Just a year ago, Zoe De La Paz was living like any other 20-something.
Earning $75,000 a year, De La Paz worked a steady job as a mechanical designer at an engineering firm, and split the rent for her Chicago apartment with a roommate. On paper, she was doing fine, but inside, she felt unfulfilled.
In 2024, a trip to visit a friend who worked at Yellowstone National Park inspired her to realize that there was more out there than a 9 to 5.
“It was what made me realize that life was too short and that I was very unhappy at my corporate job,” the 26-year-old told CNBC Make It.
Earlier this year, she decide to make a change. She began looking for new gigs, and found a job working at Yellowstone as a seamstress for Xanterra Parks & Resorts, which operates hotels and lodges in Yellowstone. It might not sound glamorous, but the move is saving her big time.
As a seamstress, De La Paz earns $19.25 an hour, and her rent is shockingly low. Each month, she takes out just $96 of her paycheck for rent, a cost which also covers WiFi and utilities. She also deducts $359 a month from her paycheck to go towards a meal stipend she uses for food at Xanterra’s dining halls.
De Le Paz lives in a dorm-style room in Yellowstone’s Mammoth Village that she shares with a roommate.
“From a young age, I had been told that work must be work and play must be play, and that there isn’t necessarily a world that allows both to coexist with one another,” De La Paz said. “I never thought that my hobby could become my career.”
De La Paz has a typical schedule, working 40 hours per week Mondays through Friday, from y 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. with an hour-long lunch break.
Though she makes less than what she did in Chicago, she wouldn’t change a thing. “The trade-off is really worth it to me because I get to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world,” she said.
In the month of July De La Paz earned rough $2,640. She spent the bulk of it, $1,162, on gifts, entertainment, household items, and pet care. $742 went towards food, and $586 went towards savings.
De La Paz maintains an emergency savings fund of $11,000, as well as a 401(k) from her previous employer with more than $34,000 in it.
Living and working at Yellowstone also has perks for her friends and family, who can visit and stay overnight at the park for just $5.
“Even though the national parks are land for the people to come visit, there is just a geographical distance and then a financial distance for people to be able to come and visit and stay in the park,” De La Paz said.
“Staying in Yellowstone can be just as expensive as traveling internationally, and I’m really grateful that I get to stay for pennies and dimes, essentially, to live inside of the park.”
De La Paz’s seasonal contract ends at the end of December. For her next move, she’s weighing job opportunities in both Los Angeles and New York City.
“It’s scary to think about the fact that less than six months ago, I was working my corporate job, clocking in with my badge, and now it’s like: What comes next?” she said..
“I know that regardless of where I end up, the work I will be doing will continue having me be behind a sewing machine,” she adds. “I’m excited for what comes next.”
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