Living Like a Star

It’s hard to imagine living in a world where money is never an issue.

Tom says everything is relative. The more you make, the more you spend . . . the higher your standard of living . . . the more it costs to live . . . and so on and so forth. He says people with a lot of money have the same issues we do, but on a different level. And, he says, someone living in tract housing might look at us—meaning Tom and me—and say we have a lot of money.

Except the part about us having a lot of money (we don’t), this all may be true, but still . . .

Movie stars and celebrities have more money than most of us. They eat at the best restaurants, wear designer clothes, drive imported cars, and travel the globe at a moment’s notice, flying in their own private jets and vacationing at resort hotels or on private islands that cost more than many people make in a year.

It’s a whole other world, and they live in it. They can afford to buy things we mere mortals can only dream about. Sometimes I find it staggering to learn just how much they actually do spend. For instance, $10 million on a Kardashian wedding . . . seriously?

So, it’s always refreshing to hear when a big-name Hollywood star comes down to earth for a little while to live like the rest of us.

I’m talking about Jennifer Aniston. She recently sold her 10,000 square foot, Beverly Hills estate (for a cool $38 million) and is now moving into a cozy-by-comparison rented house with her boyfriend, Justin Theroux. The furnished house has a spacious floor plan, hardwood floors, vaulted ceilings, two bedrooms, two baths, and is just 1,761 square feet.

in her own words

“I knew I really needed to simplify my life,” she told People mag when she decided to sell her sprawling, extensively-renovated, Zen-infused digs. “I had the realization that it is just too much for me. I’m not this person.”

The house she’s renting is nice, comfortable, and spacious. No more, or less, elegant than the house Tom and I live in—though it is smaller than ours, and I wouldn’t mind moving in and replacing some of the furniture in it with mine.

[left to right] 1. Master bath with its double sinks and mirrors; 2. Master bath’s garden tub is encased in marble; 3. Master bath has marble flooring and a vaulted, white paneled ceiling; 4. In the guest bath, a small leaded glass window above the mirror is a nice touch. (Photos: Realtor.com)

The back terrace and pool area is sheltered and private. The deck has a sweeping view of the Hollywood hills. (Photos: Realtor.com)

Though, by definition, Jennifer Aniston is not an empty nester—she has no children who’ve flown the nest (and, no, Brad Pitt does not count as a child)—her nest is as empty as ours.

Selling her estate and scaling down to a smaller house makes sense. What doesn’t make sense is why this house costs a whopping $17,500 per month to rent. In our neck of the woods, a house like this might rent for $1,750 per month, if not less. But I guess everything is relative. By virtue of its location and the rich-and-famous clientele it attracts, this house can command more.

It remains to be seen if Miz Aniston will remodel or update. She spent untold millions renovating her sprawling estate before deciding to simplify, and she may want to spend a bit to turn this new house into a cozy home.

Then, again, the rental is only temporary. The A-list couple are house hunting and plan to move on just as soon as they find a place to buy. Bigger? Probably. Better? Maybe. One thing is for sure—it will cost millions.