Carol Urzi, 62, calls herself “the Bohemian lawyer”—in fact, she just bought the domain name. Urzi lives in the San Antonio neighborhood of inner East Oakland, in one of the city’s most ethnically diverse areas, populated by Vietnamese, Chinese, Latino, Mexican, and African-American families. Stepping through the gate and up a path into the 1907 Arts and Crafts cottage that used to be a summer home for San Francisco’s turn-of-the-century elite, the transition from one world into another is complete.

Lawyering:
I stopped working for law firms 15 years ago for quality of life as well as to spend more time with my elderly mother, who I was able to care for and keep in her own home until she died at 98. I literally was working on a multimillion-dollar joint venture in the bedroom next to hers in her last days. I work just as hard if not harder—without the benefits, but I have flexibility of time and space. I may be starving some months, but I may be in a villa in the south of France.

The house:
My law school classmate lived here with his wife and they went off to the South Pacific. I moved in with my husband and then we split up and I stayed here by myself for 10 years. I always wanted to buy the house. Right after 9/11 my landlord sold me the house for $230,000.

The neighborhood:
When I moved here in 1990, my husband and I would sit on the porch and listen to the gunshots and gauge how far away they were. There was a crack house across the street. They used to dump dead bodies on the street. Those were the days of the heavy crack scene in Oakland. Things are much quieter now.

Purchases:
I love used bookstores. Now people have Kindle so I can pick up first editions that people are just letting go of. When I’m not working, I put myself on a strict book diet. I spend maybe $100 per month. On some birthdays I’ll go down to Moe’s and drop $150 or $200 but that’s more unusual now because I’m running out of bookshelf space.

Besides books:
Having been married to a chef, I’ve exhausted my interest in restaurants. I think restaurants are way overrated, overpriced, and ridiculous. I’m a simple, wholesome cook, and I like to make my own food. In my no-income phase, I became a master of all the varieties of quiche and lentil soup. Lentils are good luck. They’re what Sicilians and Italians have on New Year’s Day. It’s supposed to bring good fortune.

Savings:
I don’t have a new car. I don’t care about new gadgets. I have a cell phone that’s kind of hanging on one screw. I have a computer that should be replaced. As long as they function it’s all right with me. All of the furniture is donated. My mother was a collector so I have a lot of antiques from her house. I have a set of copper pots from my days with the chef. We had two sets. He kept one and I kept the other.

Health:
I have a trainer, Zo de Muro, of Left Coast Fitness. Next to my mortgage, he’s my most expensive monthly payment. I don’t have medical insurance. As long as I can stay healthy and I have my trainer, that’s my health insurance. I am an Italian citizen, so I have a backup plan. I can get health insurance there.

Happiness:
You know, I would appreciate having more money in the bank, but that’s all relative, and I would really enjoy having a relationship, but I enjoy the relationships I have now. That’s the thing about enforced frugality, the things you think you want, you can live fine without. I mean, if you’re smart, you have your lentil soup, listen to music, have a friend over, and it’s all beautiful.
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Amy Moon is a writer, editor, and content strategist living in Berkeley.