Living on Bitcoin

We live on Bitcoin as much as possible.

We've been living in Arnhem for 1.5 years, and I've paid the rent in Bitcoin every month. It was actually the owner who asked me if I were willing to pay the rent in Bitcoin. Of course he is also a Bitcoin enthusiast, and our shared interest is how we met and found out that we could do this deal.

One reason we decided to move to Arnhem, is that the city had piqued my interest because of the Arnhem Bitcoin City project. Since the time we moved there the project has grown to include more than 100 Bitcoin accepting merchants - probably the highest density in the world.

In Arnhem, I've paid every restaurant I went to in Bitcoin, except one, as well as nearly every round of drinks. Books, groceries, children presents, gas, etc... few things can't be bought with Bitcoin in Arnhem Bitcoin City.

There are also services available for Bitcoin to all residents of the Netherlands: ordering food can be done via Thuisbezorgd.nl and paid with Bitcoin - which I do every time I order out. A mobile phone subscription via Limesco can be paid in Bitcoin - which I do every month.

Bitcoin has become such a feature in our lives that even our 8 year old daughter wants her pocket money in Bitcoin these days.

Unfortunately it's not possible to totally live on Bitcoin just yet, as things like: electricity, water, health insurance, car insurance, road tax, and public transport, still cannot be paid in Bitcoin.

Never the less I think we've pushed it quite far, and probably pay at least half of our expenses in Bitcoin, regularly, every month.

What's still lacking is that most of our income is not in Bitcoin, thus I am regularly buying back some of the Bitcoin we spend. After all I still prefer to hold on to Bitcoin than I do Euros.