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The 25 most expensive housing markets in the US

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San Francisco

The most expensive housing markets in America are primarily packed into one state: California. 

The Golden State dominates Coldwell Banker's annual Home Listing Report, which ranks the most expensive places to purchase homes in America, claiming every spot in the top 10 and 18 total out of the top 25. 

To determine the most expensive cities, Coldwell Banker analyzed the average listing price of more than 50,000 four-bedroom, two-bathroom homes for the period between January 2016 and June 2016. The ranking covered 2,168 markets across the US, excluding any with fewer than 10 listings.

So what makes California so desirable?

"It all goes back to the old adage in real estate about location, location, location," Charlie Young, CEO of Coldwell Banker, told Business Insider. "In California, you've got a confluence of an amazing climate, strong economy with high-paying jobs, and a tech sector attracting a competitive environment." 

Looking even deeper, six cities within the top 10 can be found inside Silicon Valley, which makes sense given the multitude of growing tech companies that are paying top dollar to attract new employees — and homebuyers — to the area.

"In Silicon Valley, you’ve got Apple, you’ve got Google, you’ve got Facebook. You’ve got the big players in the new tech economy," Young said. "For the foreseeable future, they’re there, and that’s going to drive those markets."

And at the end of the day, "you can’t discount the fact that it’s California," Young noted. It's always been an aspirational place to live — and that isn't likely to change any time soon. 

Read on to check see which cities make up the 25 most expensive housing markets in America, where the average listing price is at least $1 million. 

SEE ALSO: The 10 most affordable places to buy a home in the US

DON'T MISS: The 30 most expensive colleges to live near

25. Walnut Creek, California

Population: 68,910

Average cost of a 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom house: $1,004,900

Median household income: $80,399



24. San Jose, California

Population: 1,026,908

Average cost of a 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom house: $1,011,871

Median household income: $83,787



23. Concord, Massachusetts

Population: 19,830

Average cost of a 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom house: $1,040,290

Median household income: $132,385



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Apple is giving up on the high-end luxury watch market

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apple watch 2 hermes_big

When Apple released the original Apple Watch in early 2015, it made a a pretty big play at the high-end watch market with its Edition line, which started at $10,000 and was encased in precious metals.

Most bloggers and technology journalists scoffed at this as a gimmick, but Apple was serious in its efforts. It gave celebrities like Beyoncé and designer Karl Lagerfeld the pricey watch to cultivate an air of exclusivity. The Apple Watch's first ads appeared not in a tech publication like Wired, but in Vogue.

With the announcement of the Apple Watch Series II at Wednesday's keynote, however, the only model that carries on the Edition name has a white ceramic case and not a glint of bling in sight, and it sells for a comparatively low $1,299. Since the watch is no longer encased in expensive precious metals, it is priced accordingly. The most expensive Apple Watch is part of the Hermés line, which pairs the watch with leather straps made by the French fashion house and is priced at $1,499.

The removal of the super-high-end watches from Apple's offerings is telling. 

"Apple is making an admission that it's not a luxury product in watches," James Dowling, co-author of "The Best of Time: Rolex Wristwatches" told Bloomberg.

Though Apple still considers the Apple Watch, and its new Apple Watch Edition with special ceramic material, a luxury item, it is no longer competing against the luxury Swiss behemoths on the high end of the luxury watch market like it once was. The least expensive Rolex, for example, costs roughly $6,000. In the low-to-mid luxury watch range, the prices are more in line with the higher end of the Apple Watch.

AppleWatchVogue5.JPG

Anyone who knows about the luxury watch market could tell you that selling expensive technology with a tendency to quickly become obsolete might not turn out well for Apple. Those who spend that kind of cash on things you wear on your wrist aren't looking for the latest tech, and they don't want to have to replace it next year (or maybe ever). 

Customers buying Swiss luxury watches are looking for both legacy and longevity, something that watchmakers like Rolex have in spades.

Rolex Ad

On top of that, the Swiss high-end luxury watch industry is in the midst of a serious downturn, which has shrunk the market at the same time Apple was looking to burst into it.

"[Apple is] making a declaration that it's no longer in the watch business, but that it's in the health-tracking business," Dowling said.

During its keynote Wednesday, Apple devoted far more time touting its newly deepened collaboration with Nike for a new line of sports watches. Wearables will likely be a category Apple can much more easily dominate than trying to chase the picky buyers accustomed to Swiss heritage and luxury.

Swiss watchmakers may take this as a sign that they were right not to chase Apple into wearables, instead remaining staid and relying on the strength of its legacy.

Just like the Swiss watchmakers were able to fend off cheap quartz-powered watches in the '70s and '80s, they have forced Apple downmarket and out of the high-end luxury watch category.

SEE ALSO: Why it's nearly impossible for Apple to beat Rolex

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NOW WATCH: These are the watches worn by the smartest and most powerful men in the world

San Francisco's subway is so packed it's paying people to not commute at rush hour

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bay area rapid transit bart san francisco

San Franciscans know riding the city's subway system, known as BART, before 9 a.m. is roughly the equivalent of being trapped inside a Russian nesting doll made up of sardine cans.

You emerge from the station hot, sweaty, and usually late to work.

In an effort to make the trains less crowded, BART is rolling out a new program that pays riders cash for commuting outside of rush hour. The payout is marginal, but city-dwellers will likely welcome any solution that shortens the ridiculous lines at the station platforms.

The BART Perks program awards points per mile traveled on BART during "bonus hours," which happen Monday through Friday from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 to 9:30 a.m.

Sounds simple enough, but the program requires a four-page Frequently Asked Questions document to fully explain how it works. Participants are assigned a status — bronze, silver, gold, or platinum — based on how they often travel during bonus hours.

A thousand points can be exchanged for $1. (A thousand!)

I commute from Oakland to San Francisco's SoMa District via BART five days a week. I have no way of knowing how many track miles I travel. For argument's sake, let's say the trip stretches nine miles — a conservative estimate based on the driving distance between stations.

As a bronze-status, or entry-level, member, I would earn three points per mile for a total of 27 points. By the end of the month, my payout comes to $1 and change in points.

Commuters can also spend their rewards points by playing an online, Monopoly-like game where you travel across the board to win random cash prizes, ranging from $1 to $100.

bay area rapid transit bart san francisco

San Francisco isn't the first to engineer an incentives program in an effort to ameliorate traffic (foot traffic or otherwise). Major metro areas like Los Angeles and the Bay Area offer congestion pricing on some freeways, so drivers willing to shell out can ride in the carpool lane. London, Stockholm, Singpore, and Milan have enacted similar pricing schemes.

The program in San Francisco is set to run out in February, when BART officials will evaluate its impact and determine next steps. Watch the promotional video below:

SEE ALSO: Take a look at these amazing photos of San Francisco before the first tech boom

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NOW WATCH: No one wants to buy this bizarre house in a wealthy San Francisco suburb

Meet the mysterious retail guru who just surpassed Bill Gates to become the world's richest man

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Amancio Ortega

Zara's mysterious founder, Amancio Ortega, just surpassed Bill Gates to become the richest man in the world. 

Shares of the Spanish retailer's parent company, Inditex, rose 2.5%. That boosted Ortega's fortune to $79.5 billion, according to Forbes

Bill Gates' net worth is $78.5 billion. 

Despite Ortega's impressive net worth, many people have never heard of him.

The 80-year-old Spaniard fiercely guards his privacy and gives few interviews to the press.

Ortega founded fast-fashion giant Zara with his then-wife Rosalia in 1975. Today, his retail company Inditex SA — which owns Zara, Massimo Dutti, and Pull&Bear — has over 6,600 outposts around the world. 

Amancio Ortega is the richest man in the world, with a net worth estimated at $79.5 billion.

Source: Bloomberg



This is his second wife, Flora. The couple has been married since 2001.

Source: Bloomberg



In August 2013, his ex-wife and Zara cofounder, Rosalia Mera, died at 69. She was Spain's richest woman.

Source: Associated Press



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A dancer created an incredible routine with geometric neon lights

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Living in a world where technology advances every day, our perception and use of the physical body seem to be different from what it has been. An art group, U-Machine, choreographed a performance piece that explores the relationship between the human body and digital space through aesthetic means.

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The fabulous life of Anna Wintour

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anna wintour

The semi-annual chaos that is New York Fashion Week has begun, and designers and fashionistas are deep in preparation mode. 

Perhaps no one knows the ins and outs of Fashion Week better than Anna Wintour, longtime editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine and artistic director at Conde Nast. Donning her trademark black Chanel sunglasses and perfectly styled bob, Wintour has been a fashion-show fixture for decades. 

With an estimated annual salary of $2 million, Wintour leads the kind of lifestyle any fashionista would envy.  

SEE ALSO: A retail CEO reveals the simple work wardrobe rule she thinks everyone should follow

Wintour is originally from the UK and moved to New York in her 20s. After stints at Harper's & Queen, Harper's Bazaar, and Viva, Wintour took the helm at Vogue in 1988. At the time, the storied fashion magazine had lost some market share to rival Elle, and its focus had shifted slightly to include lifestyle coverage.



Under Wintour, Vogue reestablished itself as the dominant American fashion magazine.



Wintour has now attended more than 3,000 fashion shows on behalf of Vogue. She has an annual clothing budget that's rumored to be as much as $200,000.

Source: T Magazine



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We went to lunch with the man behind Blade, the 'Uber for helicopters' startup — here's what he told us


A floating glass restaurant might hover above New York's Hudson River

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02 Exterior Rendering Bird View

New York City-based Big Foot Developers have a vision for a new kind of waterfront restaurant: a glass cube that hovers above the Hudson River.

In early September, the developers unveiled designs for "The Floating Restaurant," which would be suspended above the site of the former Glenwood power plant in Yonkers, 30 minutes north of Manhattan.

The team submitted the proposal to Goren Group (the developers that are working to convert the power plant into a cultural events space). However, lead designer Cristelle Calderón De Stefano tells Business Insider that there is no word yet on whether the restaurant will come to fruition.

In the meantime, check out the designs.

SEE ALSO: This tiny minimalist apartment has an 'origami wall' that creates different rooms

"The Floating Restaurant" would hover between the former power plant's two smoke stacks, 160 feet above the river.



Tension steel cables would hang from the smoke stacks to support the structure, Calderón De Stefano says. Diners would enjoy 360-degree views of New York's skyline and the Hudson River.



Visitors would get to the restaurant through an elevator built inside one of the smoke stacks. From there, they would walk along a glass bridge to reach the 1,940-square-foot cube. The restaurant would have two levels, connected by stairs.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Here’s what imitation crab meat is actually made of

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From California rolls to crab cakes, imitation crab meat pops up everywhere to replace its seafaring doppelgänger. But what is imitation crab meat made out of? For starters, it consists of no actual crab and its main ingredient is a fish paste called "surimi."

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There's now a $75 million private jet for your inner Texas oil tycoon

A pair of former Warby Parker execs have raised $8.5 million to create the perfect suitcase

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Away founders

For many travelers, having high-quality luggage can make all the difference between a seamless flight experience and one filled with headaches.

Unfortunately, top-notch suitcases are often either too expensive or too difficult to find. 

That's why two former Warby Parker execs — Jen Rubio, the company's former head of social media, and Steph Korey, former head of supply chain — teamed up to create Away, a travel brand aiming to create products that combine high-quality materials and innovative technology at an affordable price. 

After launching its first piece of luggage — a carry-on bag priced at $225 — at the beginning of 2016, the startup is now announcing it has raised a $8.5 million Series A funding round led by Global Founders Capital. Forerunner Ventures, Accel Partners, Comcast Ventures, and Starwood Hotels founder Barry Sternlicht also participated in the round. 

Away's earlier $2.5 million seed round included contributions from Andy Dunn of Bonobos, Brian Lee of The Honest Company, Jeff Kearl of Skulllcandy and Stance, and Jay Z.

Away says it is on track for $10 million in sales this year, or about 50,000 suitcases. The brand now has three different sizes of bags, each of which comes with a patent-pending compression system, removable laundry bag, and four 360-degree spinner wheels. The carry-on bag also has a battery and a USB port for charging.

The medium size retails for $275, and the large is priced at $295.

"There's been strong excitement from customers around the world for thoughtfully designed, high-quality products to make travel more enjoyable, and this most recent round of funding will further accelerate our growth as a global travel brand, allowing us to expand our product assortment as well as our international presence — both in e-commerce and physical retail," Rubio said to Business Insider.

Away_Carry On_All Colors

Away opened its first concept store in New York shortly after the product launch in January, and plans to open others in London, Los Angeles, and Berlin.

"We [had] three goals in mind: to bring our brand experience to life, to find out if our customers were interested in shopping for luggage in a retail environment, and to have the opportunity to interact with and learn from travelers every day in real life," Korey told Business Insider. "We were completely blown away by the response — the store was profitable from day one and became a true platform for partnerships and community."

Similar to the way Warby Parker has revolutionized the eyeglass industry, Away keeps its product prices low by eliminating the middleman and the mark-up that's common in high-quality luggage pieces.

"While working at Warby Parker and Casper, we saw those companies completely transform the previously poor consumer experiences and high prices for the eyewear and mattress industries," Korey and Rubio told Business Insider in November 2015." We decided the luggage industry needed similar improvements, and created Away to offer consumers the highest quality luggage for a fraction of the price."

SEE ALSO: The fabulous life of Anna Wintour

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This travel pillow solves one of the biggest problems of regular neck pillows

Twin brothers who turned a single house into nearly $8 million of property share the first step to take before investing in real estate

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kelly chris edwards

When brothers Kelly and Chris Edwards bought their first house in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 2002, they didn't know much about real estate investing.

The twins, who were in their late 20s at the time, had both been working in commercial banking and noticed a trend among the tax returns they analyzed: The people with the highest net worth owned real estate.

Looking at one portfolio in particular, Chris remembers seeing that the client owned a handful of single family properties. "There was a house for sale two doors down from the one he owned," Chris told Business Insider. "We were like, 'We might not be the smartest guys in the world, but we can figure it out.'"

After getting the client's opinion on the sale, the brothers bought the house for $88,000 and started renovating it, doing much of the work themselves. In the next two years, they bought another four or five properties, getting to know contractors and developing a system along the way.

Today, The Edwards Companies owns nearly $8 million in assets, and works with private investors through its investing arm, Edwards Capital Partners.

Going to that initial client for his opinion inspired one of their go-to tips for beginning real estate investors: Find someone who knows more than you do.

When the brothers first started investing, they went to a local meeting in Raleigh to meet, and hopefully speak to, a local residential real estate investor who now owns over 2,000 units in the area. They invited him to dinner, and he accepted.

"Ultimately we went to work for him for two years and saw everything there is to know for what our area of real estate, from fires to new construction to tear downs," Chris said. "One of our favorite books is 'Rich Dad Poor Dad,' and he's that guy to us: the rich dad, if you will. If there's a problem, we still call him. That definitely has been the most important thing contributing to our success."

In addition to seeking out individuals, Kelly and Chris are big readers, and recommend anyone take the time to gather industry knowledge before and while they start investing. 

"There's so much information on the internet today," Kelly — who read books and spoke to experienced businesspeople instead of taking any official type of real estate class — said. "You're going to see books, blogs, classes, gurus ... you need to start reading and learning. That goes back to taking it seriously. Our bookshelves are filled with real estate books, from Trump to Kiyosaki. We're big believers in reading."

In fact, they still keep copies of the story of the tortoise and the hare. "We always use the analogy of the tortoise and the hare," Kelly said. "Jump on the internet and it says get rich quick, everyone is wealthy. But it ain't that way — it's just not. The book is childish, but we have copies sitting on our office shelves reminding us of why we do what we do. If you're just starting out, keep in mind that it's not a 'get rich overnight' plan. It's kind of a 'get rich slow.'"

SEE ALSO: Twin brothers who turned a single house into nearly $8 million of property share 9 tips for aspiring real estate investors

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: 3 psychological tricks that will make you enjoy your job more

I ate nothing but vegetarian fast food for a week — and discovered a huge problem with the industry

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Kate saladAs someone who loves both meat and chain restaurants, I was only half prepared when I adopted a 100% fast-food diet with no meat allowed.

After spending a week trying to eat healthy while consuming nothing but fast food, I figured that going vegetarian for five days would be a breeze. I already knew fast-food menus like the back of my hand, and I had plenty of vegetarian friends I could consult.

Plus, a growing percentage of the American population has already gone vegetarian. While about 3% of the US identifies as vegetarian or vegan, an increasing number of people are cutting meat from their diet; 26% to 41% of Americans report that they cut down on the amount of meat they ate in the past year.

If fast-food chains want to compete with the new wave of trendy fast-casual restaurants, they need to appeal to the vegetarian market — including people who want to decrease the amount of meat they eat without cutting it from their diet.

So, I became a short-term vegetarian to see which fast-food chains were evolving to meet the meatless needs of consumers.

My first and most important rule was that I could eat only at fast-food chains. (I would consume at least three meals a day.)

That means no notoriously veggie-friendly fast casuals like Sweetgreen or Chipotle.

My orders would be 100% vegetarian, so no burgers or chicken fingers. I would not, however, be going vegan, so I could still eat things like eggs and cheese.

The challenge would last for one work week, from Monday to Friday.



I kicked off the week with the biggest name in fast food: McDonald's.

McDonald's has an extensive breakfast menu with a lot of range when it comes to health and meatiness. I ordered an ice coffee and a fruit-and-maple oatmeal. 

The McDonald's oatmeal was certainly more flavorful than my typical morning bowl, packed with apples, cranberries, and (according to McDonald's) two types of raisins. It was also sweeter than I'm used to, with 32 grams of sugar — more than half of the daily recommended dosage. Clearly, vegetarian does not necessarily mean nutritious. 



For lunch I visited a chain highly recommended by vegetarian friends: Taco Bell.

Taco Bell is the only national fast-food chain to have a menu certified by the American Vegetarian Association. Even before the chain rolled out the certified menu last October, Taco Bell had plenty of vegetarian cred thanks to the ease with which customers could substitute beans and rice for meat in most menu offerings. 

"Vegetarian has been really big for us recently," because of its relevance to millennials, Taco Bell's dietitian and product developer Missy Nelson told Business Insider. 

Looking at Taco Bell's menu, it's clear there is plenty to choose from. I decided on a bean burrito and a spicy potato soft taco. The burrito was straightforward but tasty, while the soft taco packed a bit of heat into the potatoes — two solid options I'd order again. 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 12 most beautiful new schools in America

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Indian Springs SchoolOn September 8, The American Institute of Architects, a national organization of 88,000 architects, announced the winners of the 2016 Education Facility Design Awards.

The awards are for new and recently renovated North American schools that facilitate learning and demonstrate excellence in architectural design.

Here are the winning schools.

SEE ALSO: The 20 most beautiful metro stations around the world

Western University's Richard Ivey School of Business was selected as a winner for its timeless and elemental materials: stone, concrete, glass, copper, steel, walnut, and Douglas fir. It's located in Ontario, Canada.



Hariri Pontarini Architects created numerous communal spaces where students can collaborate and learn in teams.



The warm cedar exterior of the the Dwight-Englewood School Hajjar STEM Center helps it blend into the surrounding woods.



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25 colleges where students love life

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University of Texas Austin

When choosing where to go to college, academics isn't the only factor to consider.

College years are formative for young adults, so the extracurricular, recreational, and social opportunities offered by schools play an important role in the overall collegiate experience.

Business Insider included student-life rankings in its recent list of the 50 best colleges in America, drawing data from Niche, a company that compiles research on schools.

Niche assessed the social and community life of universities and provided letter grades based on factors like campus quality, diversity, party scene, student retention, safety, and athletics. (Read the full methodology here.)

To highlight the schools that students love attending, here are the 25 colleges with the highest student-life scores on Niche. Big state schools dominated the list, with the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison earning the top three spots.

Read on to check out the full list. 

SEE ALSO: The 50 best colleges in America

DON'T MISS: The 22 colleges that have students with the highest SAT scores

25. Indiana University at Bloomington

Location:Bloomington, Indiana

Campus quality: A+

Party scene: A+

Diversity: B+

Local area: A

 



24. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Location:Champaign, Illinois

Campus quality: A

Party scene: A+

Diversity: A-

Local area: B+



23. Tulane University

Location:New Orleans

Campus quality: A

Party scene: A+

Diversity: B

Local area: A+



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 15 US cities where it's easiest to find a date

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couple

If your search for love has so far been fruitless, maybe it's not you — it's them. Specifically, the fact that there's not enough of them where you live.

For example, if you're a single woman looking for romance in the Big Apple, you might consider hitching it to Silicon Valley.

As "Date-onomics" author Jon Birger reports in Fast Company, Manhattan has a whopping 39% more women than men among college graduates ages 22 to 29. The Silicon Valley area, on the other hand, has 12% more men than women in this category, Birger writes.

You'll also want to take into account the sheer number of singles in your area. According to Census data, about 70% of Washington, D.C. residents are unmarried. That's compared to roughly 45% of all American adults.

We were interested in the geography of online dating in particular. To get a feel for online dating across the US, Business Insider asked Tinder to pull data on its top cities — the locales with the greatest number of active users.

Tinder's in-house sociologist, Jess Carbino, told us that the most active cities don't top the rankings just because they're the most populous cities in the country — it's also because they're home to highly educated young professionals who are most likely to use dating apps.

Here are the top 15:

SEE ALSO: The most active cities for Tinder users reveal something intriguing about who's using the app

15. Austin, Texas



14. Las Vegas, Nevada



13. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania



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Say hello to a tiny Airstream trailer — that's just as stylish as the classic

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Airstream Basecamp

There's nothing quite like a shiny, jet-age Airstream trailer. Towing one behind your vehicle, or simply parking one in your driveway, says that you appreciate classic, 20th-century, cutting-edge design.

The original Airstream — a sleek, shimmering object of rolling art — was introduced in the 1930s. The lineup has grown over the decades, and the smallest trailer, the Sport Series, has now been outdone by the Basecamp Series.

Described by the company as "our most nimble Airstream yet," the Basecamp is the "very definition of get-up-and-go."

What Airstream is aiming for here is both the highly adventurous and outdoorsy crowd. These are the folks who want to suit up in head-to-toe Patagonia and head out with friends for a weekend of rock climbing, as well as the hardcore camping enthusiasts who don't need, or have room for, a full-on Airstream trailer.Airstream Basecamp

The Basecamp, Airstream said in a statement, is "compact, light, and easy to tow, and the perfect place to land after a day of adventure."

The newest Airstream is quite full-featured for its size, with a bathroom and shower, a kitchen, and a built-in Bluetooth speaker.

“We designed Basecamp to rekindle the desire to explore nature and get outdoors,” said CEO Bob Wheeler in a statement.

“Whether it’s for the long-time camper who has a garage full of high-end gear that’s no longer used, or for the person who has always wanted to get out more but was hesitant, Basecamp is the passport to unimaginable new experiences.”

Airstream Basecamp

The new trailer weighs 2,585 lbs. and according to Airstream can be towed by smaller crossovers and SUV that are properly outfitted with a hitch.

Airstream is currently accepting reservations, and the Basecamp will start deliveries in October. The price is $34,900. Heck, I'm thinking about getting one and putting it in my back yard to use as a hipster guest cottage!

SEE ALSO: Ford is buying Y Combinator shuttle van startup Chariot in an all-cash deal

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NOW WATCH: 'Glamping' is camping with style

A woman who's visited more than 50 countries gives her best travel advice

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Luxe Adventure Traveler Sweden Northern Lights Header 2

Since 2009, Jennifer Dombrowski has visited more than 50 countries.

She had been living and working in Arizona when her husband got transferred through his military job to a small town in northern Italy.

For their first six years abroad, she worked remotely for an American university as a social-media manager, and her husband, Tim Davis, continued in the military.

They maintained a hobby blog to detail their travels for friends and family back at home, and about a year ago, Dombrowski left her job to devote herself to the blog full time. She's turning it into a luxury-travel business, Luxe Adventure Traveler, and Davis will join her full-time when he retires from the military in three years.

The first weekend they arrived in Italy, they visited three countries. Davis's schedule was restrictive, but Dombrowski had seven weeks of vacation working for a university, and she was determined to maximize every minute. Instead of spending quiet weekends or breaks at home, "we would make sure we always planned to have something going on during those times," she told Business Insider. "Having the weekend and being in Europe, you could go so many places just driving or taking a cheap budget flight."

More than 50 countries and about seven years later, Dombrowski shared her best travel advice:

1. Take care of the logistics

"Always, especially when you're planning an international trip, ensure that you've got all your ducks in order," she said. "If the country you're visiting says you need four consecutive empty pages in your passport, makes sure you do. We've had friends that have been denied entry for things like that." She recommends travel.state.gov to find out what you need.

2. Decide on your priorities before you arrive

"When you're deciding to go on a trip, it's probably a once-in-a-lifetime trip," she said. "Even if you take a trip once every year, that's a place you're going to go and not come back to. So if it means not going to Starbucks for your morning coffee for a few months to save for that one item you really want to splurge on while you're there, that's what you do. Don't go and regret not doing something when you get home. There are things you can do in your daily life to save up for those luxury expenses. Just don't miss out on those things because they seem out of reach."

SEE ALSO: How a woman who's visited over 50 countries built a luxury travel business from scratch

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: This travel pillow solves one of the biggest problems of regular neck pillows

The 14 best colleges where graduates earn high salaries right away

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Columbia University graduates

Finding a high-paying job right out of school is the dream for most college graduates. One that pays a healthy, competitive salary? That's icing on the cake. 

Luckily, there are a number of colleges in the US where graduates are pulling in high salaries early in their careers. 

Business Insider recently released it annual list of the best colleges in America, which focused on graduation rate, post-graduation salary, and overall student life experience. (Read more about our methodology here.) 

To find out where graduates earn the most early in their career, we looked at data from the Department of Education's College Scorecard and used the median salary of graduates six years after enrolling — two years after graduation, for most. Business Insider expanded its scope to include the top 100 colleges from our ranking, highlighting 14 schools where students earn at least $60,000 a year. 

Read on to find out the 14 colleges where students earn the most early in their career.

SEE ALSO: The 50 best colleges in America

DON'T MISS: The 22 colleges that have students with the highest SAT scores

14. Yale University

Location: New Haven, Connecticut

Median salary six years after enrolling: $60,200

The second-oldest Ivy League school, Yale aims to provide students with a strong liberal-arts education. Its undergraduate college puts an emphasis on four areas— arts, sciences, international studies, and writing — and offers more than 70 majors, including astronomy, theater studies, and economics. It's also one of the hardest schools to get into, with an acceptance rate of just 6%.



13. Johns Hopkins University

Location: Baltimore

Median salary six years after enrolling:$60,500

Considered by US News & World Report to be one of the top medical research schools in the US, Johns Hopkins University offers 51 majors and 44 minors to its undergraduate students, including dance, economics, and philosophy. JHU doesn't have a core curriculum, allowing students to dive straight into their academic interests. Some of its best-known alumni include President Woodrow Wilson, billionaire Michael Bloomberg, novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and film director Wes Craven.



12. Babson College

Location: Wellesley, Massachusetts

Median salary six years after enrolling: $61,700

A leader in entrepreneurial education, Babson College equips students with the skills to innovate, experiment, and lead in the business world and beyond. The private college has produced numerous successful entrepreneurs in its nearly 100-year history, including Arthur Blank, the cofounder and former president of Home Depot who is the eponym of the college's on-campus entrepreneurship hub.



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