I want to build a Tiny House
You've maybe heard of the tiny house movement, a buncha hippies deciding to shirk modern living standards and instead live in tiny trailers the size of shoeboxes. Well, turns out it's not just for hippies. There are tons of communities being created all over the US, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand and there are approximately a million blogs dedicated solely to Tiny House facts, tutorials, and testimonials. It's a movement that's growing steadily and for very good reason. Here's what has made me decide to start planning for my own tiny house:
Debt.
I don't want it. I already have some of it. A lot of my friends have way more of it. Oodles of debt is a growing epidemic especially in the US right now and it's an awful cycle that's next to impossible to break once you're already in it. The idea of taking on a couple hundred thousand dollars of debt for a home mortgage is frankly terrifying. You are signing up for thirty years of debt. That makes absolutely no sense. After 2008 I think we can all agree that home ownership is not the investment strategy we all thought it was and it can be a really risky investment at that. I'm not saying buying a modest house and taking out a mortgage on it is necessarily an awful idea, but for me it doesn't make any sense.
Rent sucks, too.
Renting can be handy when it comes to maintenance and upkeep (IF you have a good landlord, and that's a huge IF) and other worries that typically come with home ownership. But when I got my certificate of rent paid this year for my taxes it was pretty hard to stomach the number on that page because I have literally nothing to show for it.
Freedom
A tiny house seems like a really beautiful way out of the catch-22 of living options: Be a debt-free home owner by living tiny. I am absolutely willing to sacrifice size if it means my cost of living will go way down and my freedom to do what I want with my money goes way up. Or the freedom to do what I want with my time. Without giant rent or mortgage payments each month, I can escape the trap of having to constantly work to pay for the things I don't really need. I can work for joy and not for money. It's the perfect solution to being able to do whatever I want.
We need less space than we think
Tiny house building has become really sophisticated. Smart design solutions allow for high usage of every square inch of space when thought out carefully. When I think of all the things I need to be comfortable, it's really very basic: A comfy bed to sleep in, warmth and shelter, a kitchen to cook in, a functioning bathroom. Turns out you can fit all that into a well designed 200 square foot space. I imagine this may be hard to fathom for people who grew up in suburban America where homes big enough for 10 people usually house only 3-4 person families. While there will definitely be an adjustment period, when I really think about what I need, the fact is I really don't need much.
This is going to be a huge project that I've already started doing extensive research for. I figure there may be a few other people out there as well who are just in the beginning stages of thinking about Tiny House Life. I figure I'll document my process here for anyone who wants to follow along. Check back soon for updates and tidbits of helpful information. If you are an expert on the subject, please participate! Give me all the feedback you got! I'm excited for this journey and I hope you'll come along for the ride.
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