How many here could live in a "tiny house"?

[scrubbyfish]

While I think the idea is romantic, I could not live in a tiny house.  For someone who uses a house for a place to sleep and relax primarily, it is ideal.  For ones like us, who garden, work on cars, blacksmith, knit, can, sew, bake bread.......No, it is impractical.  We do not own many personal things- clothes, music, books, etc., but own lots of things that ultimately enable us to live a frugal life by doing for ourselves.

There is a third option, though, that many people do (those in small apartments in expensive cities, people in RVs or official "tiny homes", nomads, etc): shared workspaces. This can be anything from a community center (community kitchens, art rooms, etc) to cohousing (common commercial kitchen, common workshop, etc) to coworking spaces (art and/or internet spaces) to libraries. For sure some people prefer to do everything at home, but there are lots of tiny-home dwellers that do all of the above, many of them in their home (baking bread, canning, gardening, sewing, knitting) and projects that require more room, or the energy of others around them, in shared workspaces.

[meadow lark]

I would love to live in a co housing community of tiny houses or RV's.  Years ago I considered buying an RV park and trying to start one.  But honestly, I'm too flighty.  I like the idea but am not interested in putting in the work!  So, anyone out there who wants to do this, let me know. :-)

[JLee]

While I think the idea is romantic, I could not live in a tiny house.  For someone who uses a house for a place to sleep and relax primarily, it is ideal.  For ones like us, who garden, work on cars, blacksmith, knit, can, sew, bake bread.......No, it is impractical.  We do not own many personal things- clothes, music, books, etc., but own lots of things that ultimately enable us to live a frugal life by doing for ourselves.

There is a third option, though, that many people do (those in small apartments in expensive cities, people in RVs or official "tiny homes", nomads, etc): shared workspaces. This can be anything from a community center (community kitchens, art rooms, etc) to cohousing (common commercial kitchen, common workshop, etc) to coworking spaces (art and/or internet spaces) to libraries. For sure some people prefer to do everything at home, but there are lots of tiny-home dwellers that do all of the above, many of them in their home (baking bread, canning, gardening, sewing, knitting) and projects that require more room, or the energy of others around them, in shared workspaces.

I have a serious car hobby and have enough tools to outfit a decent shop...but the thought has crossed my mind of selling almost everything and just getting down to what I can fit in a (overland/expedition-built) truck, keep expenses really low (rent a room in whatever city I'm working in), and then when it's time for vacation just take the truck and go. I know plenty of people around the country, so if I needed access to any tools/etc that I didn't have with me, I'm sure I could find someone to assist.

But...I have so many tools/etc and I'm not quite ready to give up my house.

[psyclotr0n]

I would love to live in a co housing community of tiny houses or RV's.  Years ago I considered buying an RV park and trying to start one.  But honestly, I'm too flighty.  I like the idea but am not interested in putting in the work!  So, anyone out there who wants to do this, let me know. :-)

i am! seems like zoning issues are still the biggest limiter in most places. the problem is finding reasonable land costs here in the SF bay area so I'm thinking of looking further north in Sonoma or Mendocino ctys.

I see the OP is going ahead with a 400 sq-ft house; is there a minimum size in your municipality?

[Roland of Gilead]

The main problem as I see it is the electricity, water, sewer/septic and purchase of the land all become such a big portion of the price in a lot of areas that the actual difference in the cost of the house construction on a 200sqft house vs a 1000sqft house is pretty small.

One property I was checking out, the guy paid over $25,000 to drill the 400 foot well!

[Axecleaver]

That's why shared infrastructure is such a critical design piece of a "tiny village." Shared facilities would start with things like a well, sewer, and shared storage. Then you move up to solar power, shared workspace like kitchens, outdoor areas like fire pits and pavillions, pole barns, and shared gardens.

There are a few of these starting up around the country, I'm toying with the idea of starting one myself. The barriers from municipalities are substantial, so finding the right community with welcoming leadership is where we're stuck at the moment.

[psyclotr0n]

Axecleaver, which one do you think is closest to fruition?

[jms493]

I agree with a lot of the principles of being a frugal person but one place I am not very interested in being cheap is the space we have in our home.  Sure it may be considered too big and we could downsize but we are happy here.  We save money elsewhere.

Being cramped with 2 kids...I will work more to pay for the space.

[psyclotr0n]

Somewhat tangential question, but given all the crap going on with the changing climate, is anyone considering the self-sufficiency implications of drought on local availability of food and water for and the increased risk of natural disaster? A lot of this stuff is hard to monetize and build into our risk and FIRE planning models. (witness: the burning of the west coast, droughts, etc etc)

[yuka]

I am with AgileTurtle - I am cooped up so much in the winter that I need some space.  There is a reason people used to get cabin fever!  The down side of being retired is that you are not heading off to a job every day, where you have a change of scenery and people to interact with.  If I didn't bestir myself I could stay home for a week without seeing anyone.

Plus at this point the fewer stairs the better - no way would I want to sleep in a loft.

I know my present house is too big, but it is almost impossible to find anything much smaller around here.  Even old farm houses are bigger - and all the stairs!

A summer cottage, on the other hand, would be fine if small - but summer cottages attract visitors (welcome ones), and the weather is not always perfect, so there is still some square footage needed just to have some place to put the bodies on a bad weather day.  A screened porch helps, but is not enough.

If I may, the key to a summer cottage on bad weather days (assuming this means moderate wind and heavy rainfall, at most) is good trees.

 There's a lake cottage in my extended family where I go for 9 days each year with my parents, brothers,uncles,aunts,cousins, and grandparents (always over 20 people). The cottage is 2 BR, 1 BR with a large main room that transitions from small kitchen to small dining table/food storage to seating area for no more than 8 people reading in the evenings. Then there's a second room with a card table and a couch. But the masterpiece is the deck, which has a larger footprint than the house, and is under two trees that provide complete cover from the rain. Inclement weather just means you're not out in the yard. And evenings are an impressive cooperation of packing in for card games and reading while the mosquitoes are bad.

[1967mama]

I currently live in a very large house with my very large family, so the tiny house dream is for much later in my life. However, I did have a taste of what a smaller kitchen can be like, this weekend, when we stayed in a place with a kitchen 1/2 the size of my current digs. It was so much easier to cook, when everything was within arms reach. Same with cleaning up...done in a flash.  Very interesting for my personal research!

[scrubbyfish]

Being cramped with 2 kids...I will work more to pay for the space.

I need one small room to escape from children regularly, but other I never consider it "cramped". I love living in smaller spaces with kids, experiencing it as "cozy" as well as safe. Minimalism helps, though, as we end up with lots of room still. I grew up in a massive house where it took us forever to find each other, etc. We often ended up squishing together in a hallway or bedroom -all the rest of the giant house empty- as we craved that connection.

[scrubbyfish]

Somewhat tangential question, but given all the crap going on with the changing climate, is anyone considering the self-sufficiency implications of drought on local availability of food and water for and the increased risk of natural disaster? A lot of this stuff is hard to monetize and build into our risk and FIRE planning models. (witness: the burning of the west coast, droughts, etc etc)

Rent instead of buy!

+1. That's what I do. Go with mobility, same as so many cultures have done for eons before, and a few still do.

[moneyandmillennials]

I could definitely live in tiny house.  The only problem is that where I live they don't really allow for mobile tiny houses (or not that I know of).

Here in Honolulu, a 300-500 ft apartment can run for about $200k.  I would imagine a mobile tiny house would cost much more but at least there wouldn't be the monthly maintenance cost.

[Bearded Man]

My wife and I already live in 550 sq ft, and I think we could easily chop off a hundred or more off that without even noticing.  So sure, it's definitely appealing and would be hardly any adjustment.

Really?  Awesome - is it a true tiny home that can be transported fairly easily, or is it a traditional home but built smaller and only to your immediate needs?

It's an apartment.  So a tiny house is even more appealing because our neighbors would be farther away.  :)

Strange, I thought you liked crummy neighbors. You seemed to attack me in another thread for not wanting to live next to the ghetto section 8 house with 10 people living in a four bedroom house, having loud parties all the time, leaving trash everywhere, but here you are wishing for your own neighbors to be farther away just because? What a hypocrite...

[Bearded Man]

I would live in a tiny house if it was on acreage. But really you could just do the same with an RV for less no? You could build a pretty cheap roof structure over the RV parking spot so it is not as exposed to the elements.

Right now I'd rather move back into one of my rentals that is paid for, than live in a tiny house. It is just under 1K square feet, 3 bed 1 bath, and walkable with lot's of transit nearby and a relatively quick commute to good jobs. If I was done "living" and wanted to get away, yes, a tiny house in the middle of nowhere sounds appealing.

My only gripe about said house is that it's on a slightly busy street. During rush hour there are enough people that use the street where it is a little annoying if you are home at the time. But other than rush hour or early spring/summer days it's not that bad. The street is mostly dead during the day, and pretty much dead after 8 PM. So no issues sleeping (all the bedrooms face the back yard anyways...).

If I used one of the back rooms as the living room (you can't even hear the traffic noise from there) or go back to working a job where I am home AFTER rush hour and not home all the time, then it's not that bad at all, and it's a normal house to live in that's paid for, so I'd rather live there than a trailer for now.

The tiny home thing seems fairly new anyways, and no telling it will last. Plus it takes a special kind of woman who wants to live with you in what is essentially a fancy shed on wheels. If you're a single guy, it's something to think about.

[10dollarsatatime]

My house is already pretty small.  862 sq ft if I'm remembering correctly.  It started as a 600 sq ft, but a previous owner added a laundry room and another bedroom on the back.  It's just me, but I could live in a smaller space IF I had a good size root cellar beneath the house.  I grow and preserve a lot of my own food, and that takes up a lot of room.

[Axecleaver]

Here in Honolulu, a 300-500 ft apartment can run for about $200k.  I would imagine a mobile tiny house would cost much more but at least there wouldn't be the monthly maintenance cost.

What if you did a stealth build that looked like a food truck or trailer? There are so many of them in Honolulu that you would blend right in. A mobile tiny house can be built for about $30k, and much cheaper if you do the work yourself.

Here's a clever couple in the Virgin Islands that turned their boat into a pizza-boat that delivers: http://tinyhouseblog.com/tag/food-truck/

[scrubbyfish]

Here's a clever couple in the Virgin Islands that turned their boat into a pizza-boat that delivers: http://tinyhouseblog.com/tag/food-truck/

I completely hate boats (it's weird!! I hate very few things, but I hate boats), yet even to me this story was AWESOME!! (I mostly loved the part about how he left his previous world to live his passion, and found his beloved there! And then she designed this.)

Alas, as several in this thread have found, they too found they are no longer permitted to live in their tiny house, in this case presumably because it's also a commercial kitchen. Foiled again, d'oh! I find that silly, too, since so many food service things are very unhygienic yet allowed to continue (because Health Man can't have eyes everywhere), while this couple may be perfectly careful and hygienic but shut down. Bah.

[mxt0133]

The tiny home thing seems fairly new anyways, and no telling it will last.

I think 99.99% of human history will disagree with you that the 'tiny home thing' is fairly new.  Hell, I bet at least 50% of the current human population would disagree with you right now.  People have been living on less than the standard 1200-1500sf US home and will continue to do so.

[PGailB]

The tiny home thing seems fairly new anyways, and no telling it will last.

I think 99.99% of human history will disagree with you that the 'tiny home thing' is fairly new.  Hell, I bet at least 50% of the current human population would disagree with you right now.  People have been living on less than the standard 1200-1500sf US home and will continue to do so.

This is true. I live in a subdivision that was developed in the late 60's; the average house size is 920 sf and they don't stay on the market long once they go up for sale. In my city at least, more people (including families) are buying smaller because it's cheaper to renovate and add all the desirable upgrades.

I really like my home, but I could easily see myself living in something even smaller.

[Landlord2015]

Absolutely not in that tiny house that you showed pictures of. It is not about the size, but I don't trust
wood and I am a city person type. There are some things I would worry about with wood. It gets rotten and insects that attack the wood and vulnerability to fire.

However consider this I am PC gamer(though I also like sports so I am not super nerd). Previously I played with a desktop computer, but nowadays I prefer a laptop.

One of my NEW friends who is a Magic The Gathering player and he and his oldest(he is in high school) son and they will play with me and some friends during next weekend.

What Magic The Gathering???
In 2015 it has 20 million registered competition players and I am one of them.
Magic: The Gathering - Inside the World's Most Played Trading Card Game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Plr81gaUIr0

Anyway that same my new friend is the national team coach junior(i.e NOT adults) for my country Finland in swimming(and no they don't get huge salaries though it is full paid job).

For work reasons(he needs to travel a lot for work reasons) he has a house car, but shortly said it is clearly bigger then your pictures. However he did not buy brand new car but still enough new and good looking. One more thing in addition to that his family has a normal big apartment and they have three children.

There is nothing wrong with small size if you want to rent it to other people... my 2014 built apartment pictures:
http://s6.postimg.org/xcxl69nip/Kitchen.jpg
http://s6.postimg.org/51c1983m9/Mainroom.jpg
http://s6.postimg.org/kbbwgez4h/Bathroom.jpg
This is the smallest but newest 2014 built apartment that I rent in my country's capitol area and my style no wooden walls.

The other apartments I rent to other people are more or less bigger then that but older. Anyway I have record of living temporary in 8 square meter apartment, but right now I live in a house that is not even remotely small and no it is not built of wood. I myself don't live in near capitol area though my investment apartments are there.

[SailorGirl]

This is the exact style of boat we live in (although ours isn't quite as clean).  The rooms are small but the back yard is enormous.  :)

http://usailbc.com/information/

[YK-Phil]

This is the exact style of boat we live in (although ours isn't quite as clean).  The rooms are small but the back yard is enormous.  :)

http://usailbc.com/information/

This is the exact same boat my daughter and BF were living on, until they split up last summer. Also not as clean, they had two dogs on board...These are fantastic boats, and I am hoping to get something similar, perhaps a bit smaller.

[use2betrix]

I have lived and am currently living in a 5th wheel with my fiancé and chocolate lab. We have lived in here for 2.5 years. It's 42', but a toy hauler, so has a 12' garage. We basically live in a 30' 5th wheel with an extra storage for tools/food/bikes/etc.

It's fine for me, and works well with our lifestyle as I do travel work all over. We plan to continue this lifestyle another 8 years or so, and have kids in 4-5 years. We'll have enough room for small ones, but will stop traveling and hopefully near FIRE by then.

The good thing is, we will be pretty easy to please in terms of house "size." Unfortunately, I have many other wants which will likely make my home purchase some day pretty expensive. Minimum 3 bed/2 ba. Around 1500 sq ft or so, but not too picky on that. Minimum of 1 acre, but preferably at least 2-4. Large shop for home gym and area for metal working. Somewhere that doesn't get incredibly hot or cold, and within an hour of a decent ski resort, preferably closer. Will likely end up in the PNW.

[HPstache]

Meh. When poor people live in, we mock them as "trailers".

I'm not sure I see the point, unless you live in a very high COL area, and then I'd rather move someplace with cheaper real estate.

There are more 2 bedroom house in my neighborhood than there are 4 bedroom houses. I've lived in pretty small apartments, and if you've got the money to fix them up, they can be pretty nice, but you have to really, really like the people you're living with. A lot.

I'm pretty happy with my little 3 bedroom ranch house where we have room to garden and make wine and cook and sew and make pottery and generally do stuff.

My wife and I were just discussing this the other day... how is a "tiny home" (as in those in popular media and television) any different than a trailer or mobile home?  Why is there such a distinction... fit and finish?  I've seen some nice mobile homes too.  Why is a tiny home cool and sexy but a mobile home perceived as trashy?

[scrubbyfish]

My wife and I were just discussing this the other day... how is a "tiny home" (as in those in popular media and television) any different than a trailer or mobile home?  Why is there such a distinction... fit and finish?  I've seen some nice mobile homes too.  Why is a tiny home cool and sexy but a mobile home perceived as trashy?

It's a fair question, yes.

RVs, mobile homes, etc, can all certainly be referred to as tiny homes, if they are the versions on the small side. None are "more right" or "better" than the new wave of tiny homes. Any of the above can be ugly, beautiful, well-built, poorly built, etc.

The tiniest of tiny homes can be pulled with a truck, so the pros and cons comparison is usually considered against a small RV. Here's the gist of what people said for preferring a tiny home over a traditional RV:

• better insulated; very important in some regions' winters (though can insulate under RV and put skirt around)
• longer-lasting parts (obviously this is dependent on how high end one goes in their tiny home, but the "official" ones tend to recommend and incorporate elements intended to last for decades)
• esthetics; for those of us to whom this is critically important to happiness

These are the three aspects I've seen referenced in many different blogs discussing it. They make sense to me. There are a few RVs that I find esthetically pleasing enough that I would happily live in them, but by far I prefer the look of the miniature houses, and for me that aspect is as important as any other.

[use2betrix]

I would imagine the tiny houses aren't nearly as mobile as rv's and normal 5th wheels. For some odd reason, they seem like they may be larger? The legal width of any road vehicle is 8' without an "oversized load" permit. Most of these tiny houses are bigger than 8' wide. Also, they probably don't have all the holding tanks and such most normal rv's do.

They seem great for what they are, but definitely not a replacement for all. Seems like they'd be great for like vacation properties or desolate locations. Both of those insances, however, I'd probably want a real foundation. They seem closer to being a mobile home than comparable to an Rv or 5th wheel.

[scrubbyfish]

I would imagine the tiny houses aren't nearly as mobile as rv's and normal 5th wheels. For some odd reason, they seem like they may be larger? The legal width of any road vehicle is 8' without an "oversized load" permit. Most of these tiny houses are bigger than 8' wide. Also, they probably don't have all the holding tanks and such most normal rv's do.

They seem great for what they are, but definitely not a replacement for all. Seems like they'd be great for like vacation properties or desolate locations. Both of those insances, however, I'd probably want a real foundation. They seem closer to being a mobile home than comparable to an Rv or 5th wheel.

There's a wide range of sizes; people choose them with their dream in mind: travel or staying put.

The larger ones (definitely my dream one, which is 450 sq ft) have to be on a foundation. The smaller ones usually stay on a trailer and can be pulled no problem. Some people do travel full-time in the tiniest ones; same amenities as a traditional RV. There are a number of lovely blogs and videos depicting this.

All sizes -whether on a trailer or on a foundation- are found in cities as well as in desolate areas, etc. Some people use them as a guest home in their back yard, some as their full time home, some as a vacation home, some as an RV. I've seen several in Vancouver, one on its trailer parked permanently on the street, several in back yards.

The catch is that most areas (urban and rural) deem it illegal to park them, and/or live in them full-time, and/or have them as the primary home on a lot. These are major barriers for those of us who love them.

[use2betrix]

I would imagine the tiny houses aren't nearly as mobile as rv's and normal 5th wheels. For some odd reason, they seem like they may be larger? The legal width of any road vehicle is 8' without an "oversized load" permit. Most of these tiny houses are bigger than 8' wide. Also, they probably don't have all the holding tanks and such most normal rv's do.

They seem great for what they are, but definitely not a replacement for all. Seems like they'd be great for like vacation properties or desolate locations. Both of those insances, however, I'd probably want a real foundation. They seem closer to being a mobile home than comparable to an Rv or 5th wheel.

There's a wide range of sizes; people choose them with their dream in mind: travel or staying put.

The larger ones (definitely my dream one, which is 450 sq ft) have to be on a foundation. The smaller ones usually stay on a trailer and can be pulled no problem. Some people do travel full-time in the tiniest ones; same amenities as a traditional RV. There are a number of lovely blogs and videos depicting this.

All sizes -whether on a trailer or on a foundation- are found in cities as well as in desolate areas, etc. Some people use them as a guest home in their back yard, some as their full time home, some as a vacation home, some as an RV. I've seen several in Vancouver, one on its trailer parked permanently on the street, several in back yards.

The catch is that most areas (urban and rural) deem it illegal to park them, and/or live in them full-time, and/or have them as the primary home on a lot. These are major barriers for those of us who love them.

Are there companies that make pre-built ones? If they are as mobile as you say I could be interested. As I mentioned before, I already live full time in a 5th wheel, so the size is no challenge for me. One thing rv's and 5th wheels have going for them is the slides which add a LOT of space vs something just 8ft wide. That turns a 8' wide trailer into 14' wide for the most part.

Like I said, my interests are obviously for the mobile purpose.

I also wonder if Rv parks allow them? I've been at Rv parks all over the country and haven't seen one yet.

[sam]

Maybe for a short period if I was single.

Not for long term with my girlfriend, doesn't help I'm 6ft +

Sam

[andy85]

my current house is under 1000sqft....like 925-950. 3 bed 1 bath.

I could easily see myself doing a 2 bed 1 bath. not sure id wanna go under 750sqft.

As long as i have a huge ass garage to play in :)

[scrubbyfish]

Are there companies that make pre-built ones?

Yep. There are companies that sell them built and/or sell plans for cheaper DIY. Just Google pre-built tiny house mobile or anything along those lines.

I also wonder if Rv parks allow them? I've been at Rv parks all over the country and haven't seen one yet.

Yes, the smallest ones are legally RVs, so can be parked there. It's just a volume thing: There aren't heaps of these around.

For links to some great perpetual-travel blogs, Google travelling by tiny house. So sweet :)

[Landlord2015]

This is the exact style of boat we live in (although ours isn't quite as clean).  The rooms are small but the back yard is enormous.  :)

http://usailbc.com/information/

The boat looks very nice in my opinion. If the climate does not have winter with ice and snow then boat sounds interesting.

Honestly my newest 2014 built apartment that I rent to other people is exactly so clean as the pictures in my previous post in this thread however in that apartment I have an excellent renter.

Now my comment was not meant to annoy. For example once a USA person told me that he would never tolerate rent paid late. Yeah, but the law works otherwise in Finland(Europe). In Finland(and even more so in Sweden) the law is as on default more on the renters side then the landlord.

The law system is so different. In my country you are not quilty unless proven and in USA you are guilty unless you can prove you are innocent. Of course that rough idea does not apply literally always, but that gives hint of difference.

My point being world is grey and it is honestly subjective taste what is better USA or Europe but I believe both are good.

[PARedbeard]

I'd love to live in a tiny house. However, I'd like land (room for chickens) and a bit of a workshop area. I'm still trying to convince DW of the idea, but I think I will have a long road before she accepts. :)

[WranglerBowman]

Back in my single days I started saving for ~5-10 acres of land and then planned to live in a mobile home, build 600sf cabin, or build a small house inside a big barn, like 40x60' barn/workshop, gotta have a barn/workshop/GSD Building (Get Shit Done).  I really think that's pretty much everything I desire to be completely content with life.

[FenderBender]

i could if i had a 50x50 garage next door which is what i think people who live in tiny houses and broadcast that on youtube or HGTV fail to mention.  not 50x50, but just that they have a building for overflow. 

[JZinCO]

I would love to live in a co housing community of tiny houses or RV's.  Years ago I considered buying an RV park and trying to start one.  But honestly, I'm too flighty.  I like the idea but am not interested in putting in the work!  So, anyone out there who wants to do this, let me know. :-)

i am! seems like zoning issues are still the biggest limiter in most places. the problem is finding reasonable land costs here in the SF bay area so I'm thinking of looking further north in Sonoma or Mendocino ctys.

I see the OP is going ahead with a 400 sq-ft house; is there a minimum size in your municipality?

There is a tiny house community starting in Boulder where one can bring a tiny house and pay lot rent, or rent a tiny house.
MYself, I am waiting for counties and cities to get on board. I think they will eventually. I would love to buy land, put up a permanent tiny house, and a not-so-tiny garage/shop.

[scrubbyfish]

i could if i had a 50x50 garage next door which is what i think people who live in tiny houses and broadcast that on youtube or HGTV fail to mention.  not 50x50, but just that they have a building for overflow.

No one I know with ~$450 sq feet has this, so that's why they wouldn't mention it. I don't know about the smaller ones (don't personally know anyone with the under 450, except one as a guesthouse).

[arebelspy]

i could if i had a 50x50 garage next door which is what i think people who live in tiny houses and broadcast that on youtube or HGTV fail to mention.  not 50x50, but just that they have a building for overflow.

No one I know with ~$450 sq feet has this, so that's why they wouldn't mention it. I don't know about the smaller ones (don't personally know anyone with the under 450, except one as a guesthouse).

Yup.  The wife and I lived in a 416 sq ft condo for the last 8 years or so, and had no extra storage whatsoever.  It was about twice the space we needed (we upgraded from a smaller place, but not sure on the exact size of that one), though the kitchen could have been a little bigger.

[Axecleaver]

A while ago someone asked which communities are making the most progress. Found a good list of intentional tiny house communities here: http://www.tinyhousecommunity.com/places.htm

[arebelspy]

A while ago someone asked which communities are making the most progress. Found a good list of intentional tiny house communities here: http://www.tinyhousecommunity.com/places.htm

Awesome, thanks for the link!

I so want to live in a Mustachian tiny home community.

This millennium's version of an Epicurean commune:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg_47J6sy3A

[scrubbyfish]

Found a good list of intentional tiny house communities here: http://www.tinyhousecommunity.com/places.htm

What a fantastic counterpoint to the many cohousing communities that have been building very large units, unnecessarily driving project costs up. Thanks, Axecleaver!

[JZinCO]

Back in my single days I started saving for ~5-10 acres of land and then planned to live in a mobile home, build 600sf cabin, or build a small house inside a big barn, like 40x60' barn/workshop, gotta have a barn/workshop/GSD Building (Get Shit Done).  I really think that's pretty much everything I desire to be completely content with life.

Glad to see others in this thread with the same sentiment. I'm renting a 1700 sq ft house with 3 others and half the space is wasted, including an extra living room and bedroom. When I initially entered the lease, I balked at paying for wasted space. However, the oversize 2 car garage, already with ample built in storage and a work bench was AMAZING. The garage is the second most used room in the house after the bedroom.
Small house, big shop is how I like it.

[reader2580]

I could live with quite a bit less house space than I have.  I would be fine with living room, bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen.  Many cities have minimum square footage for houses that requires more house than some want.  I think minimums are to make houses more uniform and also to raise values for property taxes.  I still have plans for a 1,200 square foot house that is by no means tiny.  I was looking at changes that would reduce the size even further.  I almost built a house instead of bought existing, but there was no certainty on what building a house would cost.

I think my ideal at this point in my life would be an apartment on top of a large garage/shop.  I would need to be able to build with cash as I doubt anyone would finance it.

[RapidLionInvasion]

My parents told me that before they moved to America they use to live in <100 sq ft room

Said that it was one of their happiest times

I'm planning to find somewhere like that, sometime after I leave for college

[ShaneD]

Husband and I live and work out of ~550 square feet (1 room is dedicated office space). I've always said that, if we had just 1 more foot of kitchen counter space and 1 more room so we could get away from each other now and then, it'd be perfect. That extra room could easily be a deck, though.

I toy with the tiny house idea often. My one beef with tiny houses is the loft bed they usually include. Short headspace and ladders in the middle of the night are just an accident waiting to happen for me.

Interesting to see the space others here are living in. Very cool.

[scrubbyfish]

My one beef with tiny houses is the loft bed they usually include. Short headspace and ladders in the middle of the night are just an accident waiting to happen for me.

This is one reason I prefer the Whidby tiny house. It has a bedroom on the ground floor (as well as the loft that my kid wants).

[TomTX]

I could live with quite a bit less house space than I have.  I would be fine with living room, bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen.  Many cities have minimum square footage for houses that requires more house than some want.  I think minimums are to make houses more uniform and also to raise values for property taxes.  I still have plans for a 1,200 square foot house that is by no means tiny.  I was looking at changes that would reduce the size even further.  I almost built a house instead of bought existing, but there was no certainty on what building a house would cost.

I think my ideal at this point in my life would be an apartment on top of a large garage/shop.  I would need to be able to build with cash as I doubt anyone would finance it.

So do a reverse garage conversion. Design/build your downstairs as one massive space you can convert into your garage/shop as soon as you get your final permits.

[JordanOfGilead]

I have lived in as little as 50sq ft by myself. The smallest space my wife and I have lived in was a 700sq ft apartment that was more than big enough. I imagine 500 sq ft or less would be snug, but not unbearable. Would making hosting guests a challenge though ...