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At age 19, Shailene Woodley decided to give up nearly all of her earthly possessions. Despite the fact that her acting career was taking off, she had no desire to settle down in Los Angeles like some of her peers. Instead, Woodley would spend her early 20s embracing a truly nomadic and minimalist lifestyle. But how was the Divergent alum able to do this? Woodley credits her friends for helping her live a life on the road.

Shailene Woodley softly smiles for the camera
Shailene Woodley | Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Shailene Woodley was fond of couch surfing when she wasn’t shooting movies or TV shows

For years, Woodley was able to fit nearly all of her belongings in a carry-on suitcase. This allowed her to travel back and forth with ease. She also didn’t have a permanent residence. Instead, the Endings, Beginnings star rented out small places to stay for short periods of time when she wasn’t shooting projects. She also relied on the generosity of her friends to let her couch surf with them. In a 2019 interview with Magazine C, Woodley shared that her friends even allowed her to store some of her personal belongings in their homes.

‘The O.C.’ actor praised her friends’ generosity

“I’m still on the road,” Woodley explained. “I don’t have a permanent place anywhere. I do have piles everywhere. My friends call them Shai piles. I have very generous friends who house me all over the world. So much of my life is in hotels that if I’m in a city where I have friends, I ask if I can stay with them … or I find a condo or somewhere where there’s a kitchen. I just have to be able to cook. My constitution is not built for fancy food three times a day. Sometimes your body just wants a cutting board and a knife — just to chop up a good salad.”

Woodley has since expressed interest in getting a home of her own

Though The Fallout actor greatly appreciated her nomadic lifestyle, she has seemingly embraced the idea of putting down roots. In a separate interview with NET-A-PORTER, Woodley once again expressed gratitude for her friends’ generosity. However, she shared that she wanted a home of her own after living such a minimalistic lifestyle for years at a time.

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“Thank God for my friends because they are so tolerant of me, but I do want a home now,” Woodley explained. “I lived a very minimalistic life for many years – toothbrush, deodorant, two pairs of jeans, a pair of leggings for yoga, sweater and jacket, really bare essentials. I was a very serious woman for so long, I didn’t allow myself the frivolous nature of being a human being and having human experiences.”

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