only real downside is on days when I'm feeling slightly unwell or would prefer to work from home. There's been a stronger push for managers and teams to be consistently in the office, and attendance is being tracked more closely. Since everyone is present, there's also an unspoken expectation of being on time, which reduces some flexibility.

While there have been layoffs, I think many employees have adopted a more pragmatic mindset, focusing on delivering impact and doing their best work, while accepting that some factors are outside individual control.

The way they track our office hours feels infantilizing

This Amazon employee is in his 20s and works out of the company's Seattle headquarters.

RTO isn't the worst thing in the world — I've gotten used to it. But finding out they're tracking office hours was a gut punch. It feels infantilizing, like they don't trust us.

I used to aim to be in the office around 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to beat the traffic, but I'm now frequently having to stay later to keep up with lots of "urgency" — where we're told everything is high priority — thus making my afternoon commute longer. I sometimes even have to take 8 p.m. meetings at home.

I've always known I will not be at Amazon long-term; it's a stopping point for career growth. I recently got promoted, so I've been looking pretty hard at the new jobs and applying a lot. I'm eager to find a much more flexible company.

A hybrid role of two or three days a week in the office would be fine, but I'm more inclined to look for a job that's fully remote because there's always the risk a hybrid company will change to five-day RTO, like how Amazon did, and then I'll have to start the whole process all over again.

I think of it as one of those "pick two" triangles; you get two of these three things: work-life balance, remote work, or good pay. If you want to find a remote-first company with good work-life balance, you're not going to get paid as well. If you want remote and paid well, you're going to get worked to the bone.

Right now, my priorities are remote work and work-life balance. The ultimate goal is to be out of the city, somewhere a little more rural, which comes with a lower cost of living.

I thought my role was secure — then I was put on a PIP

Nicholas Jenkins worked as a program manager at Amazon until leaving the company in December 2024 after being placed on a performance improvement plan.

Beginning in 2022, layoffs and reorganizations seemed to pick up at Amazon, but I thought my role was fairly secure.

That August, there were some early conversations about my performance that I felt weren't justified. By October, I was formally placed on Amazon's "focus" performance improvement program. At that point, I thought, "I've got to get out of here. This is too stressful." I was eventually offered a termination package, which I accepted.

When I left Amazon, I assumed I would quickly land a new job. But I underestimated how tough the job market would be.

About seven months later, I found a new role. The key was what I called a "final mile strategy" — focusing not just on landing interviews, but securing an offer. Moving from Seattle back to my hometown of Houston helped, since I had a strong network there that ultimately led to my current job.

I was granted a work-from-home accommodation, but then denied when I applied again

Dominique Nkamicaniye is a 47-year-old former senior product manager at Amazon in Seattle. She worked at Amazon for over eight years, most recently as a senior product manager in the international expansion organization. She was laid off in January.

I've seen the Amazon culture change gradually. We have to pay to park at the office, and management once said we'd no longer get free coffee, before reversing course. It's not like the Amazon that I remember when I started back in 2017.

I'm a single mother by choice of a 5-year-old boy, and he received a serious diagnosis in 2023. The following year, I became burned out and physically sick from working around the clock and taking care of him. I had to take FMLA twice to take care of my mental and physical health.

Because of my caregiving responsibilities, I asked for and was granted an accommodation to work from home two days a week for six months, but when I reapplied for an extension, I was denied. The process felt unjust and unclear.

I was really nervous about layoffs, having survived four prior rounds during my time there. It still came as a shock when I found out my role had been eliminated. I also felt a sense of relief because I no longer had to deal with the way I was being treated at work.

My son turned 5 the next day. It was a hard birthday because I was really emotional and scared about our future. I'm still looking for a new job. I pray that I never feel squeezed by an organization to the point of no longer being able to take care of my family again.

After being laid off, I wanted a role at a smaller company

Iren Azra Zou is in her late 20s and lives in New Jersey. She worked for Amazon as a software engineer until being laid off last October.

The day before Amazon announced layoffs in October, there were rumors that something big was coming.

I had a strange feeling in my gut that I might be affected, even though I felt I was performing well and had met my goals earlier than expected. It was hard to sleep that night, and the next morning, I learned I'd been laid off.

Upon reflection, I decided that the best fit for me might be at a smaller company with less bureaucracy — and where I could better see the impact of my work.

The pro of working at a big company was that you could do one thing and it could affect millions of people in less than 30 minutes, which was exciting. However, the downside was that it sometimes felt like you were a very tiny piece in a giant machine.

The day after my layoff, the chief technology officer of a startup reached out to me on LinkedIn about a software engineering role with more flexibility. The role seemed like a good fit, so I applied and quickly landed an interview. I was given an offer shortly after, which I accepted.

AI helps me work faster, even if it's not perfect

This Amazon employee worked out of a Seattle office before resigning earlier this year.

AI has had a growing impact on my job at Amazon, particularly with coding-related tasks. While AI wasn't churning out production-ready code yet, a few prompts over the course of a few hours made creating prototypes much easier.

Amazon tracked AI usage at the individual and team level. Overall, I mostly saw using AI as a net positive experience. I didn't experience AI fatigue— it just made my job easier.

The biggest downside to working five days from the office was the time spent commuting, but as long as office check-in and check-out times were flexible, I could make it work.

Commuting was frustrating when my team worked in a different office

Joanelle Cobos is in her 30s and lives in Las Vegas. She worked for Amazon as a design manager until being laid off last October.

When Amazon implemented a five-day-a-week office policy early last year, it was annoying because I was the only one on my team in my office. There was no in-person collaboration for me to benefit from. And my commute was a 45- to 50-minute drive each way.

Around the time this happened, I was preparing to be laid off. My tenure had been plagued by whispers of voluntary resignation programs and job cuts, basically once a year. My job never felt particularly secure.

Last October, I was laid off and started looking for work. I wasn't in a rush to jump into another corporate job, even though that's where the best income is. My goal was to take a lower-stress, lower-paying job with good health benefits and bridge the financial gap with income from my own business. But the job market has been challenging.

RTO has created a more uniform ideal employee that moves away from the diversity that pushed Amazon forward

This Amazon employee is in his 20s and is based out of a European office.

I always loved going to the office, but the five-day RTO has been extremely stressful. It's forced my days to get much longer and my expenses to go up. Public transportation would take an hour and 10 minutes one-way, so I switched to taking my car. Parking is another 300 Euros a month.

RTO has totally changed how I view my future at the company. To me, it feels like it's changed the demographics of employees, based on who's able to actually come to the office. What pushed Amazon forward over the past years, and what was appreciated, was its diverse workforce — the mothers, the part-timers — who all had different perspectives. Now, it seems we're moving away from that. That's a big shift in culture.

In Europe, your job isn't your identity. I feel there's a clash between European work norms and the company culture being predetermined by the US headquarters.

In New York or in the States, if I drop that I work for Amazon, people are like, "Oh wow, crazy! Congrats!" Here, I try not to mention that I work for Amazon. I usually say I work for a large logistics company. It's seen here as being equally problematic as working for Big Tobacco.

After the release of the movie about Melania [which was funded by Amazon], I've had people message me, "Why are you still working there?" Lots of people are openly having that conversation, which is very interesting.

I think in the current climate, it's quite hard to find a job in general. Regardless, I'm confident I'd be able to find a job within half a year or so, because people who work at Amazon generally have a very good reputation for work ethic. I also have some side gigs I could expand if I didn't work for Amazon.

Got a career story to share? Reach reporter Jacob Zinkula via email at jzinkula@businessinsider.com, or via Signal at jzinkula.29. Reach reporter Jane Zhang janezhang@businessinsider.com.

Ana Terrones sat in a window seat of the M15 Select bus, brushing raindrops off her jacket and scrolling through her phone. The glow of incoming text messages bounced off her glasses.

The 34-year-old mom of three was en route from the Bronx to the Upper East Side, where she's a housekeeper at a luxury apartment. At 8:13 a.m., she was praying the bus would arrive in time for her to pick up a light cappuccino from her usual bodega before clocking in to work by 9.

New York City's rent and grocery prices "get worse every year," she said, but she rarely notices small line items like a $3 bus fare. Saving minutes is more valuable than a few dollars.

On a Wednesday morning in May, a dozen commuters on the city's busiest bus route had strikingly similar views about Mayor Zohran Mamdani's fast-and-free bus pitch, one of his most highly publicized affordability promises. Riders told me how they make ends meet in one of America's most expensive cities. They mentioned groceries, housing, and childcare — and needing to get to work on time. The crowd was less enthused about the "free" part.

"I often have to run and race for the bus, and it's not reliable," one rider told me. "Then, sometimes on the weekends, I have to wait nearly 20 minutes."

By the end of his term, Mamdani hopes to eliminate fares on the city's more than 300 bus routes, an undertaking that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars and require significant support from both local and state lawmakers.

The administration also aims to take on the less expensive task of making the bus system faster and more reliable. While Mamdani's camp says they can achieve both goals, I wanted to know what New Yorkers really want from their rush hour. On the "free" part of Mamdani's promise, commuter opinion was mixed. More were fans of the "fast" pledge.

Yulia Chulad's most reliable means of transportation between her East Harlem apartment and her downtown teaching job has always been the M15 bus. She lives above 96th Street, where the Q train stops.

"I'm not sure if I would be taking the bus if it were free, to be honest," she said.

One-third of buses fail to show up at their scheduled stops on time, a 2025 analysis by the NYC Comptroller's Office found, and over half of bus lines with frequent service experience delays due to "bunching," or inconsistent spacing between buses.

The "free" part of Mamdani's pledge could jeopardize buses' speed. The city experimented with no-fare lines on five routes in 2023; it increased ridership but cost the city millions and slowed bus service. Kansas City and Boston have seen similar mixed results with free bus experiments.

From a numbers perspective, NYC bus fares generate $652 million a year, which is used to offset the system's multi-billion-dollar operating cost. Eliminating fares would cost upwards of $700 million, according to Mamdani, though state leaders worry the sum will be much higher. The mayor would also need to overcome red tape and budget hurdles — the MTA is a state agency, so City Hall can't directly change fares. Simply adding more dedicated lanes to skirt traffic would cost closer to $123 million, a fraction of making buses free.

The city should direct more money toward "fixing the streets so buses can run faster," one born-and-raised New Yorker told me. A seventh grader on his school commute was still making up his mind about the policy. (He's been a daily rider "probably since sixth grade.")

With a finite amount of money, the city will likely need to prioritize. Commuters I spoke with broadly agreed that the bus is more visually appealing and less cramped than the subway, more realistic than walking, and more financially accessible than a car or taxi. With over 300 routes to the subway's 25, buses reach many neighborhoods in the city that the trains do not. Many commuters — especially women and teenagers — also told me that the bus feels safer than the subway. The MTA recorded more crimes on the subway last year than on buses across all city precincts.

Many of the New Yorkers I spoke with think it's a service worth paying for.

"I'm not a great fan of the free buses," said a 70-something retired investment banker. "I don't think you should just get that."

Commuters I spoke with were on their way to work as bankers, analysts, teachers, service workers, and housekeepers. A few were teenagers on their way to school; others were traveling to appointments. The vast majority said they are regular riders and spend between $50 and $100 a month on fares.

And then there are the riders who don't pay anything. For Sophie Swintochowski, fare evaders are New York's biggest problem. (She has secondary gripes with graffiti and dog waste.) Only a city bus offers easy transit access between her typical haunts — her apartment, the park, and her granddaughter's school pickup — and the dentist appointment she had that day. She's worried that too many people skipping the fare will mean worse service.

"Most of the time, the bus is free," the 73-year-old tells me. "A lot of people just walk in. It's only a few of us that do pay."

The Office of the New York State Comptroller reported that, between 2022 and 2023, transportation made up 14% of the average NYC household's spending, lower than the 17% national average. Still, the MTA estimates that about half of riders of all ages and incomes evade fares completely. The MTA's reduced fare program applies to seniors and some people with disabilities.

Fare evaders serve as an argument for free buses because enforcement is costly and creates conflict. The MTA's latest crackdown includes employing civilian fare enforcement agents to check riders' credit cards and phones for proof of payment. It's not yet clear how much it's recouping. For the dozens of people I watched step on the M15 without paying, only one woman was removed and ticketed over a four-hour period. From a safety standpoint, fare-free buses also tend to have lower rates of assault and violence against drivers.

Elizabeth Adams, City Hall's newly appointed "free and fast bus czar," added that free buses would make the city more accessible to residents, regardless of their budgets. "People shouldn't have to make decisions between paying for groceries or getting to work," she told me, and "everyone should have freedom of movement."

It's a big task: The city's buses are already heavily subsidized by government funding, and the system must smoothly accommodate over one million riders every day. Adams told me that Mamdani's strong working relationship with the governor will translate to financing for free buses. Hochul has not indicated that she will include it as a line item in the state budget, even as MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber is actively supporting the city's bus lane and speed improvements.

Asked about how a lack of fares would affect service, Adams said, "The mayor knows that a free bus is only good if it comes."

John Leake, 63, plans to do two or three laps around the route. He may hop off at South Ferry for a drink, something "light and sweet," but doesn't have any agenda. He has lived in the five boroughs his entire life and is currently homeless.

He thinks Mamdani is "a good man," and hopes that fast and free can coexist. In the meantime, he resorts to fare evasion and told me, "I haven't paid for a ticket since the World Trade Center went down."

In April, Mamdani announced a planned redesign of some bus routes in Brooklyn, which City Hall says will better connect neighborhoods, improve traffic lanes, and speed up commutes. Changes to the Q70 bus are set to speed up service for LaGuardia Airport and World Cup travelers, and construction of new bus lanes on Lexington Avenue is underway. Adams said these efforts will ensure residents no longer have to experience slow commutes. Both she and a spokesperson for the Mayor's Office emphasized that City Hall won't compromise on either side of the fast-and-free promise.

"We shouldn't be settling for half loaves," Adams said. "New Yorkers deserve all of it."

On my way back uptown, I sat next to Shaliek Loabhont. The 32-year-old said $1.50 is a fair price for the bus, especially if it's on time. Three dollars? "Absolutely not." He was on his way home.

Loabhont next revealed that, an hour earlier, he had been in court for fare evasion.

• Caila Moed went from professional dance to arts finances to Goldman Sachs to entrepreneurship.
• She's using the client-first mentality she learned at Goldman to scale her new business.
• Moed joined Goldman while five weeks pregnant, and has found a more sustainable work-life balance.

This as-told-to is based on a conversation with Caila Moed, 35, founder of Rikud Movement, an innovative dance studio in Brooklyn, New York. Business Insider has verified her previous employment at Goldman Sachs, enrollment at Oxford's Said Business School, and current revenue. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

After years working in the arts and getting my MBA at Oxford, I joined Goldman Sachs during the pandemic, living in my in-laws' attic and five weeks pregnant.

Nobody knew about the pregnancy. I interned as a summer associate through my first trimester, turning my Zoom camera off, throwing up, and turning it back on. I got a return offer and eventually had to tell my teammates, who were super supportive.

I returned to Goldman's wealth management business with a five-month-old, breastfeeding through working and studying for the series tests, but I loved it.

In the private wealth unit, you're expected to pound the pavement and build your own book of clients, which includes ultra-high-net-worth individuals and nonprofits. You start by apprenticing on a more senior team, and then, once you have a certain amount of assets under management, you're on your own.

I became pregnant again — and was still doing coffee in the morning, networking at night, volunteering, and board meetings. I got really sick, though, and doctors didn't know what was wrong with me. I stopped feeling like the high performer I knew myself to be.

Work-life balance wasn't going to cut it

Over maternity leave, I took a genuine look at my life. The journey to becoming a successful asset manager is steep and competitive, and when I got back to the firm, I started to think I might have to write my own rules.

I realized that my life at home wasn't up to my standards — I couldn't do school pick-up and drop-off, or cook most meals, and during the week I often missed key moments like dinner and bath. Our nanny was putting my daughter to bed some nights.

My time at Goldman came to an end, and I explored opportunities in banking, philanthropy, and family offices, but two roles went to more junior applicants, and the more senior positions didn't offer the work-life balance I needed. It became clear I had to forget traditional work-life balance — I needed a lifestyle where I could take my kids to school, pick them up, be on the playground, and hear about their day.

Entrepreneurship seemed like the only answer.

Long before Goldman, dance was my first community

Though I'm now based in Brooklyn, I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, and my early community was really my dance community. I did everything: ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical modern, but I ended up focusing on hip hop and contemporary. I'd spend hours after school and weekends in the studio, doing my homework in the costume closet and getting frozen pizza for dinner.

After not getting into my top-choice college, I auditioned for "So You Think You Can Dance," made it to Vegas auditions, and kick-started my career in the commercial dance world. Eventually, though, I went to college and did a year at Fordham before transferring to NYU.

By then, I knew I wanted a corporate job. I'd already stopped dancing as consistently in college, and I walked off stage for the final time during my senior year, after booking a performance with Nicki Minaj in Times Square. Social media meant there would be videos of me shaking bits on stage, and I — like pretty much every millennial woman — was hyper-aware of the internet.

I worked in arts operations, corporate fundraising, and philanthropy after college, which gave me a view into family offices and foundations. A whole world of finance opened up through the lens of the arts, and I saw how interconnected it all was, which eventually led me to get an MBA at Oxford's Said Business School and apply to Goldman's internship program while I was enrolled.

I'm bringing Goldman's "client-first" ethos

And now that I'm no longer at Goldman, I'm turning to the arts again as an entrepreneur. I used to walk past an empty storefront on a block near my daughter's school in Brooklyn every day, and learned it was a pop-up space.

Many pop-up spaces have more flexible terms, like not paying months of rent in advance, and are great incubators for new small businesses. After a few moms at my daughter's school promised they'd help me get a studio off the ground, I had a website and was launching pre-registration within a week. By January 12, we opened the doors of Rikud Movement.

It's a disruptive dance studio: no mirrors, no ballet, no recitals. We have five teachers, and focus on street and club dance for all ages.

I'm using many of the things I learned at Goldman, like how to find new business. I wake up every day and pursue new clients, price points, and revenue streams.

Knowing the market cycles also comes in handy — when I look at consumer behavior and why someone may or may not renew their membership, I'm thinking about the economic backdrop of spending on kids' recreation. Goldman's ethos of listening to clients and their pain points has been key, inspiring things like snow-day programming and summer camp.

When I worked in the corporate world, people told me to slow down and have more thoughtful decision-making, which was the flipside of being an open, friendly person.

The feedback was 100% true, and now, as an entrepreneur, I face it in real time, instead of in a performance report. Consequences are higher and more immediate, and I'm being pushed to change.

It's still early, and there's a lot more changing to do, but we've done six figures in our first 100 days. There's an on-ramp, though, and we're bootstrapped right now. My years on Wall Street taught me how to judge the success of young businesses, since I'd treat founders as potential clients and determine what their early numbers could lead to in the future.

I'm nowhere near the metrics that people in finance would take seriously, but I know what the roadmap looks like, and I'm pretty sure I have paths to get there.

• William Parr transitioned from restaurant work to driving for Uber.
• Parr, a deaf Uber driver, uses technology to communicate with his passengers.
• Driving for Uber has been more profitable than restaurant work, he said.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with William Parr, who drives for Uber and lives in Longview, Texas. Business Insider reviewed documentation verifying his earnings. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Driving for Uber is my full-time job for the time being.

I started driving for Uber during a break from my 26-year career in the restaurant industry. My jobs included everything from washing dishes to busing tables to working the line in the back of the kitchen. The most I made at that time was $15 an hour at Olive Garden.

Inflation and rising living expenses for my family grew to the point where I needed income that paid me three or four times what I could earn in restaurants. That's why I started working for Uber this past spring. I also liked being able to choose my hours or work when ride requests are high.

Between April and December of last year, I made about $50,000 in gross pay.

The pay on Uber is better than what I made working at restaurants. This year, for example, on Mother's Day, I worked for 5 ½ hours and, after my gas costs, made about $130. That came to almost $24 an hour for driving a car — better than I made in restaurants.

I started out with a Ford Explorer SUV. After mechanical issues with that car, I bought a Toyota Sienna minivan that can seat eight people. There's a Union Pacific railyard in my town, and you often have large groups from that facility catching Ubers.

Those trips, which I list as Uber XL, are my most profitable, even with current gas prices. Some of them involve long-distance driving and pay better. I've done three-hour trips to another town in Texas, for example, that pay up to $260. Even after factoring in gas, I'm making more than anyone would dream of paying me in the restaurant world.

I use technology to overcome communication challenges

The biggest challenge of being a deaf driver is communicating with my riders.

I can't make traditional phone calls, for example, which sometimes causes problems, especially when I'm picking up seniors, who generally don't like to text. I also can't hear riders when they try to talk to me or ask for things.

I've figured out ways to overcome some of those challenges. I have a live transcription app on my phone, which I use to "listen to" riders. I put signs in my car to let them know I'm deaf. I also have a separate tablet mounted on my dashboard so that I can review and accept new ride offers.

A few times, people have perceived me as being rude by not hearing them, but when I gesture to my signs, they usually understand.

Driving for Uber has given me so much more money, which is helping my wife and me reduce our debt while living a comfortable life. I got frustrated with the constant pressure in the restaurant industry, and being a driver full-time has let me escape that while also having more flexibility.

Have a tip? Contact this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com or via encrypted messaging app Signal at 808-854-4501. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

• AI is changing workplaces, including within the very companies that make frontier AI models.
• AI-related jobs span the org chart from gig work all the way up to the C-suite.
• From AI accelerators to forward deployed engineers to philosophers, a new class of AI jobs is here.

The next time you're at a networking event, don't be thrown if you spot new job titles on people's name tags.

AI companies aren't just changing the way people work. They're changing the kinds of roles being hired, including within their own companies.

The wider jobs marketplace is responding, with org charts morphing as a new class of jobs emerge.

In some cases, companies are creating new job titles altogether; in others, existing roles are seeing a resurgence in value — or a rebranding for the AI age.

The hiring sprees and the creation of new positions stand in stark contrast to a growing number of companies that have cited AI as the impetus for layoffs.

Job listings show that companies are looking for everything from one of the oldest pursuits (philosophy) to an entirely new category of jobs spawned by the generative AI models (vibe coders). Then, there's the armies of engineers tasked with helping companies implement the technology effectively.

From the niche to the novel, meet the new and expanding class of AI jobs.

The AI Storyteller

AI and tech companies are looking for people who can help tell their stories, both in traditional communications and as new "evangelists."

Anthropic is looking for a Claude Evangelist, someone who will be its "face" for the startup ecosystem. Adobe is hunting for its own "Business Architect & AI Evangelist." Last year, Microsoft began publishing a print magazine, Signal.

Who is hiring: OpenAI and Anthropic, the latter of which has tripled the size of its communications team.

Skills required: For communications management roles, companies are looking for roughly a decade of work experience and deep relationships with reporters. Some roles consider experience in specialized areas, such as government work, a plus. For Anthropic's Claude Evangelist role, the company is looking for a minimum of seven years in a combination of founder-builder startup roles and developer-facing jobs.

Salary: The average director of communications in the US makes $106,000, according to Indeed. In comparison, both Anthropic and OpenAI are hiring communications managers with starting salaries above $200,000. The "Claude Evangelist" role pays even more, starting at $240,000.

The Forward Deployed Engineer

The hottest job in AI predates OpenAI's ChatGPT. To get a sense of the scale, there were about 19 times as many job postings for forward deployed engineers in January 2026 as in the year before, according to Indeed.

Popularized by Palantir in the 2010s, the role aims to give companies a tailored solution to their needs, rather than off-the-shelf software by embedding a specialized engineer directly with a customer.

Palantir CEO Alex Karp has compared the job to that of a seasoned waiter in a French restaurant, combining exquisite service and knowledge of the food (product).

To tap into the lucrative enterprise AI market, frontier model makers, hyperscalers, and everyone in between need these AI engineer-meet-consultant roles.

Who is hiring: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Amazon Web Services, and Palantir, among others.

Skills required: A bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or a related field, experience with multiple coding languages, experience with the particular company's AI tools and models. Some companies want applicants who are willing to travel.

Salary: Depending on the role and company, starting salaries range from roughly $115,000 to $200,000 or more.

The AI Accelerator

While FDEs are focused on spurring external AI adoption, companies are increasingly creating roles to push their own coworkers to better utilize AI.

Stripe is hiring a "Forward Deployed AI Accelerator" to embed within its marketing team, aimed at getting their colleagues "to make AI the default mode for all work." Box, whose CEO, Aaron Levie, has zealously pursued AI adoption, is hiring an "AI Business Automation Engineer" to integrate AI agents across the cloud management company.

Who is hiring: Stripe, Box, and other tech companies

Skills required: A deep level of AI knowledge and the ability to work with teams and spur AI-driven results specific to a team's own goals. Box is specifically looking for someone who has "2-3+ years of hands-on engineering experience in IT or software engineering."

Salary: The Stripe role's base salary starts at $132,000. The Box job starts at $146,500.

The AI Philosopher

AI and tech companies have breathed new life into the job prospects of philosophy majors.

Anthropic has a resident philosopher, as does Google DeepMind. Both positions focus on making sure that AI models are broadly aligned with human values. Anthropic goes so far as to publish a Constitution for Claude, a detailed description of the values it wants its AI to have. Similar positions also include AI Ethicists.

While you shouldn't expect companies to each be hiring armies of philosophers, the profession officially has a new pipeline into tech.

Skills required: Experience in AI ethics and safety.

Salary: Google DeepMind recently sought an emerging impacts manager in AI ethics and safety with a base salary of $212,000 to $231,000.

The AI Gig Worker

Some foundational jobs in AI have focused on gig-style work, especially on the human side of training AI models.

Companies like Scale AI and Mercor are major players in the space. This can involve anything from giving feedback on the AI models' creative writing output to helping train translation skills — or even its comedy chops.

Traditional gig-work companies, including Uber, DoorDash, and Instawork, are also starting to offer jobs that pay users for uploading photos and/or videos of chores and other tasks that will be used to help train AI models.

Skills required: Depending on the specific job and knowledge category, Scale AI and Mercor require a bachelor's Degree and a couple of years of professional experience. The barrier to entry is lower for the Uber and DoorDash recorded chores and tasks — think typical gig work qualifications.

Salary: Depending on experience, workers can earn anywhere from $15 to roughly $200 per hour.

The Vibecoder

Vibe coding isn't just for fun anymore. The popularity and ease of use of generative AI coding tools have spurred a whole new category of jobs.

Vibe-coding platforms like Lovable are hiring professional vibe coders.

Other companies, both inside and outside tech, are asking for applicants with vibe coding experience. TikTok is looking for a product designer who can create prototypes using "with code … and AI tools." YouTube wants an "AI Solution Architect" who is able "to bypass traditional, slow-moving development cycles by utilizing AI-assisted development (vibe-coding) and low code solutions."

Skills required: Most jobs want some degree of technical proficiency. For example, YouTube's role prefers applicants who are proficient in "Python, SQL, and API integrations." The minimum requirements call for six years of work "in product or program management."

Salary: Salaries vary widely, based on the exact nature of the role. The TikTok job starts at $108,000. The YouTube role starts at $149,000.

The AI Chief

AI is also changing the C-suite.

In July 2024, PwC announced it had appointed a "Chief AI Officer." Similarly, Accenture announced its first chief responsible AI officer in 2024. In 2025, Raymond James created the role of "Principal AI Architect."

It's not just corporate America. Local governments are also hiring chief AI roles.

Salary: Glassdoor estimates the pay range between $265,000 to $494,000. In the government realm, Arkansas is hiring a "Chief AI Officer" with a starting salary of just over $117,000.

• Matt Lowrie quit Google after 18 years, after feeling pressured to adopt AI at work too suddenly.
• He struggled to trust the technology or find joy in using it to code.
• Now that he's left Google, Lowrie has discovered how AI can boost productivity.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Matt Lowrie, 55, who lives in Colorado and used to work at Google. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I joined Google as a test engineer in 2006. It was a very exciting time. The company gave us the freedom to try things, and it felt like anything was possible in engineering.

I spent nearly 19 years there, but I quit after saving enough to retire early and because I felt the company was pressuring me to adopt AI too quickly. Since then, I've started to appreciate how AI can be a helpful productivity tool in my daily life.

I felt like I had aged out of Google

My initial focus at Google was on 3D software, but I moved to other parts of the company, including online web applications, Google Now, and cloud software.

By 2024, I felt the focus at Google shifting increasingly toward incorporating AI capabilities into its products, and they were encouraging us to use AI to help with coding. Although I was interested in machine learning, I was skeptical about adopting AI in this way at the time.

I wondered if it would eliminate our jobs entirely, and more than that, I struggled to trust the technology for the work I was responsible for.

Having coded for so long, using AI for it felt less interesting to me, like I was asking someone else to write code then fixing what didn't work. I felt I could no longer write something from scratch and come up with my own interesting solutions.

I'd built up a process for getting things done over many years, and I found it hard to adapt to this new way of doing things so quickly, while younger colleagues seemed to pick up AI coding more easily.

I felt that if this was the direction Google was going in, then maybe I'd aged out of it.

In November 2025, I handed in my resignation and retired early at 55. I was relieved and excited to start a new chapter, especially as I'd done a lot of planning to make retiring early feasible.

I learned AI could make me more productive

It was only after I quit and I had more time to experiment with personal projects that I started to understand how I could incorporate AI into my daily life.

I used Gemini to help me decide which World Cup games to go to by creating a tool for searching matches by team and city.

I prompted it to make the app's UI look like an illustration that I'd drawn on a piece of paper, and it managed to figure out exactly what I needed. That would've taken me hours if I'd done it manually, which showed me that AI can be a good productivity tool.

I needed to brush up on skills I hadn't used in years

One tip I have for those getting to grips with AI is to brush up on your written language skills. You often have to prompt LLMs with a whole paragraph of context, but I never really did well in English or humanities, so I had to redevelop these skills, even for silly things.

On my brother's birthday, I wanted to send him a funny AI-generated image of Steph Curry holding a cake. I started out by saying, "Create an image of Steph Curry with a birthday cake," which came out with something terrible. I had to refine my prompt to explain that I wanted Curry to be holding the cake in his hands and presenting it like a chef. I learned I had to be descriptive to get the image I wanted.

I don't regret leaving Google

I'm happy about the timing of my decision to leave Google.

The AI race means companies are putting out powerful tools all the time, and they're available to everyone. For now, I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything that I would've had as a Google engineer. Plus, I don't have the added stress of trying to figure out how to use LLMs while meeting deadlines at work.

I have no regrets.

Google declined to respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Do you have a story to share about adapting to AI in the workplace? Contact this reporter at ccheong@businessinsider.com

• See how your state's gas prices compare to others with our interactive map.
• Gas prices have climbed since late February. The US average jumped from $2.98 to over $4.50 a gallon.
• Even as the US leads global oil production, prices remain tied to volatile international markets.

How do gas prices in your state stack up against the rest of the country? Business Insider created an interactive map so you can find out.

Gas prices have been climbing steadily since late February.

The national average was $2.98 a gallon on February 27, according to AAA, and surged over $4 by March 31. By mid-May, average prices were over $4.50.

So far, states on the West Coast have been hit the hardest by rising gas prices. California's average first topped $6 a gallon on April 30.

Some central states like Oklahoma and Kansas have consistently posted the lowest averages during the recent spike.

The differences are stark — but prices have risen dramatically in every state.

Analysts say several factors are driving the increase. Blockades by the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz — a key global oil transit route that carries an estimated 20% of the world's oil — have raised global supply concerns.

Spring typically brings a switch to a more expensive summer fuel blend, and recent American Midwest refinery outages have also tightened supply in the Great Lakes region.

Those pressures are pushing prices higher even as the US remains the world's largest oil producer, in part because oil is traded globally.

"The same oil we rely on can be moved anywhere in the world, and we're seeing exports at record levels," Patrick De Haan, a fuel market expert at GasBuddy, told Business Insider. "This is capitalism. When you put your house on the market, you're not like 'Yay, I'm going to take the cheapest bid.'"

The supply and geopolitical pressures could keep prices elevated for months — though there's still significant uncertainty. De Haan said there's a "huge range" of potential summer gasoline prices, with a national average of anywhere from $3.50 to $5.50 a gallon.

• My teenage daughter says some of her favorite childhood memories came from time spent in bars.
• I realized she was right. We did make great memories and connections over meals at bars.
• We've found people who have laughed with us and people who have helped us through difficult times.

I wasn't sure how to respond when my teenage daughter told me that some of her best childhood memories are from the times that we spent together in bars.

That's the kind of statement you're grateful no one is around to overhear. Serafina hasn't turned 18 yet, and she has had multiple experiences in bars. Plural.

"What kinds of memories?" I asked.

She fondly talked about the Golden Eagle Saloon in Ester, Alaska, outside of Fairbanks, where the bartender would bring a crockpot of homemade soup every Sunday. Local musicians would bring acoustic guitars and hand drums and jam on the wide front porch. There was one guy with a washtub bass who let Serafina try it out. She was small enough at 7 years old that she had to stand on the washtub to play. Dogs and kids ran around outside while adults grilled burger patties provided by the bar.

At Ursa Major Distilling, not far from the Golden Eagle, Serafina recalled meeting a litter of sled dog puppies with all of their wiggles and kisses. At HooDoo Brewing Company, she got to meet Silver, a lead dog who had won the Yukon Quest race.

Our local watering hole became more to us

When our family moved to Hawaii, my husband and I found our local watering hole, and Serafina found her place there, too

Objectively speaking, Tsunami's was a dive. Sure, tourists popped in there because it was right on Kuhio Avenue, a dark relief from the blazing sunshine of Honolulu. The after-work crowd, however, was decidedly local and done by 7 p.m. each night. Serafina, around 9 years old at the time, quickly learned how to order a Shirley Temple. It became her drink, and new bartenders were trained to always give her a side of maraschino cherries. We made new friends there. I became part of the "moms' club," four moms in our 40s who gathered for drinks and support.

When Serafina's dad died, Tsunami's hosted his wake. There was no formal reservation, no shutdown of the space. They just said yes to us and let us gather friends, family, and guitar players.

Tsunami's closed permanently two weeks after the wake.

As Serafina and I began to rebuild our life as a family of two, she talked me into taking aerial acrobatics classes with her. After our Saturday aerial class, we'd often go next door to Honolulu Brewing for lunch. The wait staff got to know us and always asked Serafina about what she was reading.

We found a community

While someone might hear the word "bar" and recoil at the idea of a child frequenting them, we've found community. We've found people who have laughed with us and people who have helped us through difficult times.

I also see that my daughter has learned to have conversations with people she may not have much in common with. She's seen examples of people drinking responsibly and those who don't. She's learned respect for people who work in the service industry. She's learned to meet people where they are — without judgment.

And, with all of this exposure and experience, she is not at all interested in drinking alcohol. She's been around it. She's smelled it. She's watched people using it. Her only interest in it is whether it will actually cook out of recipes that call for it.

Bars aren't her only form of socialization. She was a Girl Scout. She briefly played soccer. She's been in school theater productions. Her after-school hula program was its own close-knit social group. But, some of her favorite childhood memories are from bars, and looking back, I can say I'm grateful for that.

• Mistral CEO said Europe has 2 years to avoid dependence on US AI infrastructure giants.
• Arthur Mensch warned AI dominance will hinge on control of chips, energy, and compute capacity.
• Europe risks becoming an AI "vassal state," Mensch told French lawmakers.

Two years.

That's the narrow window Europe has to build its own artificial intelligence infrastructure before becoming permanently dependent on American tech giants, according to Arthur Mensch, the CEO of French AI startup Mistral.

"It will be decided in the next two years," Mensch said during a Tuesday hearing on digital sovereignty and AI at France's National Assembly, translated by Business Insider.

The 33-year-old cofounder of Mistral — one of Europe's best-funded AI startups and a challenger to OpenAI — said that the continent risks losing control over not just AI models, but the energy and computing infrastructure powering them.

"Once supply is monopolized by American players, suddenly we no longer have supply and we can no longer transform electrons into tokens," Mensch said, referring to the process of converting computing power into AI-generated output.

He even said that Europe could eventually become "a vassal state" if it fails to develop its own AI industry and continues importing digital services from the US.

Europe's sovereignty push

Mensch has repeatedly touted sovereignty and Europe's independence from American AI companies as central to Mistral's open-source strategy, saying recently that governments increasingly want AI systems they can control independently of US tech giants.

The Paris-based startup has continued leaning into that message in recent announcements, including a partnership with Groupe Caisse des Dépôts, a state-backed French public investment institution, focused on strengthening Europe's "digital sovereignty" through generative AI and GPU computing infrastructure.

On Tuesday, Mensch warned that the AI race is increasingly a battle over access to energy, chips, and data center capacity.

US tech companies are already moving aggressively to secure those resources, he said, adding that Europe risks falling behind permanently if it moves too slowly.

"The Americans are deploying a trillion dollars next year," Mensch said. "The one who controls the chips, who controls the electrons, who has massive access to energy — that's the one who wins."

The infrastructure case

Mistral, which was founded in 2023 by former Meta and DeepMind researchers, has emerged as one of Europe's flagship AI startups with a valuation of roughly $13.6 billion.

Mensch said the company aims to build a gigawatt of AI computing capacity by 2029, though he suggested Europe ultimately needs far more infrastructure investment.

The executive also criticized Europe's fragmented regulations and capital markets, saying they make it far harder for startups to scale than in the US.

"If we don't move fast enough," Mensch said, "we'll end up in a situation where we have no choice left."

"In a world where you import all your digital services from the United States, you have no leverage over the United States," he added.

• Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt gave the University of Arizona's commencement address this year.
• Students booed while Schmidt discussed AI and automation.
• AI has transformed the global workforce, impacting entry-level jobs.

Boos rang out during the University of Arizona's graduation ceremony on Friday as former Google CEO Eric Schmidt spoke about a topic that is maybe a little sensitive for those about to enter the workforce: AI.

While other speakers received cheers and applause, Schmidt's speech about the impact of modern technology on society struck a nerve.

"We thought that we were adding stones to a cathedral of knowledge that humanity had been constructing for centuries, but the world we built turned out to be more complicated than we anticipated," Schmidt said, referring to his own contributions to modernization. "The same tools that connect us also isolate us. The same platforms that gave everyone a voice — like you're using now — degraded the public square."

Schmidt added, "In the years after I graduated, no one sat down and resolved to build technology that would polarize democracies and unsettle a generation of young people. That was not the plan, but it happened."

Students' boos grew louder when he mentioned AI.

"I know what many of you are feeling about that. I can hear you. There is a fear," Schmidt said, stopping briefly as the shouts intensified. "There is a fear in your generation that the future has already been written, that the machines are coming, that the jobs are evaporating, that the climate is breaking, that politics are fractured, and that you are inheriting a mess that you did not create."

Schmidt called those fears "rational," but encouraged them to adapt to the technology and become involved in shaping how it will be used in the future.

"The question is not whether AI will shape the world. It will," Schmidt said. "The question is whether you will have shaped artificial intelligence."

AI is transforming the global workforce, from how companies screen potential candidates to the types of skills companies are seeking. Despite young people increasingly adopting AI in their daily lives, surveys show they're worried about what it means for their careers.

The tech's ability to automate many rote tasks has led some companies to cut back on hiring for entry-level positions. Companies like Klarna and IBM have already conducted AI-related layoffs.

A recent Pew Research Center study found that about half of Americans felt the increased prevalence of AI in their daily lives made them feel "more concerned than excited."

Some students also planned ahead of the ceremony to boo Schmidt over sexual assault allegations made against him last year. An attorney for Schmidt told Business Insider that the accusations were "fabricated." In March, a judge ordered the suit settled through arbitration.

A spokesperson for the University of Arizona said the school invited Schmidt because of his "extraordinary" contributions to tech and innovation.

"He helped lead Google's rise into one of the world's most influential technology companies and continues to advance research and discovery through major philanthropic and scientific initiatives, including partnerships that support important work at the University of Arizona," the spokesperson said.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang also gave a graduation speech last week at Carnegie Mellon. He struck a more positive tone, arguing that AI would create more opportunities for young people to build anything they wanted. "AI is not likely to replace you," he said, acknowledging anxieties about the job market. "But someone using AI better than you might."

• Jay Hinson shares career growth tips from his 28-year journey at The Cheesecake Factory.
• Curiosity and adaptability were key to Jay Hinson's rise in restaurant kitchen operations.
• Jay Hinson emphasizes the impact of asking questions and seeking feedback for career advancement.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jay Hinson, the senior vice president of restaurant kitchen operations at The Cheesecake Factory. It has been edited for length and clarity.

People sometimes ask how I stayed at one company for nearly three decades and continued moving up. I think a big part of it came down to curiosity. At every stage of my career, I asked questions, studied the people above me, and tried to make their jobs easier.

I started working in restaurants when I was 14. A friend helped me get a summer job at a local restaurant, washing dishes and shucking clams. Before long, I learned the fryer, then the broiler, and I fell in love with the pace of the kitchen.

I joined The Cheesecake Factory in my early 20s and started as a line cook. Funny enough, I didn't even know what The Cheesecake Factory was when I applied.

My general manager at Ruby Tuesday, where I was working at the time, told me the company had one of the best kitchen management programs in the industry and said I should look into it. My initial thought was, "Why would he tell me to work at a factory?"

A few months later, I saw a "The Cheesecake Factory coming soon" sign at a mall near me and applied on the last day of hiring.

Today, I'm the senior vice president of restaurant kitchen operations at The Cheesecake Factory, overseeing kitchen support across the company, including training, food quality, kitchen equipment, and financial operations tied to restaurant kitchens.

I never walked into The Cheesecake Factory thinking I'd become a senior vice president. My first goal was to become a manager. Then I wanted to become an executive kitchen manager. After that, I focused on the next role.

I took it one promotion at a time.

The 3 questions I ask in every new role

Every time I earned a promotion, I started studying the next role. I paid attention to how my bosses handled pressure, how they spoke to people, and how they adjusted their leadership styles from restaurant to restaurant.

I was fortunate because some of my bosses let me travel with them to different locations. I could see that one team might need encouragement while another team needed structure. That taught me how important adaptability is in leadership.

I also asked a lot of questions. Looking back, there were three questions I asked over and over again that shaped my career.

The first was: "How is today?"

That question helped me understand how my restaurant and my team were performing day to day. It opened the door for honest conversations and feedback, and it showed the people above me that I cared about more than just my own responsibilities.

The second question was: "How can I be better?"

I always wanted direct feedback. If my restaurant was strong in one area, I'd ask where we were weak. If the kitchen was clean, I'd ask about food quality. If food quality was strong, I'd ask about leadership or development.

Feedback is not always easy to hear, but it's necessary if you want to grow.

The third question was: "What can I do to make your job easier?"

Instead of focusing only on my own performance, I started thinking about how I could reduce problems for the people above me. If a boss had to repeat the same feedback to me twice, I wanted to fix that immediately.

Sometimes, making someone's job easier meant communicating more often. Sometimes it meant solving issues before they escalated. Sometimes it meant becoming dependable enough that they didn't have to worry about my restaurant.

The more detailed the feedback became, the more I improved.

The Cheesecake Factory rewarded people who wanted to grow

One reason I've stayed with the company for 28 years is because I believed the opportunities were real.

When I first joined The Cheesecake Factory, I sat in orientation rooms with people who had started as line cooks and moved into leadership positions. Seeing that made advancement feel possible.

I also connected deeply with the company culture. I felt cared for as a person, not just trained as an employee. That mattered to me early in my career, and it still matters now.

Today, one of my favorite parts of the job is developing younger employees. I love hearing a line cook say they want to become a manager and then seeing them accomplish it a few years later.

I've said this about every role I've had at The Cheesecake Factory: it was my favorite job at the time. I think that happened because I was promoted at the right pace and developed by the right people.

For anyone starting in restaurants today, my advice is to ask questions early, understand the expectations of the role, and look for a company that promotes from within.

Then pay attention to the people doing the job you want next.

• My husband and I took our second trip ever without my son.
• We realized how much we genuinely enjoy spending time as a family.
• The trip also reminded us to prioritize our marriage more intentionally.

For our fourth wedding anniversary, my husband and I went back to our honeymoon destination, St. Augustine, Florida. It was only the second time we've traveled without my son, and the first time was our honeymoon.

I was a single mom when I started dating my husband, so my son spent a lot of time with the both of us and still does. It was really important to me to know that the three of us would work well together as a family.

It has always been our intention to take more vacations as a couple, but when we have the opportunity to travel, we always choose to take a family vacation.

Our trip was 4 days long

I suggested taking a trip back to our honeymoon spot, then maybe a bigger trip for the fifth anniversary next year. I pitched my romantic travel idea as a way for us to practice for the big trip next year, but my husband didn't need a lot of convincing. He agreed that a honeymoon repeat for our anniversary sounded perfect.

We took a long four-day trip at around the same time of year we took our honeymoon four years ago. We did some romantic couple things, such as walking on the beach, eating at our honeymoon restaurant, and ordering some cupcakes that reminded us of our wedding cake.

I missed my son

Since this was only our second trip without my son, it just felt odd by day two. I didn't want to say anything to my husband and risk coming off as if I wasn't having a good time. So when he told me on the same day that he wished our son were there, I was relieved that he felt the same way. But more than that, it made me feel lucky all over again, to have found a husband who loves my son as much as I do and is truly a third parent to him.

As a single mom, I began to give up hope that I would find someone good enough for the both of us - for myself and my son. But I found a partner that I adore and that cares for me - and that genuinely cares for my son too. Remembering this and seeing this in him is so much more romantic to me than the fancy dinners and things like special-order cupcakes.

I think it was healthy for us to experience that feeling together

My son is entering middle school, and my husband and I are starting to talk more about what life will be like for us after he graduates. On our vacation, we realized how much his absence would hit us one day.

We took our feelings as an opportunity to talk about how to best move forward. I think that while I feel immensely blessed to have a family that actually likes hanging out together, we also need to put more effort into carving out moments for our marriage.

I actually think it's really important for our family to keep our marriage strong. I know part of why it's so difficult for us to take that couple of times is because we're simply not used to it.

By the end of our long weekend, we had acquired too many souvenirs for my son and were happy to go home. But we also had a really good time overall, even without the whole family there. My husband and I have both agreed that we need to make more of an effort for more small trips like this one, to reconnect, but also to keep our family strong.

• Forward-deployed engineers are one of tech's buzziest jobs.
• FDEs help companies integrate AI and build AI tools.
• Salaries can range from $170,000 to over $200,000, according to Indeed data.

Not all tech jobs are disappearing.

Despite the wave of layoffs that have battered the tech industry, there's one role that looks secure: the forward-deployed engineer.

"Forward-deployed engineers, or roles that do the equivalent motion, are about to become one of the most in-demand jobs in tech. And one of the most important functions for AI rollouts," Box CEO Aaron Levie said on LinkedIn this week.

The job listings data suggest he may be right.

In April of last year, there were 643 job postings for forward-deployed engineering roles on Indeed, according to data shared with Business Insider. By April 2026, that number had increased to 5,330 postings, which is about a 729% increase year over year.

Anthropic, OpenAI, Palantir, and Stripe are among the tech firms hiring forward-deployed engineering talent as demand for enterprise AI tools grows.

Earlier this week, Google Cloud CEO Thomas Kurian said on LinkedIn that the company was also ramping up hiring for the position, citing growing client and partner demand for the company's AI products.

So what exactly do these tech workers do?

Forward-deployed engineers, or FDEs as they are known, work with companies to integrate AI into workflows and customize AI tools to make their work easier or more efficient.

The role was popularized by Palantir, which would embed engineers directly with customers to build software tailored to their needs.

According to Indeed data, pay for the role ranges from about $170,000 to over $200,000.

The consulting industry is also leaning on forward-deployed engineers. Consulting has become something of a distribution channel for Silicon Valley's latest AI innovations as they help companies make sense of AI and integrate it into their work.

For firms like McKinsey & Company and Boston Consulting Group, the ideal consultant now must have technical skills.

A job posting for a "Principal Forward Deployment Engineer" at QuantumBlack says candidates should have more than eight years of hands-on experience in software, platform, or infrastructure engineering, as well as a bachelor's or master's degree in a technical field such as computer science, machine learning, applied statistics, mathematics, engineering, or artificial intelligence.

"What we want to be able to do is find those people that actually have a propensity to either be this great McKinsey consultant, and or a great technologist, and then groom them to be both," Alex Singla, a senior partner at McKinsey who co-leads its AI arm, QuantumBlack, previously told Business Insider.

• I have a trinket daughter, as mom influencers have been sharing on TikTok.
• The collecting and arranging began when she was a toddler.
• The fact that her collections cover every surface can get overwhelming sometimes.

Recently, I saw a TikTok video by a mom about her trinket daughter. She panned over her 5-year-old's collections of tiny treasures all across her bedroom.

It could have been my daughter's room. Or let's be honest, my entire house right now. My daughter has been a collector (or hoarder, depending on how you look at it) of tiny treasures since she was a toddler.

The collecting of tiny objects began when she was a toddler

My daughter was only 1 when we noticed her propensity for collecting small items from around the house, sometimes toys, sometimes not, and then arranging them.

There was the play kitchen canister, topped by a swim diaper and crowned with a stuffed pineapple, which appeared on the coffee table. Or the lotion bottle she relocated to her bedroom windowsill, surrounded by Elmo, Ernie, and Cookie Monster, like it was some sort of shrine. My husband and I began taking pictures when we found them to document the hilarity.

As she grew older, she also began to go beyond just collecting things left around the house to acquire her own favorite things. Some of her favorites include sensory toys, erasers, jewelry, mini characters, and stuffed animals. Every trip is a chance to beg for a trinket from the gift shop to add to her stash. She spends her allowance almost as quickly as she receives it on new additions.

With all the trinkets also comes the chaos

While it is an endearing trait that continues to provide amusement for my husband and me and the family photo thread, it can sometimes get to be a bit much. In her room, her dresser, desk, and nightstand are all covered in little trinkets, as well as hairclips, chapsticks, rocks, shells, and artwork. When she has a cold, there is no room for a box of tissues or a humidifier on her nightstand. One accidental knock and half a display goes flying across the room.

She also loves putting all her treasures in various other places in the house, including inside her collection of pouches, purses, bags, and boxes. Displays of items have shown up in our bedroom, on our windowsills, dressers, and bookcases. And sometimes she can't remember where she has put (or hidden) items. Inevitably, a beloved item will go missing, and then we have to search through the entire house and inside each bag, box, and bundle to locate it. It has been the source of many tears when we can't locate them or when something gets knocked over and broken.

It can get hard to clean and overwhelming when they crowd out the use of surfaces like her desk or art table. Because, like a lot of kids, she never wants to get rid of anything. Every couple of months, we go through things and cull the herd. Then I have to make a case for why we definitely do not need three identical Arby's kids meal toys.

As the chief chaos wrangler in our household, I'll admit there are times when I just want to take a trash bag and sweep it all into it. I don't, but I definitely want to. Her trinket collections just seem to grow, and what she sees as beautiful displays of her favorite items can start to feel just like a mess to me. I think it may be time to invest in some floating shelves for her bedroom so she can display the special things she wants, and I can retain some of my sanity.

The 70th Eurovision Song Contest wraps up today, and it all comes down to the Grand Final. We've gathered all the details on where to watch Eurovision below, including free and global streaming options.

After two semifinals, 25 countries have advanced to compete at the Grand Final. This includes the five automatically-advancing regions: the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and the host, Austria. However, only one performance can win it all and take home the Eurovision title. Keep reading to learn how to tune into the Eurovision Grand Final from anywhere.

Where to watch Eurovision for free

It's good news for Eurovision fans this year. The competition is available to live stream for free in most regions. Most participating countries have broadcast agreements with free-to-air broadcasters (and their accompanying streaming services).

In the UK, that's the BBC and BBC iPlayer. In France, that's France.TV. In Italy, coverage will be available through RAI. Australia will offer free coverage through SBS. Even some non-participating countries have free options. The United States will continue with its usual paid Peacock option, but this year, Eurovision will also be available for free on YouTube in the US. Most other non-participating countries will allow people to live stream the competition for free on YouTube as well.

How to watch Eurovision from anywhere

There's a good chance you'll be able to access Eurovision no matter what, but if you find yourself traveling through a region where you can't access any watch options, it might be time to try out a VPN. Short for virtual private networks, VPNs let people temporarily alter their digital locations so that their favorite websites and apps work from anywhere. They're especially popular among those looking to keep up with their usual services while traveling abroad or upgrade their day-to-day cybersecurity.

NordVPN is one of the best VPNs on the market. It's fast, user-friendly (even for beginners), and has a 30-day money-back guarantee if you find that it's not what you're looking for.

Where is Eurovision 2026?

Eurovision 2026 is held at Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna, Austria. This marks Austria's third time hosting the Eurovision Song Contest.

Where will Eurovision take place next year?

There's no word yet on who will host Eurovision in 2027. Typically, the next Eurovision is held in the home country of the previous year's winner. Sometimes, another country (often the runner-up) will host if the winner is unable to.

Which countries performed at each semifinal?

The first semifinal running order was Moldova, Sweden, Croatia, Greece, Portugal, Georgia, Italy, Finland, Montenegro, Estonia, Israel, Germany, Belgium, Lithuania, San Marino, Poland, and Serbia.

The second semifinal running order was Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Romania, Luxembourg, Czechia, France, Armenia, Switzerland, Cyprus, Austria, Latvia, Denmark, Australia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Albania, Malta, and Norway.

Which countries advanced from the semifinals?

Greece, Finland, Belgium, Sweden, Moldova, Israel, Serbia, Croatia, Lithuania, and Poland were the 10 regions to advance from the first semifinal. Albania, Australia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Malta, Norway, Romania, and Ukraine advanced from the second semifinal. Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom automatically advanced to the Grand Final.

Which countries didn't advance from the semifinals?

Armenia, Azerbaijan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Estonia, Georgia, Montenegro, Portugal, and San Marino are the countries that performed in the semifinals but didn't advance after the votes were counted.

Eurovision Grand Final running order

Note: VPN use is illegal in certain countries, and using VPNs to access region-locked streaming content may constitute a breach of the terms of use for some services. Business Insider does not endorse or condone the illegal use of VPNs.

• Many celebrities came from humble beginnings and moved frequently during childhood.
• Celebrities like Oprah Winfrey were born in rural areas before moving to cities.
• These actors, musicians, athletes, and authors have become household names.

Though many Hollywood stars have long been used to the lights and cameras in Los Angeles, many were born and raised thousands of miles away.

State lines don't stop a person from hitting it big. Oprah Winfrey had a rural, poverty-stricken upbringing in Mississippi before becoming a household name with "The Oprah Winfrey Show" in Chicago in the 1980s.

"I was raised on a farm with my grandmother for the first six years of my life — I knew somehow that my life would be different and it would be better," Winfrey told the Academy of Achievement.

Some stars have even become de facto ambassadors of their home states. Bruce Springsteen has been synonymous with New Jersey since he rose to fame in the 1970s and has become a cult hero among many New Jerseyans.

Business Insider compiled a list of the most famous living celebrities from all 50 states. Most of these actors, musicians, public figures, and occasional athletes or authors have become household names. They've been nominated for major awards such as Oscars and Grammys, have produced or appeared in major cultural works, and some continue to wear their state pride as a badge of honor.

The list was chosen based on where people were born, with one exception (see: Alaska). And, understanding this list is up for debate, we also included other notable figures from each state.

See where some of your favorite celebrities hail from.

ALABAMA: Lionel Richie was born and raised in Tuskegee.

The four-time Grammy-winning artist grew up on the campus of Tuskegee University, where he discovered his love of music, per the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

Richie also won an Oscar in 1986 for the song "Say You, Say Me," which appeared in the film "White Nights."

Other notable celebrities from the state: Courteney Cox, Octavia Spencer, Sonequa Martin-Green, Emmylou Harris, Channing Tatum, Walton Goggins, and Laverne Cox

ALASKA: Jewel Kilcher is known as an Alaskan, but she was actually born in Utah, making her the exception to our rule.

Kilcher was raised in Homer, Alaska. The Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter was born in Utah when her dad was attending Brigham Young University, Rolling Stone reported. She has appeared on Discovery Channel's "Alaska: The Last Frontier," which followed her family's life in the Alaskan wilderness.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Darby Stanchfield, Irene Bedard

ARIZONA: Emma Stone grew up in Scottsdale.

As a child, Stone was involved in community theater. When she was around 14, she persuaded her parents to let her try her hand in Hollywood. 

The move proved to be worth it, with Stone later becoming a two-time Oscar winner and being named to Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People list in 2017.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Lynda Carter, Matt Dallas, Mare Winningham, Shannon Woodward, Danielle Fishel, Dierks Bentley, Michelle Branch, Stevie Nicks, Jordin Sparks, and Diana Gabaldon 

ARKANSAS: Billy Bob Thornton was born in Hot Springs and grew up in a cabin in the woods.

Thornton and his family lived in his grandmother's cabin for the first few years of his life.

The Academy Award winner opened up about his humble beginnings, telling ABC News in 2016, "We didn't have a lot of money. But you know when you're a kid you don't know that. I mean you're not aware of all of that kind of stuff."

Other notable celebrities from the state: Mary Steenburgen, Wes Bentley, George Newbern, John Grisham, and Ne-Yo 

CALIFORNIA: Leonardo DiCaprio was born and raised in Los Angeles.

The "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" actor also grew up in Los Angeles in real life, moving to different neighborhoods in the area throughout his childhood.

DiCaprio has been nominated for eight Oscars and has become a household name for his roles in "Titanic," "The Wolf of Wall Street," and other films.

Other notable celebrities from the state: The Kardashians, Olivia Rodrigo, Tom Hanks, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Billie Eilish, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Katy Perry, Adam Driver, Chris Pine, Tessa Thompson, Elizabeth Olsen, Milo Ventimiglia, Will Ferrell, Jake Gyllenhaal, Kendrick Lamar, James Franco, Tyler, The Creator, and Zendaya

COLORADO: Tim Allen grew up in Denver.

A few years after his father was killed in a car accident, his mother remarried, and the combined family moved to Michigan, per the Detroit Historical Society.

Allen found his comedy roots in Michigan and later became a Golden Globe-winning actor.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Melissa Benoist, Kelly Bishop, David Fincher, T.J. Miller, Trey Parker,

CONNECTICUT: Seth MacFarlane spent his childhood in New England, born and raised in Kent.

The creator of "Family Guy" and "American Dad" spent his entire childhood in the same town and even attended a boarding school his mom taught at, IGN reported.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Amy Brenneman, Glenn Close, Paul Giamatti, Allison Janney, Justin Long, Jenna Dewan-Tatum, Allison Williams, and Meg Ryan

DELAWARE: Aubrey Plaza was born and raised in the state's largest city, Wilmington.

Plaza acted in the town's drama league productions as a youngster, Delaware Today reported.

She later found fame for her role in NBC's sitcom "Parks and Recreation," and has seen recent success from acting in HBO's "The White Lotus." The latter role earned Plaza a Golden Globe nomination in 2023.

Other notable celebrities from the state: John Gallagher Jr., Ryan Phillippe, Elisabeth Shue, and Raúl Esparza 

FLORIDA: Ariana Grande was born in Boca Raton.

The actress and singer performed at the Fort Lauderdale Children's Theatre, per the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Grande has received 20 Grammy nominations and three wins.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Pitbull, Jason Derulo, Sarah Paulson, Doechii, Josh Gad, Maya Rudolph, Wilmer Valderrama, Abigail Spencer, Chrissy Metz, Eva Mendes, Norman Reedus, and Bella Thorne

GEORGIA: Julia Roberts grew up in Smyrna.

The Oscar winner's parents ran a workshop for actors and writers in Atlanta when she was a child, Roberts told Oprah Winfrey in an interview.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Kelly Rowland, Kenan Thompson, Dakota and Elle Fanning, Ed Helms, Chloë Grace Moretz, Raven-Symoné, Luke Bryan, André 3000, Jason Aldean, Kanye West, and 2 Chainz

HAWAII: Bruno Mars, born Peter Gene Hernandez, grew up in Honolulu.

His dad played percussion and his mom was a hula dancer, the New York Daily News reported.

Mars, born Peter Gene Hernandez, has 16 Grammy wins and netted the best-performing song of the 2010s for "Uptown Funk," according to Billboard. He has described his home state as "paradise."

Other notable celebrities from the state: Jason Momoa, Jack Johnson, Carrie Ann Inaba, Janel Parrish, Timothy Olyphant, Bette Midler, Auli'i Cravalho, Tia Carrere, and Hoku

IDAHO: Aaron Paul was born in Emmett.

The "Breaking Bad" star moved around a bit and ended in Boise, Idaho before moving to Hollywood when he was 17 to pursue his career, GQ reported.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Tara Buck and Dree Hemingway

ILLINOIS: Harrison Ford was born and raised in Chicago.

Ford played the titular character in the "Indiana Jones" films as well as Han Solo in the "Star Wars" franchise. His roles have earned him Oscar and Emmy nominations.

Both of Ford's parents were actors, but his dad found success as an advertising executive, GQ reported.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Chance the Rapper, Bill Murray, Busy Philipps, Michael Ian Black, Gina Rodriguez, Jennifer Hudson, Mandy Patinkin, Nick Offerman, Melissa McCarthy, and Gillian Anderson

INDIANA: David Letterman grew up in the state capital of Indianapolis.

Letterman's career as a late-night talk show host spanned more than three decades and 6,000 episodes, Yahoo News reported. He was the longest-running host of all time, and perhaps the most iconic.

Letterman graduated from Ball State in Muncie, and the college's communications building is named after him. 

Other notable celebrities from the state: Jenna Fischer, Vivica A. Fox, Brendan Fraser, Greg Kinnear, Ryan Murphy, Jim Gaffigan, John Green, and Janet Jackson

IOWA: Ashton Kutcher was born in Cedar Rapids.

Kutcher, best known for his roles in "That '70s Show" and "Punk'd," has gone back to Iowa over the years to support local schools and students. He also helped launch the Native Fund, which provides disaster relief for Iowans, per the Des Moines Register.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Michelle Monaghan, Robin Lord Taylor, Caitlin Clark, and Elijah Wood

KANSAS: Janelle Monáe spent her childhood in Kansas City.

Monáe has received 10 Grammy nominations and appeared in the films "Moonlight," and "Hidden Figures."

After growing up in Kansas City, she later moved to New York City after earning a scholarship to the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, but then left for Atlanta.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Martina McBride, Annette Bening, Scott Foley, Colton Haynes, and Eric Stonestreet 

KENTUCKY: George Clooney spent part of his childhood in Lexington.

The Clooney family moved to Ohio for a brief time but then returned to Kentucky, The Cincinnati Enquirer reported. The Oscar-winner's career spans over 40 years.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Michael Shannon, and Chris Stapleton

LOUISIANA: Ellen DeGeneres was born and raised in Metairie.

DeGeneres has won 33 Daytime Emmy awards for her eponymous show. The talk-show host and comedian has spoken out about growing up in the South as a lesbian, US Weekly reported.  

Other notable celebrities from the state: Reese Witherspoon, Jared Leto, Ian Somerhalder, Tim McGraw, Anthony Mackie, Zachary Levi, and Harry Connick Jr. 

MAINE: Stephen King was born in Portland and spent his formative years in the state.

After being born in Maine, King moved around with his family before returning at the age of 11, per Britannica. He attended and later taught at the University of Maine. Many of his novels have taken place in the state.

King has written dozens of New York Times bestselling novels and was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 2015.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Anna Kendrick, Patrick Dempsey, Timothy Simons, and Erin Andrews

MARYLAND: Anna Faris spent her younger years in Baltimore while her dad taught at Towson University.

The actress and comedian's family moved to Seattle when she was six, the Baltimore Sun reported. Faris has had roles in NBC's "Friends" and CBS's "Mom," as well as a leading role in the "Scary Movie" films.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Julie Bowen, David Hasselhoff, Spike Jonze, Jada Pinkett Smith, Christian Siriano, and Ta-Nehisi Coates

MASSACHUSETTS: Steve Carell grew up near Boston in Concord.

Carell held a job in Littleton as a postal worker before his acting career took off.

Best known for his role as Michael Scott on "The Office," Carell has received Emmy nominations as well as an Oscar nomination in 2015 for his role in "Foxcatcher."

Other notable celebrities from the state: Matt Damon, Chris Evans, Mindy Kaling, Amy Poehler, Bo Burnham, John Krasinski, B.J. Novak, Conan O'Brien, Elizabeth Banks, Joe Keery, and James Taylor 

MICHIGAN: Stevie Wonder, born Stevland Hardaway Morris, was born in Saginaw and grew up in Detroit.

Wonder sang in Whitestone Baptist Church in Detroit and later attended Michigan School for the Blind in Lansing.

Wonder has won 25 Grammys from 75 nominations, putting him among the winningest artists of all time, according to People.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Diana Ross, Madonna, Jerry Bruckheimer, Michael Moore, Selma Blair, Taylor Lautner, Terry Crews, and Lily Tomlin 

MINNESOTA: Bob Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Duluth.

The Nobel Prize-winning performer went to the University of Minnesota. Dylan has won 10 Grammys and is considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Chris Pratt, Jessica Biel, Tippi Hedren, Jessica Lange, Winona Ryder, Shantel VanSanten, and Vincent Kartheiser

MISSISSIPPI: Oprah Winfrey was born in Kosciusko to her teenage mother.

Her parents were unmarried and she spent her early years with her grandmother, The Guardian reported. The beloved talk-show host, actress, and author has an estimated net worth of over $3 billion in 2026, per Forbes.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Britney Spears, Fred Armisen, and Tig Notaro

MISSOURI: Jon Hamm grew up in St. Louis.

The Emmy-winning actor attended the University of Missouri.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Sterling K. Brown, Don Cheadle, Matt Bomer, Andy Cohen, John Goodman, and Ellie Kemper

MONTANA: Michelle Williams grew up in Kalispell.

The "Dawson's Creek" actress and five-time Academy Award nominee moved to San Diego, California, with her family when she was 9, The Telegraph reported.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Dana Carvey and Jesse Tyler Ferguson

NEBRASKA: Gabrielle Union is an Omaha native.

The actress is a big University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cornhuskers fan, according to an interview with James Corden.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Bryan Greenberg, Jaime King, and Hilary Swank

NEVADA: Matthew Gray Gubler grew up in Las Vegas.

The "Criminal Minds" star graduated from the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Jena Malone, Rutina Wesley, Charisma Carpenter, and Mädchen Amick

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Mandy Moore was born in Nashua.

Moore became a platinum-certified recording artist in 1999 and was later nominated for an Emmy for her role in "This is Us." She moved to Florida with her family when she was only two months old. 

Other notable celebrities from the state: Matt Czuchry and Sarah Silverman

NEW JERSEY: Bruce Springsteen was born in Long Branch.

Jersey is synonymous with Springsteen. The Boss's New Jersey upbringing plays into his lyrics and work and he speaks often of his love of the state. 

Springsteen has won 20 Grammys over his career.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Jon Bon Jovi, Meryl Streep, Lauryn Hill, Queen Latifah, Zach Braff, Bobby Cannavale, Danny DeVito, Peter Dinklage, Ed Harris, Kal Penn, Joe Pesci, and Paul Rudd

NEW MEXICO: Neil Patrick Harris was born in Albuquerque.

The "How I Met Your Mother" actor spent much of his childhood in Ruidoso, Albuquerque's KOAT News reported.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Demi Lovato, Adrian Grenier, Anna Gunn, and Demi Moore

NEW YORK: Tom Cruise was born in Syracuse, but moved around for much of his childhood.

The "Mission: Impossible" actor left the city before making any formative memories there. Cruise would go on to attend 14 schools in 15 years, according to The List.

While the internationally renowned star hasn't won any competitive Academy Awards, he received an honorary Oscar in 2025. Cruise has also won three Golden Globes.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Timothée Chalamet, Jerry Seinfeld, Jennifer Lopez, Denzel Washington, Robert Downey Jr., Amy Schumer, Adam Sandler, Jay Z, Billy Joel, Robert De Niro, Mariah Carey, Post Malone, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Kerry Washington 

NORTH CAROLINA: Julianne Moore was born at Fort Bragg.

Because of her dad's military career, the Oscar winner and her family moved 23 times, The Guardian reported.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Britt Robertson, Zach Galifianakis, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Evan Rachel Wood, and Bellamy Young

NORTH DAKOTA: Josh Duhamel was born and raised in Minot.

The "Transformers" actor played football at Minot State University, the West Fargo Pioneer reported.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Wiz Khalifa and Kellan Lutz

OHIO: LeBron James was born and raised in Akron.

The NBA's all-time leading scorer and a four-time champion, James is considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time.

The NBA legend gives back to Cleveland in many ways. His foundation opened a school for at-risk children, The New York Times reported.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Drew Carey, Bow Wow, Dave Grohl, Kid Cudi, John Legend, Steven Spielberg, and Sarah Jessica Parker

OKLAHOMA: Brad Pitt was born in Shawnee.

The Academy Award winner's family moved to Springfield, Missouri when he was young and he spent his childhood there, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Carrie Underwood, Kristin Chenoweth, Olivia Munn, Bill Hader, Ron Howard, and James Marsden

OREGON: Ty Burrell was born and raised in Grants Pass.

The "Modern Family" star graduated from Southern Oregon University, per Oregon Live.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Kaitlin Olson, and Thomas Mann

PENNSYLVANIA: Taylor Swift grew up on a Christmas tree farm outside of Reading.

She convinced her parents to move to Nashville to help her pursue a music career when she was 14, Vanity Fair reported.

Crowned the top artist of the 21st century by Billboard, Swift has won 14 Grammy awards from 58 nominations and has become a household name.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Will Smith, Sabrina Carpenter, Kevin Bacon, Shane Gillis, Tina Fey, Bradley Cooper, Joe Manganiello, Lee Daniels, Miles Teller, and Krysten Ritter

RHODE ISLAND: Damien Chazelle was born in Providence.

Chazelle became the youngest-ever Oscar winner for "La La Land," in 2017, winning the award at age 32, per Guinness World Records. The filmmaker was born in Rhode Island but grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, according to Deadline. 

Other notable celebrities from the state: Olivia Culpo, Mena Suvari, Meredith Vieira

SOUTH CAROLINA: Aziz Ansari grew up in Columbia.

The comedian and "Parks and Recreation" actor later moved to New York City to attend New York University, according to the New York Times. 

Other notable celebrities from the state: Chris Rock, Viola Davis, Mary-Louise Parker, Jaimie Alexander, Anna Camp, and Mike Colter

SOUTH DAKOTA: January Jones was born in Sioux Falls.

The "Mad Men" actress also briefly lived in Hecla. 

Other notable celebrities from the state: Amy Hill and Tom Brokaw

TENNESSEE: Dolly Parton was born in Pittman Center.

Born into poverty, Parton grew up in a small cabin on a farm in Locust Ridge. The "Queen of Country" became synonymous with the Smoky Mountains and has found ways to give back to her home state. In 2024, she donated $1 million to the Mountain Ways Foundation, which helped victims of Hurricane Helene in East Tennessee and the surrounding areas, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported.

Parton has won 10 Grammys from 55 nominations.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Justin Timberlake, Kenny Chesney, Christina Hendricks, Quentin Tarantino, Morgan Freeman, Megan Fox, Morgan Wallen, Kathy Bates, and Miley Cyrus

TEXAS: Beyoncé Knowles was born and raised in Houston.

Beyoncé spent the better part of her childhood in the city's Third Ward, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The singer is the winningest artist of all time at the Grammys, with 35 awards from 99 nominations.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Solange, Tom Ford, Wes Anderson, Chace Crawford, Hilary Duff, Jamie Foxx, Woody Harrelson, Eva Longoria, Nick Jonas, Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, Robin Wright, Selena Gomez, Jessica Simpson, Usher, and Matthew McConaughey

UTAH: Chrissy Teigen was born in Delta.

The model and television personality's family moved around a bit until settling in Huntington, California, where she was discovered while working in a surf shop. 

Other notable celebrities from the state: Roseanne Barr, Matthew Davis, and Julianne Hough

VERMONT: Joanna "JoJo" Levesque was born in Brattleboro.

The singer became the youngest solo artist on Billboard's pop chart in 2004, at the age of 13. Her family moved and settled in Foxborough, Massachusetts, where she spent most of her childhood, per Boston.com.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Grace Potter and Zosia Mamet

VIRGINIA: Sandra Bullock was born in Arlington.

Her dad was an employee of the United States Army and met Bullock's mom in Germany. Bullock herself was raised in Germany for 12 years. 

Bullock won an Oscar in 2010 for her lead role in "The Blind Side."

Other notable celebrities from the state: Missy Elliott, Rob Lowe, and Hilarie Burton 

WASHINGTON: Bill Gates was born and raised in Seattle.

It was at the Lakeside Prep School in Seattle where the Microsoft founder's interest in computers and programming was fostered.

Having amassed a net worth of over $100 billion, Gates is considered to be among the most successful entrepreneurs of all time. In 2016, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Other notable celebrities from the state: Macklemore, Sydney Sweeney, Ben Gibbard, Emma Dumont, Constance Zimmer, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Kyle MacLachlan

WEST VIRGINIA: Steve Harvey was born in Welch.

The "Family Feud" host and Daytime Emmy winner moved to Ohio with his family when he was a teenager.

Other notable celebrities from the state: John Corbett, Josh Stewart, and Chris Sarandon 

WISCONSIN: Mark Ruffalo was born in Kenosha.

The Oscar-nominated actor was in high school when the family moved to Virginia, per ABC News.

Other notable celebrities from the state: John Ridley, Heather Graham, Kristin Bauer Van Straten, and Willem Dafoe

WYOMING: Jim Beaver was born in Laramie while his father was doing graduate work at the University of Wyoming.

The "Supernatural" actor's family soon moved back to Texas, where they were originally from. 

Other notable celebrities from the state: Pete Williams, Jim J. Bullock 

Out of all the bedding we've tested over the years, bamboo sheets might just be our favorite. Other types of cooling sheets use crisp fabric to keep hot sleepers comfortable, but the best bamboo sheets strike the perfect balance of silky softness and airy breathability. They're the best sheets for anyone who wants to stay cool without sacrificing softness.

We slept on a dozen bamboo sheet sets to evaluate their feel, durability, and fit. We also talked to textile expert Deborah Young to learn more about bamboo fabric and what to look for when shopping for high-quality bamboo sheets. Below, you'll find the best bamboo sheet set for every kind of sleeper and every budget.

Our top picks for bamboo sheets

Best overall: Quince Bamboo Sheet Set - $134 at Quince

Best splurge: Cozy Earth Bamboo Sheet Set - $308 at Cozy Earth

Softest: Cariloha Bamboo Sheet Set - $199 at Cariloha

Best value: Bampure Bamboo Sheet Set - $89.99 $79.99 at Amazon

Coolest: My Sheets Rock The Regulator Sheet Set - $199 at My Sheets Rock

Most durable: The Company Store Classic Bamboo Sateen Bed Sheet Set - $234 $163.80 at The Company Store

Best deep-pocket: Bearaby Second Skin Sheet Set - $309 at Bearaby

Best eco-friendly: Ettitude Signature Bamboo Sheet Set - $359 at Ettitude

Best overall

Our best overall pick feels and fits great. Quince's Bamboo Sheet Set has just about everything we look for in bamboo sheets: They're soft, cool, and well-fitting. The sheets are luxuriously soft right out of the packaging. Both the fitted and top sheets fit my mattress like a glove and the labels for the side, top, and bottom make bed-making a breeze. These sheets are cool to the touch and exceptionally breathable throughout the night, providing a subtly cool experience that keeps hot sleepers comfortable without being overwhelming.

They're surprisingly affordable. These sheets provide excellent value for the price, costing about $130 for a queen-size set. You can buy a full sheet set (includes a fitted sheet, flat sheet, and two pillowcases) or a fitted sheet set (includes a fitted sheet and two pillowcases with no flat sheet). Opting out of the flat sheet will save you over $30, so it's worth it if you prefer not to use a flat sheet at night. There are 14 natural colors to choose from, like eucalyptus, charcoal, and sand, and six sizes to ensure a perfect pairing for your mattress. We also love that these sheets come with a 365-day return policy — the longest we came across during our research and testing.

Bamboo is eco-friendly, but the "organic" marketing is a misnomer. Quince highlights its bamboo bedding as being made of 100% viscose from organic bamboo. While bamboo itself does not require the use of pesticides, there is no authority that certifies bamboo fabric as organic. Rather, the viscose fabric is derived from organic bamboo and holds Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certification for safety. How sustainable these sheets actually are is a bit of an unknown. What we do know, though, is that these bamboo sheets are insanely soft, breathable, and well-priced. If sustainable bamboo textiles are important to you, our eco-friendly pick from Ettitude is more transparent regarding their closed-loop manufacturing processes.

We've noticed durability issues. Over time, one tester noticed issues with staining and durability in these sheets. While minor, loose and torn threads appeared over time. They also have a thin feel, so they don't have that thick, luxurious sensation you'd expect from sheets this soft. That does mean they're very breathable, though.

Read our full Quince Bamboo Sheets review.

Best splurge

Cozy Earth's bamboo sheets are luxurious. With prices starting at $258 for a twin-size set, Cozy Earth's Bamboo Sheet Set is definitely a splurge. Crafted from 100% viscose from bamboo, these sheets are luxurious, to say the least. They have a medium-weight feel — they're not too thin, but not too thick. With a slight sheen and silky feel, we thought these sheets were cool to the touch and extremely soft. The sheets lost their silk-like sheen after washing but got even softer over time.

The fitted sheet fits like a glove, but the flat sheet is too long. Thanks to the sheet's side and bottom tags, it takes no time at all to make the bed. While the fitted sheet fits well and works with mattresses up to 20 inches thick, the flat sheet was too long — almost touching the floor on both sides of the bed. I like having the extra length to tuck the sheets in at night, but the overhanging look might bug you. After washing and drying, the flat sheet still hasn't shrunk up much.

But be careful — they're delicate. One of our testers has tried two different sets of Cozy Earth bamboo sheets and has been disappointed to find that both fitted sheets ripped. Be extra careful when using these sheets, and keep pets away from the bed, since their claws could lead to holes or rips. Abnormal rips and tears are covered by the 10-year warranty, and our tester received a replacement for her torn set with no issue.

Read our full Cozy Earth Bamboo Sheets review.

Softest

Cariloha's sheets are the softest of soft. Almost all bamboo sheet sets are going to be super soft by nature of the category, but the Bamboo Sheet Set from Cariloha is the softest we tested. Made with 100% viscose from bamboo, Cariloha's sheets feature a luxuriously soft twill weave construction. The materials are harvested and manufactured in environmentally sustainable ways, with several eco-friendly standards and certifications, including Oeko-Tex Standard 100, Oeko-Tex Made in Green, Forest Stewardship Council, Fair Trade, and more.

They're noticeably thick. Although not as cooling as some of the others we tested, we still found the sheets to be breathable. Plus, they had a thick, durable feel, which means they'll last for years to come. With extra-deep pockets that can suit beds up to 18 inches thick, the fitted sheet fits on even thicker mattresses. We did, however, find that the flat sheet was too long on both sides, even after washing.

Choose from a variety of sizes and colors. These sheets come in nine sizes (twin to split king — the most variety we found) and five classic colors, like white, ivory, and sage. All of Cariloha's bedding products can be returned or exchanged within 100 days, which is one of the longest return policies we found, after Quince. However, you are responsible for return shipping costs.

Best value

These are the best bamboo sheets under $100. Besides our best overall set, a great affordable set we tested was the Bampure Bamboo Sheet Set. These sateen weave sheets are made of 100% viscose from bamboo and are Oeko-Tex certified. Straight out of the package, we loved how these sheets felt. They're thick, soft, and feel heavier than some of the other products on this list. In fact, we were surprised at how breathable and moisture-wicking they were throughout the night.

Bands on the fitted sheet keep the corners in place. A feature we love is the thick elastic corner bands that hold the fitted sheet in place on the mattress — something we didn't find on any of the other sheets we tested. Thanks to 16-inch deep pockets, the sheets fit the bed just right, with no excess material or bunching, and continued to fit well even after washing.

They hold up to washing. These sheets came out of the dryer super soft — softer than out of the package. And after washing, there were no signs of pilling, degradation, or loose threads. Bampure's sheets come in 10 colors, including charcoal gray, seaglass, and ivory. You can also choose between a four-piece or six-piece set, which includes two extra pillowcases. Some colors of six-piece sets are slightly above $100, however.

Coolest

True to their name, these sheets rock. Made with rayon from bamboo, the Regulator Sheets from My Sheets Rock are the coolest bamboo sheets we've ever tested, thanks to their breathable, cool-to-the-touch feel. My partner and I both sleep hot, but we've never wokem up sweating when using these sheets. We love them so much, in fact, that they're our go-to sheets when I'm not actively testing another set.

They're cool, but not too cool. I forgot to turn on the heat on one chilly night, and awoke to a bedroom sitting at about 50 degrees. Despite the chill in the air, I was perfectly comfortable and warm snuggled up with the Regulator Sheets. As the name suggests, these sheets really do regulate your temperature. When I'm hot, I find they wick away the heat to keep me comfortable. But when I'm not sleeping hot, they aren't so cool that I wake up freezing.

They're as soft as cotton sateen, but without the heat retention. The feel is almost exactly the same as cotton sateen, but where cotton sateen runs warm, the Regulator Sheets are cool. I'm always impressed when a sheet set is able to deliver both softness and cooling, and this set doesn't disappoint.

I've noticed loose threads and sliding at night. After washing and drying these sheets, I noticed a few loose threads along the hems, but no significant pilling or damage. The pocket is also only 16 inches, so the fitted sheet tends to slide off the corners of my thick mattress.

Most durable

Bamboo-cotton blends are more durable than pure bamboo. According to Young, bamboo is not as strong as cotton. That's why the Cotton Bamboo Sateen Bed Sheet Set from The Company Store is the most durable pick on our list. Made of 70% rayon from bamboo and 30% combed cotton sateen, these sheets have a subtle sheen that's still reminiscent of the 100% bamboo sheets we tested. These sheets fit the bed well with no excess material or bunching. They held up well after washing, too. We felt like they would last a long time without pilling, degradation, or color fading. 

They maintain softness. While many of the sheets on our list got softer after washing, The Company Store's bamboo sheets were soft out of the packaging and equally soft after the first wash — we didn't notice a major difference. And despite not being cool to the touch like some of our other picks, we still felt like they were breathable and moisture-wicking.

There's limited color options. Our only cons with this set are that it is only available in five sizes and five colors, including white, ivory, and pebble gray. They can be monogrammed, though, if personalization is your thing.

Best deep-pocket

Bearaby's sheets have 22-inch pockets. Deep pocket sheets are designed to fit on thick mattresses or beds adorned with a mattress topper. Bearaby's Second Skin Sheets, made with a blend of 100% bamboo fibers, fits mattresses up to 22 inches — making them our pick for the best deep-pocket bamboo sheets. I didn't have problems with the sheets slipping off the edge of the bed at night, which is one of my biggest bedding pet peeves.

They excel at wicking away moisture. Like the other bamboo sheets on our list, Bearaby's set is incredibly cool, soft, and breathable. I'm especially impressed with the sheets moisture wicking capabilities. Even though I sleep hot, I never woke up sweaty, and any night sweats were quickly wicked away by the sheets' silky fabric. The shams keep the pillow secure with a shell-like button closure.

They feel fresh every night. Bearaby infuses its bamboo sheets with mint and marine proteins to keep your bed fresh and clean. The brand claims that the design is cleaner than other sheets and stops microbial growth. We can't prove these claims, but I can attest that I feel like I'm slipping into fresh sheets every night. I also haven't noticed any pilling or discoloration after washing.

But they're pricey. While cheaper than other sets on our list, these are still pricey sheets, with a queen-size set costing over $300. The set comes in five sizes and six neutral colors and is backed by a year-long warranty.

Best eco-friendly

If sustainability is your primary concern, these sheets are for you. Our best eco-friendly pick goes to the Ettitude Signature Bamboo Sheet Set for its incredible sustainability practices, including using zero harmful chemicals, saving water, and reducing waste. Ettitude's sheets are also 100% biodegradable. Made from 100% bamboo lyocell, these sheets are known for their softness, breathability, and eco-friendly production process.

They feel similar to our best overall and splurge picks. These sheets were a little too big for the bed, but they fit OK overall. There was no bunching — just a longer flat sheet. There's a top and bottom tag to help with bed-making. We loved the thicker band of hemming at the top of the flat sheet — it made the sheets look more luxurious. These sheets looked and felt similar to the Cozy Earth and Quince sheets in terms of sheen, softness, and silkiness.

We've noticed pilling around the edges. There were slight signs of pilling after washing, especially around the hems/edges of the sheets. Like Cozy Earth, these sheets did lose their sheen after washing but felt softer than when they came out of the package.

Choose from a variety of colors. You can get these sheets in eight natural and bold colors. Plus, they come in six sizes, from twin to California king. Each set comes with a flat sheet, a fitted sheet, and either one or two pillowcases, depending on the size.

Our top picks compared

What else we tested

We're constantly testing sheet sets for potential additions to our best bamboo sheets guide. Here's what we've tested and recommend but didn't make a top spot:

• Bedsure Bamboo Sheet Set: Previously our pick for the best color options, Bedsure's bamboo sheets perfectly balance softness and cooling. If you can't find our top picks in the color you want, Bedsure might have what you're looking for.
• DOZ Bamboo Sheet Set: DOZ is a budget-friendly sister brand to Sijo, which makes our favorite cooling sheets of all time. I was thoroughly impressed with the bamboo set from DOZ — its thick feel surprised me, given it's sold at a budget-friendly price point. At just a few dollars more than a Bampure set, it's a worthy alternative to our best value pick.
• Ettitude Luxe Sheet Set: Similar to Ettitude's Signature Sheet Set, the Luxe set is made with eco-friendly materials but with additional, premium details. They are thicker than the Signature Set, and the threading is made with 100% cotton rather than polyester. They've become a personal favorite, but they're very expensive considered to similar sets on our list.

What to look for in a set of bamboo sheets

When shopping for the best bamboo sheets, there are several factors to consider to ensure you're selecting the best quality sheets for your bed.

• Material: Bamboo sheets are typically made from bamboo fibers, often referred to as bamboo viscose or bamboo rayon (the two terms are generally interchangeable). There is also bamboo lyocell. Keep in mind that the manufacturing process can vary, and some bamboo sheets may be labeled differently based on specific processes used during production.
• Rayon: Bamboo rayon is created through a process that involves dissolving bamboo cellulose in a chemical solution and then turning it into fibers. While bamboo rayon is soft and breathable, the production process may involve chemicals that some consider less environmentally friendly.
• Viscose: Bamboo viscose is similar to bamboo rayon, and as we mentioned, the terms are often used interchangeably. The production process involves the same method as above. Like bamboo rayon, bamboo viscose is extremely soft and comfortable but may raise environmental concerns due to the chemicals used in its production.
• Lyocell: Bamboo lyocell is produced using a more environmentally friendly method. In the lyocell process, bamboo cellulose is dissolved in a non-toxic organic solvent, and the solution is then formed into fibers. This method is considered more sustainable as it uses a closed-loop system, minimizing the environmental impact. 

Weave: Bamboo sheets are commonly made using a sateen weave or a twill weave. The sateen weave is known for its smooth and silky feel, with a subtle sheen on one side. It has a luxurious and soft texture, making it a popular choice for bedding — and more expensive. On the other hand, the twill weave provides a more textured, matte surface and is often used for durability. 

Thread count: Thread count refers to the number of threads woven into one square inch of fabric. In general, look for bamboo sheets with a thread count of 200 to 400. The thread counts on our list range from 250 to 400 at its highest. Keep in mind, though, that simply looking at thread count isn't necessarily the best way to choose bamboo sheets. Often, a higher thread count will indicate that the fabric is denser, so it will lose its cooling properties — something bamboo sheets are known for. 

Certifications: Look for certifications such as Oeko-Tex Standard 100 to ensure that the sheets meet certain environmental and safety standards. Most of our picks for the best bamboo sheets have a Standard 100 by Oeko-Tex certification, meaning the final product has been independently tested against more than 100 harmful substances and is considered harmless for human health. Look for other sustainable practices in place, too. For example, Ettitude sheets are 100% biodegradable and the bamboo used is grown with 100% rainwater and processed in a closed-loop system, ultimately saving water.

Return policy and sleep trial: Sheets are a personal purchase that may feel different for each sleeper. A trial period is a good way to determine if the sheets you bought are a good fit for you. All of the sheets on our list have, at minimum, a 30-day return policy, and a few have a 100-night sleep trial. Our best overall pick, Quince, comes with the longest return policy we saw — 365 days from the purchase date.

Price: Good-quality bamboo sheets are expensive, plain and simple. You will be hard-pressed to find a queen-sized bamboo sheet set under $100. Fortunately, selects from Bampure cost under or just over $100, and our top pick from Quince is just outside that threshold at about $130 for a queen-sized set.

How we test bamboo sheets

After researching the best bamboo sheets on the market, we chose the top 10 sets to try out in a real-world testing environment — our own bed. First, we took them out of their packaging and noted the initial feel of the sheets. (Many sets on this list came with drawstring or zippered bags that are great for storage.) We also did an initial inspection and checked for any loose threads or snags. We then followed these considerations and evaluation points:

Our testing methodology

• Ease of use: We looked at how easy it was to make the bed and whether there were top/bottom/side tags to make the bed-making process simpler. 
• Comfort: We slept on the sheets for a minimum of one night and noted whether the sheets were cooling and how smooth, soft, and thin or heavy they felt. 
• Durability: We washed the sheets according to the individual manufacturer's instructions. After machine-drying on low heat, we checked for any signs of degradation, like pilling or fading in color. We then remade the bed and noticed the fit and whether they shrank after washing. We also noticed the level of softness. Most of the sheets on our list were soft out of the packaging and got softer with each wash.
• Certifications: We noted whether the sheets had any certifications, such as Oeko-Tex Standard 100 or Forest Stewardship Council. Bamboo sheets cannot be certified as organic by the Global Organic Textiles Standard (GOTS).
• Return policy or sleep trial: Some of the sheets on our list came with 100-night or, in the case of Quince, yearlong trials, and most came with a minimum 30-day return policy, including those you can purchase from Amazon, like Bampure.
• Flexibility: We checked to see how many color and size options were offered and whether you could buy individual pieces or have to buy the whole set. While all of our sheets came in classic white, there were a few brands, like Quince and Cozy Earth that come with many more color offerings. 

Meet the experts behind this guide

Kinsley Searles, associate home editor: I'm a home writer and editor specializing in bedding, with a particular interest in the best sheets. I'm also a bamboo bedding aficionado — when I'm not testing different sets, I sleep on bamboo sheets every night. I keep up with the latest products and constantly test to ensure we're recommending the best options in this guide.

Kayla Kitts, freelance contributor: I have over ten years of experience in commerce writing and editing, specializing in home. I originally wrote and tested the products for this guide.

Bamboo sheet FAQs

Are bamboo sheets 100% bamboo?

Bamboo sheets can be made from a variety of materials, and not all bamboo sheets are necessarily made of 100% bamboo. Some sheets labeled as bamboo may be blends of bamboo and other fibers, such as cotton, like The Company Store's Bamboo Sheet Set. It's important to check the product description or label for specific details on the composition of the sheets. If you're looking for sheets made entirely from bamboo, you may want to seek those labeled as "100% bamboo" or "viscose made from bamboo." Young says, "If it says it's [100%] bamboo, then yes, it is. But our Federal Government has decided not to give it its own general title. When you see something marked as bamboo rayon [or rayon made from bamboo], this is the official designation. That means it's made in the same way as rayon, but it's still bamboo."

Are bamboo sheets cooling?

Bamboo sheets are often praised for their cooling properties. Bamboo fibers are naturally breathable, allowing air to circulate and heat to dissipate. This helps in maintaining a more comfortable temperature while sleeping. Bamboo also has moisture-wicking properties. This can be particularly beneficial for those who tend to sweat during the night.

Are bamboo sheets eco-friendly?

Bamboo itself is highly regarded for its ability to grow quickly with minimal water and no fertilizers. Turning bamboo into a textile, however, does affect its environmental benefits as many manufacturing processes require chemicals or lots of water to turn it into its final soft and silky fabric. Bamboo Lyocell is typically considered more eco-friendly. The FTC flags that while bamboo fabric is marketed as eco-friendly, that might not always be the case, since it depends on how the bamboo is processed and sourced.

How do you wash bamboo sheets?

Bamboo sheets require some care to maintain their quality. First, always check the care instructions provided by the manufacturer, as different brands may have specific recommendations. In general, bamboo sheets can be machine-washed in cool water on a gentle/delicate cycle using a mild detergent. Then, tumble dry on a low or gentle cycle, and remove the sheets promptly to prevent wrinkles. Avoid using hot water or high heat, as this can damage the fibers. You can also line-dry your sheets, which can help preserve the fabric and maintain its quality over time. For more information on caring for bamboo sheets, we cover how to wash sheets.

What are the benefits of bamboo sheets?

Bamboo sheets have several notable benefits, including breathability, softness, and cooling properties. According to Young, they're also "incredibly absorbent, and when it comes to sleeping, absorbency is your number-one goal. Bamboo is the king of absorbency, and they also wick really well." Finally, bamboo is naturally antibacterial. "Odor comes from bacteria; you get rid of bacteria, you get rid of odor, so they will smell fresh longer," she says.

Are bamboo sheets hypoallergenic?

Bamboo is naturally hypoallergenic and resistant to dust mites and bacteria, creating an environment that may be more comfortable for those with allergies.

What is a good thread count for bamboo sheets?

Thread count has become more complicated because sheets can be woven or knit, and thread count is only useful for gauging the quality of woven sheets. If you're looking at woven sheets, a good thread count is 200 to 400. All of the sheets on our list range from 225 to 400 thread count.

Young said that for knit sheets, you'll want to look at weight, which is expressed in either GSM or ounces per square yard. For bamboo sheets, a higher weight or GSM is generally better.

Cats are naturally meticulous groomers, spending up to half their day cleaning themselves. Still, both short- and long-haired cats benefit from regular grooming with one of the best cat brushes or combs. Routine grooming helps remove loose fur and distribute natural skin oils throughout a cat's coat, says Dr. Aimee Simpson, a veterinarian and medical director of VCA Cat Hospital of Philadelphia.

To find the best cat grooming tools, we tested 31 different brushes and combs with four cats. The winning pick is the Hartz Groomer's Best Combo Brush, a versatile option suitable for everyday use on both short- and long-haired coats. Its double-sided design features metal pins on one side and bristles on the other, allowing you to lift loose fur, work out small tangles, and smooth the top coat, including more delicate hairs on the face.

Read more about how Business Insider Reviews researches and tests pet products here.

Our top picks for the best cat brushes

Best overall: Hartz Groomer's Best Combo Brush - $9 at Amazon

Best deshedding tool: Andis Deshedding Tool - $26 at Chewy

Best slicker brush: Safari Self-Cleaning Slicker Brush - $18 at Chewy

Best dematting tool: Well & Good Prostyle Dual-Sided Shedding Rake - $23 at Amazon

Best comb: Chris Christensen Cat/Carding Buttercomb #013 - $65 at Amazon

Best grooming gloves: HandsOn All-In-One Bathing and Grooming Gloves - $25 at Chewy

Best silicone: Furbliss Pet Brush - $18 at Petco

How to choose the best brush for your cat

Best overall

Persuading your cat to sit through a grooming session can be a challenge, but the double-sided Hartz Groomer's Best Combo Brush makes the process easier and, dare we say, even enjoyable for cats of all coat lengths and humans alike. 

The gentle, effective combo brush is our go-to for daily use. One side features stainless steel pins that remove loose fur and small tangles, while the other side has nylon bristles that smooth and soften the coat.

In testing, the metal pins easily lifted loose fur from a long-haired cat's coat, while both the pins and bristles were excellent for a short-haired cat. The cats especially enjoyed the bristles around their sensitive faces. While the pins successfully work through small tangles, you'll need a different brush for more substantial knots and mats.

This brush also includes the safety features that Daniel Lioyryan, a cat groomer at Cats in the City, recommends for pin brushes. The stainless steel pins have rubber tips that provide a massaging effect while protecting cats from poking. They're set in a soft, flexible pad that prevents the tines from jabbing a cat. The rubber grip was easy to handle during use.

Best deshedding tool

Cat groomer Lioyryan recommends using a deshedding tool once a month or every other month to remove excess and compacted fur and thin out dense coats. Of all the tools we tested with short- and long-haired cats, the Andis Pet Deshedding Tool is the most effective for both. With just a few strokes, it removes as much, or more, fur than other tools do in an entire brushing session.

The effectiveness of the Andis deshedder lies in its curved metal teeth, which reach beneath the topcoat to pull hair from the undercoat. The teeth gently catch and remove hair without causing discomfort or skin irritation. One of our cats loved being brushed with this tool, and the teeth's hooked design prevented us from accidentally nicking or over-raking their skin. The tool itself is lightweight, and its handle is easy to grip. The head is about 4.5 inches wide, an ideal size to get the job done quickly but small enough to fit into hard-to-reach nooks and crannies.

The only drawback is that the deshedder leaves behind a thin layer of loose fur on the topcoat. Lioyryan recommends using a comb or slicker brush after deshedding to remove leftover loose fur.

Best slicker

"Slicker brushes are often a cat's favorite," Lioyryan says. He adds that they are particularly useful for removing loose fur from the coat's outer layer and gripping the short strands of a short-haired cat's undercoat. For long-haired cats, a slicker brush is ideal for light daily brushing and catching pin knots, small mats, and loose clumps of fur. The Safari Self-Cleaning Slicker Brush accomplishes all this but stands out for its brush head size and retractable pins. 

Safari's lightweight slicker brush has an ergonomic handle with rubber grips. Its 3-by-2-inch paddle with 288 stainless steel pins is agile enough to get into hard-to-reach places. When the pins are full of hair, simply press a button on the back to push the front plate forward and dislodge the hair.

While the brush couldn't remove every mat on a long-haired cat, it did a great job helping us combat those on the chest and under the arms. You'll need to remove tougher tangles with a comb or dematting tool. If your cat's coat is severely matted, it's important to take your cat to a veterinarian or groomer who can safely remove the mats. "Never try to cut mats out of your cat's hair with scissors," Simpson says. "This can lead to accidental laceration of the skin."

Best dematting tool

While you can use a comb to remove mats from your long-haired cat, you may find a rake is easier to maneuver. Lioyryan says the best dematting rakes have sharp, curved tines that dislodge mats with minimal pulling. Our top pick, the Well & Good Prostyle Dual-Sided Shedding Rake, stands out for its superior grip and ability to remove pesky mats. 

This versatile two-sided tool features an ergonomic handle with rubber grips and a 3-inch-wide head. On one side of the head is a seven-toothed dematting tool, and on the other, there is a deshedder with 13 teeth. In one fell swoop, you can turn the tool over in your hand to go from dematting to deshedding, removing excess fur and preventing new mats from forming.

Although our long-haired cat didn't have any stubborn mats during testing, the tool performed well in simulated dematting tests. It was also incredibly easy to use the dematting side along the cat's tummy to eliminate tangles, then quickly flip to the deshedding side to thin her fur. While this rake may not remove as much hair as the Andis Deshedding Tool, it effectively clears away loose fur on long- and short-haired cats.

The only downsides are the rake's price and the lack of metal hardware connecting the teeth to the tool. Lioyryan says all-metal hardware will prove the most durable. For a more budget-friendly two-in-one tool, the Maxpower Plant Pet Grooming Brush is a good option, though it's slightly heavier and has a larger head that may make it harder to remove mats from tight underarm spots.

Best comb

Long-haired cats are prone to developing tangled mats in their undercoat, causing discomfort and, in some cases, leading to illness. "Matting causes the hair to pull at the skin, which is painful," Simpson says. At the hind end, urine and feces may also stick to mats, increasing the risk of skin and urinary tract infections.

The best comb to smooth out matted fur is Chris Christensen's Cat/Carding Buttercomb #013, says Loel Miller, owner of Mobile Grooming by Loel. We found she was right. It excelled at digging into mats and untangling the fur caught within them.

The lightweight comb has stainless steel teeth embedded in a solid 6-inch spine. The teeth alternate in a pattern of long and short tines. The comb has no real handle, just about a quarter-inch-wide ridge that runs its length. It turns out that the lack of a handle makes this comb more versatile and easier to use — we could hold it comfortably at any angle to work out tangles.

Best grooming gloves

Cats who refuse to be groomed with one of the best cat brushes or a comb may tolerate grooming gloves, which fit closely to the natural shape of your palm. "Using a grooming glove or a soft rubber grooming brush can acclimate your cat to the feeling of being brushed in a gentle way," Simpson says. 

Compared with all the other brushes and combs we tested, gloves are the worst at removing hair from a cat's coat. However, if your cat is sensitive to brushing, gloves will help remove some fur, dirt, and dander. The well-constructed HandsOn Grooming Gloves were the best of the bunch. The rubber palms are covered with rounded nubs, three clumps on each finger and two on the thumb. The other side of the glove is made of strong nylon fabric, with a velcro wrist closure that keeps it secure. 

The gloves come in five sizes, junior to extra large. As an average-sized woman, the medium pair fit me comfortably. Unlike the other gloves we tested, these didn't feel overly bulky. The gloves can be used dry or wet, and so far, they have not cracked, torn, or grown mildew, which the company claims is a feature of their durability.

Best silicone

Editor's note: Furbliss for Short Hair is currently out of stock.

The Furbliss is one of the best cat brushes not just because its flexible silicone nubs are gentle and effective at removing loose hair but also because you can use it to massage your pet, remove hair from clothing and upholstery, and dispense shampoo in the bath. 

Pet groomer Melissa Tillman says a good curry brush is ideal for grooming a short-haired cat. We found that this curry-style brush can help remove loose hair, dirt, and dander from long-haired cats, but it really shines on cats with shorter hair. The two-sided silicone brush has flexible nodules that smooth out the topcoat and stimulate circulation.

The lightweight brush was easy to grip and use. Fur sticks to the silicone material, making it a challenge to clean, but you can rinse it under the faucet or run it through the dishwasher or washing machine. On the back, there are reservoir cells to hold shampoo for deep cleaning while bathing. You can also rub the backside over clothing and upholstery to remove hair and lint.

The Furbliss comes in two different designs. The blue brush has dense, cone-shaped teeth designed for short-haired pets, and the green brush has larger, more widely spaced nubs for long-haired pets. However, we tried both brushes and didn't notice a significant difference.

What to look for in a cat brush

We spoke to three professional groomers and two veterinarians to narrow down the best cat brushes for every coat type and budget. They recommend keeping the following features in mind when shopping for cat grooming tools:

Shape and length: The shape of the brush directly impacts how well the brush removes fur and mats, especially from hard-to-reach places. Dematting and shedding brushes with small heads, like Andis Pet Deshedding Tool and Well & Good Prostyle Dual-Sided Shedding Rake, are great for reaching problematic areas such as under the limbs. The moderate length of Chris Christensen Buttercomb's teeth angles along the body, effectively tackling tough knots and mats.

Function: Not all brushes serve the same purpose, and you'll need more than one in your arsenal to address all of your cat's grooming needs. 

• Pin brushes: These brushes are gentle enough for daily use. The metal tines effectively tackle minor tangles, while the rubber tips provide a gentle, massaging sensation without poking your cat. 
• Bristle brushes: The nylon bristles remove loose hair from the topcoat and ensure the rest of the coat is smooth and lying in the same direction, which will help prevent future mats and tangles. A combo pin and bristle brush is particularly suitable for multi-cat households with both short- and long-haired cats.
• Slicker brushes: These are effective for light daily brushing, removing loose fur, and managing small tangles. The metal tines are numerous and slightly bent at the ends, making them especially useful for grabbing loose hairs from the undercoat of short-haired cats.  
• Skip tooth combs: This type of comb has a single row of steel tines with alternating lengths, designed to penetrate the undercoat of long-haired cats. If a comb has teeth that are all the same length and closely spaced, you might push the undercoat down instead of effectively brushing through it, Lioyran says. A comb is the ideal weekly or as-needed tool for small mats and grooming after deshedding. 
• Deshedding tools or rakes: These tools have curved tines to grip and remove excess fur. The number of tines varies, and Lioyryan says you might need to experiment with several deshedding rakes before finding the one that best suits your cat. He recommends using deshedding rakes monthly or every other month to eliminate loose fur and thin out thick coats. Lioyryan says even short-haired cats require deshedding, given their higher number of hair follicles than long-haired cats.
• Dematting rakes: If a stubborn mat pops up, a dematting rake is the best tool. Our experts strongly advise against using scissors on your cat's fur. Lioyryan recommends dematting tools with curved tines rather than straight ones because they tend to have a better grip. 
• Grooming gloves: These are gentle enough to acclimate cats to grooming and are less likely to overstimulate cats who are sensitive to touch. 
• Curry brushes: These versatile brushes with rubber nubs effectively remove loose hair, massage your pet, remove hair from clothing and upholstery, and lather shampoo during baths.

Comfort: The tines of a brush shouldn't poke and prod at your cat, and a tool should never excessively tug at the fur. To ensure your cat's comfort, opt for a pin brush with rubber-tipped tines and slickers with a soft brush pad that allows the tines to move with the curvature of your cat's bones. The best cat brushes also have ergonomic and rubber handles for the groomer's comfort.

Some cats may still dislike their grooming tools even if they check all the right boxes for comfort. "Just like people, some cats love being brushed, and they tolerate tension on their fur very well. Other cats do not," Lioyryan says. "If a cat doesn't like a particular tool, it doesn't necessarily mean that the tool is wrong." He suggests holding the skin taut to reduce pulling when using a deshedding rake and being mindful when brushing over bones.

Introducing your cat to grooming tools early increases the likelihood that they will tolerate and even enjoy the grooming process. For cats sensitive to grooming, grooming gloves such as HandsOn All-In-One Gloves may be the best option.

How we tested the best cat brushes

To identify the most effective cat brushes and combs for this guide, we conducted the following tests with 31 brushes and combs. 

Hair removal test: To objectively compare the brushes in the deshedding tool and slicker brush categories, we used a different grooming tool for one to three days to give our tester cats — two short-haired cats and two long-haired cats — a complete brushing. The removed hair was placed in labeled plastic bags, laid side by side to reveal which tool removed the most.

Ease of use test: While using each grooming tool, we evaluated the following characteristics:

• How easy the tool was to use overall
• The weight of the tool
• The size of the tool and how well it fit in our hands
• How well the tool accessed hard-to-reach places
• How easy the tool was to clean after use
• The durability of the tool

Dematting test: This test was devised for the products in the dematting comb category. For each comb, we began by rolling, mashing, and entangling a large pile of undercoat fur removed from a long-haired cat using a deshedding tool. We then attempted to restore the fur to its smooth, unmatted state with the comb. The top three tools went on to tackle the small mats on one of our tester cat's chest and under his forelegs, where he has trouble reaching during grooming. The comb that dematted the hair most easily and efficiently was declared the winner.

Cat brush FAQs

What is the best type of brush to use on a cat?

The right brush for your cat depends on your cat's coat type and specific grooming needs. For most cats, a combination pin-and-bristle brush is the best choice for everyday grooming, whether they have short or long hair. The pins remove loose hair and small tangles while the bristles smooth the top coat. However, a single brush can't meet every grooming need. Long-haired cats require monthly or every-other-month grooming with a deshedding rake, followed by a skip tooth comb or pin brush to remove remaining loose fur and handle small tangles. To handle bigger knots and mats, you'll need a dematting tool.

If you have a short-haired cat, you can skip the comb but should use a slicker or pin brush to tackle small tangles and remove loose hair from the undercoat. You may also need a deshedding rake and a dematting tool. Some cats may prefer the gentle touch of a soft rubber curry comb rather than a pin or slicker brush. A grooming glove is another good option for short-haired cats, particularly if they are sensitive to being handled.

Are cat brushes good for cats?

Yes. Brushing removes loose hair and dead skin cells that would otherwise be swallowed during self-grooming or shed around your home. Reducing the amount of hair a cat consumes can help minimize hairballs. Brushing also distributes the natural oils throughout the coat to keep it shiny, stimulates blood circulation, and helps strengthen the bond between a cat and their caregiver.

How often should you brush your cat's fur?

Opinions differ even among professionals regarding how often a cat should be brushed. The ASPCA recommends brushing your cat once or twice a week to help maintain a healthy coat, while VCA Animal Hospitals recommends daily brushing, particularly for cats with long hair or a thick coat. Tillman's rule of thumb is to brush your cat as often as they will let you. Harper doesn't have a universal rule, but recommends running your hands, if not a brush or comb, over your cat's body at least once daily. Older cats that cannot groom themselves may require more frequent sessions than younger cats.

How often should I use a deshedding tool on my long-haired or thick-coated cat?

Lioyryan recommends using a deshedding tool on both long and short-haired cats once a month to every other month. Afterward, brush with a skip tooth comb, slicker brush, or pin brush. 

How long should I brush my cat?

Rather than brushing for a fixed amount of time, pay close attention to your cat's body language. If they become agitated or try to move away from the brush or comb, stop the session and pick it up again later.

How do you brush an unwilling cat?

The earlier you start introducing your cat to brushing, the better. "Kittens that are regularly groomed and have their nails trimmed become used to being handled," Simpson says. To help set your cat up for success, she recommends positioning them in a comfortable, quiet area and pairing gentle brush strokes or combing with delicious treats. Lickable treats, like Inaba Churu, are especially high-value for many cats. You can spread food on a Lickimat or scatter treats in front of your cat to keep your hands free. Simpson also says cats are less likely to be anxious if you work alone without restraining them.

Should cats go to groomers?

Anytime a cat is heavily matted, it's best to consult a professional. "Cats' skin is easy to cut, so it's best to leave that up to us," Tillman says. If you have a cat who dislikes being brushed, don't hesitate to hire a groomer to do the basics. "It's best not to push the limits of a cat where you are in danger of being injured," Miller says. For cats that are easily stressed during trips to the groomer, a mobile grooming service that comes to your home may be a good alternative.

• After spending a few years living in big Western cities, I moved back East to be closer to family.
• Now, I live in Asheville, North Carolina, and my quality of life has really improved.
• Life in Asheville has made family, affordability, and everyday ease feel more accessible.

As a small-town girl from Forestville, New York, moving to Denver for my dream job after college felt electric. I enjoyed skiing (when I could justify the three-hour drive to my favorite slopes), hiking, and seeing many shows at Red Rocks Amphitheater.

But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the city's shine quickly wore off. Hiking trails became more crowded, live music all but disappeared, and suddenly, I felt very alone on the other side of the country.

Visiting my family back East wasn't easy without expensive flights or long days on the road, and I started to feel closed in, with no way to reset or reconnect.

After sticking things out in Denver for a few more months, I moved to Salt Lake City for work. At first, it felt like an upgrade: world-class skiing was just 30 minutes away, rugged desert trails were within reach, and there was a stunning mountain backdrop.

Eventually, though, I realized what mattered most to me was being close to my family.

So, after three years of living out West, I decided I was ready for a change and settled in Asheville, North Carolina — a city that still gives me proximity to nature but has made family, affordability, and everyday ease feel more accessible.

Since moving, my quality of life has really improved

Now that I'm back on the East Coast, I don't feel as cut off from my loved ones.

When I was living out West, the flights were so expensive that I only ended up seeing my family once a year for Christmas. Now, however, I can somewhat easily drive up to New York multiple times a year for birthdays, graduations, and other gatherings.

Being closer to my family hasn't been the only perk of moving here, either. I've also found that the pace of life feels much more natural. There's a collective ease here in the way people pause to chat, hold doors, and make everyday interactions feel more personal and less rushed.

Southern hospitality feels present in everyday interactions, especially when I go over to a friend's house to sip tea on their porch.

The landscape seems to shape this rhythm, too. I can step onto a hiking trail or into a river within 15 minutes of leaving my house, and enjoy four distinct seasons — including mild winters — without the extremes of high-altitude living.

Now, my life feels much more balanced

At the end of the day, I don't think Asheville is "better" than the other places I've lived. The Rockies and Appalachians both offer breathtaking landscapes, endless opportunities to get outside, and ways of living that aren't found in other parts of the country.

However, moving to North Carolina has allowed me to better align my life with the things that are most important to me.

And a bonus? I'm finally able to save for my future in a way that felt impossible when I was living in bigger cities.

Now, I'm paying less than $2,000 a month for a three-bedroom, two-bathroom rental with a fenced-in backyard. Meanwhile, comparable options I saw in Denver and Salt Lake City could run at least $3,000.

This breathing room has allowed my partner and me to save money toward buying land and a home.

Overall, moving to North Carolina shifted more than just my address — it changed my relationship to affordability, time, family, and what "living well" actually means.

• I always dreamed of owning a house one day, but now that I can, I'm second-guessing the decision.
• I can only afford a house I don't like in a neighborhood I don't love.
• I also don't want to be locked into an asset, so I'll focus on investing elsewhere.

Buying a property was on my bingo card for as long as I can remember. It always felt inevitable, especially being a millennial raised by boomers who saw that as the default path.

For years, I quietly accepted that it probably was not possible in the world we live in. Then it became possible, and that is when things got interesting.

After moving in with my partner, we decided to actually test the assumption. We ran the numbers and realized that, at least in the UK, we could make it work.

For the first time, buying a house seemed realistic. But instead of confirming the plan, the process forced a different conclusion: We decided not to buy.

The version of 'home" I could get wasn't the one I wanted

What that budget translated into in reality was something else entirely. The options within our range came with compromises: a less-than-ideal location, space that was too small, or spending more time and money than we were comfortable with.

It forced us to reflect. Is it worth owning something you do not even like, in an area you do not want to live in, just for the sake of owning a house?

There was also a gap between what I had always imagined buying a house would look like and what this actually was. I had never pictured making a long-term commitment to something that already read like a compromise from day one.

And in the UK, that gap widens fast. Many properties within our range were not even full ownership in the traditional sense. Leaseholds, service charges, ground rent, restrictions on renovations, or even how you live. You are not buying a home. You are buying the right to occupy someone else's asset for a number of years, paying them for the privilege, and asking permission to paint your own walls.

The more we understood the structure, the more the word "ownership" started to seem like a technicality.

It was a legal status that looked like control on paper but delivered very little in practice.

Buying would lock us into a version of our life we're not sure we want

Once we accepted that the kind of home we could get would involve trade-offs, the question became quite obvious. If we were not excited about what we were buying, why anchor ourselves to it long term?

Buying a house is not just a financial decision. It ties you to a location, shapes your day-to-day, and limits how easily you can pivot. That level of permanence can be valuable, but only if you are confident about the life you are building around it. Right now, we are not.

Over the past few years, my life has changed in many ways. I have moved countries, shifted roles, and rethought what I want my day to look like. That has made things less predictable, but also more intentional. Flexibility has become something I value, and protecting it matters more than locking it away inside four walls I was never excited about in the first place.

The money works harder elsewhere — and so does the life

There was also a calculation we kept avoiding. The deposit sitting in a low-cost index fund over the same period has historically outperformed average UK property appreciation, without the maintenance costs, service charges, or illiquidity. A mortgage is leverage on a single, fixed, non-diversified asset you also happen to live in. That is a strange way to build wealth when you are not emotionally sold on the asset itself.

But the more interesting realization was not about returns. It was about what that capital buys when it stays liquid. The trips you can take. The risks you can afford. The ability to move toward something better without first selling something you never loved.

There is also a form of wealth that does not appear in property valuations. Experiences do not fit inside a repayment schedule. Memories compound differently, not in a spreadsheet, but in the person you are gradually becoming. That sounds abstract until you price what you would have had to give up to make the numbers work.

We ran those numbers too. And when you add up what we would have traded, the flexibility, the options, the life still unwritten, the most expensive thing we could have done was buy.

• I have four kids, and my youngest is graduating from elementary school this year.
• It's the ned of an era, and it's caused me to reflect.
• There are a few things I now wish I'd done differently while my kids were young.

Time is a thief. When each of my four children was born, I thought they would be little forever. The baby and toddler years are so all-consuming that it seems like they will never end. But I learned, quickly, that the axiom that the days are long but the years are short is all too true. By the time this reality sank in, however, it was too late to go back and change the way I approached their childhood.

I can physically feel the heartache when I dropped my oldest daughter, now nearly 20, off for her first day of elementary school. That first day was followed by three similar first days, spread out over nearly a decade, as her three younger siblings took their first steps into elementary school.

Each time, I hid my tears behind oversize sunglasses and tried to stifle my sobs, knowing I would enjoy newfound free time but still aching to have my children by my side. Those first days of school for my older children were followed, too quickly, by elementary school graduations and more changes and challenges.

Now, after 16 years of having a child in elementary school, my youngest child is about to graduate to middle school, too. It's a milestone for him, but also for me, and marks the end of a very long era as a mom to little kids, one I loved and will miss dearly. Still, if I could go back and change a few things, I would.

I worried about doing everything the 'right' way

When my older kids were little, I thought every decision, every act, could have a significant impact on their lives. I pored over "expert" advice about the best way to parent. Worrying about every minute of screen time, every second of sleep, and every bite they ate was stressful and sucked some of the joy out of the early years of motherhood. Was I doing attachment parenting the right way? Did I have the right rules in place? Was I enforcing them the wrong way?

In hindsight, it didn't really matter if my kids occasionally ate an extra scoop of ice cream or didn't like certain vegetables as long as they were growing and developing well. Missing out on playdates in the alley or another round of UNO wasn't worth their getting an additional 20 minutes of sleep as long as they were generally well rested. The sky didn't fall if I let laundry pile up or went to bed with dirty dishes in the sink.

Now, as teens, my kids have much weightier problems to deal with. Dealing with shootings near their high schools, peer pressure to drink, getting through to them about the reality that social media postings never truly go away, and making decisions about their career paths puts the smaller issues I wrestled with as a young mother into stark perspective.

I wish I hadn't waited to do so many things

In the thick of parenting young children, time becomes warped. I put off doing too many things I knew my children would love for another day, assuming that day would eventually come. Now, my kids are uninterested in some of the things I had on my bucket list for their younger selves.

For example, it never seemed like a good time to go on a Disney Cruise, something I had wanted to do for years. I thought it would be fun to travel to Finland to see Santa's home. Now, even my youngest is too old to have some of the magical childhood experiences I once envisioned for him. I also kept waiting for a better time to get family portraits. While it's not too late to book a photographer, my kids are now in a different season, and I missed a window to have photos of my children, still as children, taken while they were all still little.

I should have been more present

Raising young kids can be grueling, especially while trying to balance work and mothering, but I still wish I had put my phone down more and been present. Although I knew intellectually I should have been more mindful about limiting screentime, the reality of why didn't really sink in until recently.

At the time, I loved sneaking in time to scroll and post photos to social media while my kids played at the playground or built with Duplos in the living room. Now, how they spend their time is different, and I will never get those moments back. Additionally, the day my kids would much rather play with friends than me came quickly. Although I am now more mindful of my own screentime when I am with my children, I missed out on many hours that would have been a lot of fun for my kids and me, simply being playful in a way that no longer exists.

• Andrew Reaster, a 29-year-old UPS driver in Georgia, had a sudden three-day-long stomachache.
• He was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and died six months later.
• His mother, Kathy Lemoine, wants more young people and parents to know the risks of colon cancer.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kathy Lemoine, 58, who lives in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Her son, Andrew Reaster, died on August 9, 2025, from colon cancer. This story has been edited for length and clarity.

My son Andrew lived life to the fullest every day.

He was a kid at heart, decorating his condo with Pokémon and Legos. He loved his job as a UPS driver, and many of his customers loved him. He would jump around and pet their dogs. It seemed that each friend he had considered him their best friend.

On top of his active job, Andrew was also very regimented about his health. He followed a mostly clean diet and never skipped his dental appointments. He also had perfect school attendance and was rarely sick.

So when he called me in January 2025 about a stomach ache that wouldn't go away for three days, I immediately called a gastroenterologist in my town. Andrew came in the next day.

The doctor immediately felt something hard during Andrew's rectal exam and scheduled an emergency colonoscopy. After a major snowstorm, Andrew came in a few days later. I went with him, thinking the procedure would last at least half an hour. Ten minutes later, I was called in. They couldn't even fit the scope through because of the blockage.

Within a week, we learned he had stage 4 colon cancer, with the cancer spreading to his liver, lungs, and stomach lining.

That's when our nightmare began.

The hardest decision I ever had to make

We learned from the CT scans that the mass couldn't be surgically removed and that Andrew would require chemotherapy treatment and a colostomy, a procedure that creates an opening in his abdomen to collect waste through a colostomy bag.

I couldn't breathe. I felt like there was a hand squeezing my heart. Because Andrew had Asperger's, now known as autism spectrum disorder, I knew if I focused on the negative, that's what he would end up doing, too. So I said, "OK, honey, we can do this."

He went to the front desk to start the paperwork for short-term disability. I called the doctor over and asked for a prognosis. He told me that without treatment, Andrew had about one month to live. With treatment, about six.

After Andrew drove home, I called my mom. I broke down on the phone. I was inconsolable. I said, "I just can't believe that my son is dying."

Andrew worked right until the day before his colostomy in February 2025. He was so worried about getting his short-term disability paperwork right so he wouldn't lose his job. All he talked about was having the colostomy bag removed and going back to work after he kicked cancer's butt.

The colostomy was supposed to involve a three- to five-day hospital stay. Due to complications, Andrew ended up being there for 48 days. He had fevers, which the hospital staff first thought were infections but later deduced were caused by his cancer.

Because Andrew gave me power of attorney, the doctor pulled me aside and said, "Mom, you have a huge decision to make." Without chemotherapy, Andrew would only live for about three more weeks, but given how weak he was, there was a chance he wouldn't make it through the night if we started now.

It was the hardest decision I ever had to make. I knew I would regret not trying chemotherapy. I sat with him throughout the three-day regimen, waiting to see what happened. It was scary because I could have lost him at any point. We ended up watching "Cars," "Fast & Furious," and all these different movies.

He made it. The doctor was shocked. I thought, "Oh my God, we're going to kick this." Andrew came back for his second round of chemo two weeks later.

Trying to stay positive

Andrew started to feel a little bit better. He still couldn't work, but he went out with his friends. In the meantime, a new doctor closer to Andrew's home encouraged me to look into any clinical trials I could find — he really didn't think Andrew had very long.

The chemo became harsher and harsher on Andrew. His white blood cell count was too low to continue chemo, and he couldn't go to the bathroom, even with the colostomy bag. Still, he seemed to keep a positive outlook.

By the time he turned 30 in July 2025, he only weighed 140 pounds, down from 210. Toward the end, he didn't want friends and family visiting him anymore, seeing how skeletal he'd become.

He suffered greatly. He was in constant pain until he died on August 9, 2025.

In hindsight, I say, "Oh my God, I should not have let him suffer that long. We should have just let him go." But I think if I let him go, then I would be saying, "Oh my gosh, we should have tried harder." So no matter what, I would have regrets, which I do.

It was heartbreaking, watching him fade away.

I still wonder if we missed early symptoms

We had no idea that colon cancer was something to look out for. Andrew was young, had no family history, and never had any digestive issues other than that stomach ache. I believe that he probably had little signs here and there, but just didn't know or dismissed them.

Colon cancer is now the deadliest cancer for people under 50. It's also very treatable if caught early. I want people under 45 to know all the risks, so they can get screened the moment they notice any warning signs, whether they get colonoscopies or at-home colon cancer tests.

I also think people struggle to talk about colon cancer because it has to do with their butts, and I hope to make it less of a taboo topic.

I recently restarted Andrew's Instagram account to share information about colon cancer. I put up a picture of him that says, "I am 29 with Stage IV Colorectal Cancer in this pic and will be gone in 4 months." More than 400,000 people viewed his profile in that month.

My son didn't have a snowball's chance in hell. I hope, with more awareness, young people — and their parents — will realize how serious colon cancer is.

Correction: May 16, 2026 — An earlier version of this story misstated the time between Andrew Reaster's diagnosis and his death. He was diagnosed in February 2025 and died 6 months later.

• I graduated from college almost a year ago and still can't find a full-time job, so I'm a barista.
• I often wonder if I should just leave New York and move home, giving up my career dreams.
• But I stay in hopes that my big break will come soon.

Last May, as I walked across the stage of a New York City theater to receive my college diploma, I wondered if I would be able to put my degree to use. Smiling toward where my visiting family sat, the thought crossed my mind: Would it be better if I just moved home?

Like many NYC graduates, I'm a California transplant. In 2022, I moved from coast to coast with the dream of becoming a journalist. I pursued internships and roles with student newspapers. By the time graduation rolled around, I'd amassed a modest portfolio.

I knew the job market was tough, but I was determined to put my education to work.

My post-college job search started months before graduation. Between attending classes and running around for my local news internship, I was writing cover letters, networking, and surfing the internet for job postings. As an undergrad student in New York City, I was familiar with the hustle, but around 50 job applications in, I still had zero promising leads.

By graduation, I had to face the facts. I had a journalism degree, but no full-time journalism job on the horizon.

The entry-level job apocalypse

A recent report by the Center for an Urban Future found that entry-level job postings in NYC have dropped 37.4% since 2022.

As my graduation approached and job leads kept going cold, I had to make a tough decision. Rent was due, and my internship had ended, so I revisited a trade that had supported me before: barista work.

Nearly one year later, the part-time role I began out of necessity has continued to largely fund my housing, groceries, travel, and life.

I say I'm a freelance journalist in NYC, but in reality, most of my working week is spent at a neighborhood coffee shop. My remaining time is spent picking up freelance journalism gigs, babysitting, and investing in my local church community.

Why not just move home?

Amid job applications and 5 a.m. alarms, there have been many times when I've wondered what's keeping me in a place like NYC if I can't get a journalism job. Why don't I just move home?

But there's something that keeps people like me from returning home: the waiting, working, and wondering when it might be our turn.

Between pouring latte art and taking orders at the register last week, my aspiring actor coworker and I talked about what keeps people like us here. She told me the story of "The Pitt" star Patrick Ball, who had been auditioning and working survival jobs since 2013.

On CBS Mornings, Ball shared that prior to his audition for "The Pitt," he was beginning to think that his on-screen break might never happen.

"It was a self-tape just from my apartment, just like any other self-tape," said Ball. "I've probably done like 1,000 of them over the last 10 years."

Since graduation, I've applied to over 150 jobs — nowhere near Ball's 1,000 auditions — so I can relate to his sense that my "break" will never happen. And yet we keep pushing, hoping the break is just around the corner.

Ten months have passed since graduation, and I'm still in NYC, longing, seeking, and wondering when I'll find the next step in that dream of mine.

Then something changed

I recently received an offer for a full-time position in another East Coast city in my desired field. I'm unsure whether the position will be my next step, but the opportunity to use my degree is stirring up a dream I'd begun to forget.

This past year of multiple jobs has been a blessing in disguise. It's brought me closer to the community and taught me to be content when things don't go as planned.

It's brought me to a place where I can consider my career from a place of desire, not obligation.

After all this time, receiving an offer felt like finding a version of myself that I have yet to know. I think it would be fun to find her out.

I guess it's just not the time to move home quite yet.