diff --git a/earthaccess/auth.py b/earthaccess/auth.py
index a8335f73..2a820402 100644
--- a/earthaccess/auth.py
+++ b/earthaccess/auth.py
@@ -257,9 +257,7 @@ def _netrc(self) -> bool:
         try:
             my_netrc = Netrc()
         except FileNotFoundError as err:
-            raise FileNotFoundError(
-                f"No .netrc found in {os.path.expanduser('~')}"
-            ) from err
+            raise FileNotFoundError(f"No .netrc found in {Path.home()}") from err
         except NetrcParseError as err:
             raise NetrcParseError("Unable to parse .netrc") from err
         if my_netrc["urs.earthdata.nasa.gov"] is not None:
@@ -365,7 +363,7 @@ def _persist_user_credentials(self, username: str, password: str) -> bool:
         try:
             netrc_path = Path().home().joinpath(".netrc")
             netrc_path.touch(exist_ok=True)
-            os.chmod(netrc_path.absolute(), 0o600)
+            netrc_path.chmod(0o600)
         except Exception as e:
             print(e)
             return False
diff --git a/earthaccess/store.py b/earthaccess/store.py
index 4981fe50..15ae4ef2 100644
--- a/earthaccess/store.py
+++ b/earthaccess/store.py
@@ -1,5 +1,4 @@
 import datetime
-import os
 import shutil
 import traceback
 from functools import lru_cache
@@ -443,7 +442,7 @@ def _open_urls(
     def get(
         self,
         granules: Union[List[DataGranule], List[str]],
-        local_path: Optional[str] = None,
+        local_path: Optional[Path] = None,
         provider: Optional[str] = None,
         threads: int = 8,
     ) -> List[str]:
@@ -466,11 +465,10 @@ def get(
             List of downloaded files
         """
         if local_path is None:
-            local_path = os.path.join(
-                ".",
-                "data",
-                f"{datetime.datetime.today().strftime('%Y-%m-%d')}-{uuid4().hex[:6]}",
-            )
+            today = datetime.datetime.today().strftime("%Y-%m-%d")
+            uuid = uuid4().hex[:6]
+            local_path = Path.cwd() / "data" / f"{today}-{uuid}"
+
         if len(granules):
             files = self._get(granules, local_path, provider, threads)
             return files
@@ -481,7 +479,7 @@ def get(
     def _get(
         self,
         granules: Union[List[DataGranule], List[str]],
-        local_path: str,
+        local_path: Path,
         provider: Optional[str] = None,
         threads: int = 8,
     ) -> List[str]:
@@ -509,7 +507,7 @@ def _get(
     def _get_urls(
         self,
         granules: List[str],
-        local_path: str,
+        local_path: Path,
         provider: Optional[str] = None,
         threads: int = 8,
     ) -> List[str]:
@@ -525,8 +523,8 @@ def _get_urls(
             s3_fs = self.get_s3fs_session(provider=provider)
             # TODO: make this parallel or concurrent
             for file in data_links:
-                s3_fs.get(file, local_path)
-                file_name = os.path.join(local_path, os.path.basename(file))
+                s3_fs.get(file, str(local_path))
+                file_name = local_path / Path(file).name
                 print(f"Downloaded: {file_name}")
                 downloaded_files.append(file_name)
             return downloaded_files
@@ -539,7 +537,7 @@ def _get_urls(
     def _get_granules(
         self,
         granules: List[DataGranule],
-        local_path: str,
+        local_path: Path,
         provider: Optional[str] = None,
         threads: int = 8,
     ) -> List[str]:
@@ -571,8 +569,8 @@ def _get_granules(
                 s3_fs = self.get_s3fs_session(provider=provider)
             # TODO: make this async
             for file in data_links:
-                s3_fs.get(file, local_path)
-                file_name = os.path.join(local_path, os.path.basename(file))
+                s3_fs.get(file, str(local_path))
+                file_name = local_path / Path(file).name
                 print(f"Downloaded: {file_name}")
                 downloaded_files.append(file_name)
             return downloaded_files
@@ -581,7 +579,7 @@ def _get_granules(
             # it will be downloaded as if it was on prem
             return self._download_onprem_granules(data_links, local_path, threads)
 
-    def _download_file(self, url: str, directory: str) -> str:
+    def _download_file(self, url: str, directory: Path) -> str:
         """Download a single file from an on-prem location, a DAAC data center.
 
         Parameters:
@@ -595,9 +593,8 @@ def _download_file(self, url: str, directory: str) -> str:
         if "opendap" in url and url.endswith(".html"):
             url = url.replace(".html", "")
         local_filename = url.split("/")[-1]
-        path = Path(directory) / Path(local_filename)
-        local_path = str(path)
-        if not os.path.exists(local_path):
+        path = directory / Path(local_filename)
+        if not path.exists():
             try:
                 session = self.auth.get_session()
                 with session.get(
@@ -606,7 +603,7 @@ def _download_file(self, url: str, directory: str) -> str:
                     allow_redirects=True,
                 ) as r:
                     r.raise_for_status()
-                    with open(local_path, "wb") as f:
+                    with open(path, "wb") as f:
                         # This is to cap memory usage for large files at 1MB per write to disk per thread
                         # https://docs.python-requests.org/en/latest/user/quickstart/#raw-response-content
                         shutil.copyfileobj(r.raw, f, length=1024 * 1024)
@@ -616,10 +613,10 @@ def _download_file(self, url: str, directory: str) -> str:
                 raise Exception
         else:
             print(f"File {local_filename} already downloaded")
-        return local_path
+        return str(path)
 
     def _download_onprem_granules(
-        self, urls: List[str], directory: str, threads: int = 8
+        self, urls: List[str], directory: Path, threads: int = 8
     ) -> List[Any]:
         """Downloads a list of URLS into the data directory.
 
@@ -638,8 +635,7 @@ def _download_onprem_granules(
             raise ValueError(
                 "We need to be logged into NASA EDL in order to download data granules"
             )
-        if not os.path.exists(directory):
-            os.makedirs(directory)
+        directory.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
 
         arguments = [(url, directory) for url in urls]
         results = pqdm(
diff --git a/tests/integration/test_api.py b/tests/integration/test_api.py
index 6fa1ccea..8fd45489 100644
--- a/tests/integration/test_api.py
+++ b/tests/integration/test_api.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 import logging
 import os
 import unittest
+from pathlib import Path
 
 import earthaccess
 import pytest
@@ -84,7 +85,7 @@ def test_download(tmp_path, selection, use_url):
     result = results[selection]
     files = earthaccess.download(result, str(tmp_path))
     assertions.assertIsInstance(files, list)
-    assert all(os.path.exists(f) for f in files)
+    assert all(Path(f).exists() for f in files)
 
 
 def test_auth_environ():
diff --git a/tests/integration/test_auth.py b/tests/integration/test_auth.py
index d1bfae1e..a4879d12 100644
--- a/tests/integration/test_auth.py
+++ b/tests/integration/test_auth.py
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ def activate_netrc():
         f.write(
             f"machine urs.earthdata.nasa.gov login {username} password {password}\n"
         )
-        os.chmod(NETRC_PATH, 0o600)
+        NETRC_PATH.chmod(0o600)
 
 
 def delete_netrc():
diff --git a/tests/integration/test_cloud_download.py b/tests/integration/test_cloud_download.py
index 63a05b93..a9b9432c 100644
--- a/tests/integration/test_cloud_download.py
+++ b/tests/integration/test_cloud_download.py
@@ -166,4 +166,4 @@ def test_multi_file_granule(tmp_path):
     urls = granules[0].data_links()
     assert len(urls) > 1
     files = earthaccess.download(granules, str(tmp_path))
-    assert set(map(os.path.basename, urls)) == set(map(os.path.basename, files))
+    assert set([Path(f).name for f in urls]) == set([Path(f).name for f in files])
diff --git a/tests/integration/test_kerchunk.py b/tests/integration/test_kerchunk.py
index 58f93077..2e981cce 100644
--- a/tests/integration/test_kerchunk.py
+++ b/tests/integration/test_kerchunk.py
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import logging
 import os
 import unittest
+from pathlib import Path
 
 import earthaccess
 import pytest
@@ -32,14 +33,14 @@ def granules():
 @pytest.mark.parametrize("protocol", ["", "file://"])
 def test_consolidate_metadata_outfile(tmp_path, granules, protocol):
     outfile = f"{protocol}{tmp_path / 'metadata.json'}"
-    assert not os.path.exists(outfile)
+    assert not Path(outfile).exists()
     result = earthaccess.consolidate_metadata(
         granules,
         outfile=outfile,
         access="indirect",
         kerchunk_options={"concat_dims": "Time"},
     )
-    assert os.path.exists(strip_protocol(outfile))
+    assert Path(strip_protocol(outfile)).exists()
     assert result == outfile