The Tiny Home Movement
The Tiny Home Movement has been growing since the late nineties, and with that growth comes the question… Where can I put mine?
For those who don’t know, a Tiny Home is exactly what it sounds like: a Tiny House. How tiny are we talking? Imagine a home complete with a bathroom, kitchen, closets, living area, bedroom, and cute little windows… then shrink it down and put it on an 8’ x 20’ trailer. Now you have an idea of how small a Tiny House is. Why would someone want to do this? Well, there are a lot of reasons people build Tiny Homes. Tiny Homes are usually much cheaper than owning a full-sized home. Many people choose to build their own or have a Tiny Home Builder create one to their specifications (custom home, dirt cheap). But the main reason that someone might want to own a Tiny House is to leave all of the excesses of their life behind and focus on living a great life without worrying about their stuff. To live a minimalistic life
The Biggest Problem with the Tiny House Movement
It’s not “Where do I put my drum set?”, “What about the bathroom?”, or “Will I look crazy?” The biggest problem that people who live in Tiny Houses face is, “Where do I put my home?” It is a huge struggle to find a place to park your home.
Zoning laws and potential neighbors who don’t want you accidentally driving down their property value are usually the culprits. What are your options? You can buy a huge piece of land and park your Tiny Home on it, but this still can lead to problems with zoning. Plus, while isolation can be a good thing for some people, it is not for everyone.
You could talk a friend or relative into letting you put your home in their backyard. However, depending on where you live this could be illegal, and your host’s neighbors might not take to kindly to you living there. RV parks usually are open to Tiny Home living—they are halfway there. But they usually don’t share the same minimalist lifestyle that the Tiny House movement has become famous for—and the movement is trying to avoid the label of being a fancy RV. But what if you could collaborate with like-minded individuals? What if there was some kind of utopia that created a support group of friends all on the same adventure? What if there was? Some Land Developers are starting to see the value of creating a Tiny House Community.
Communities
A Tiny Home Community is exactly what it sounds like, a group of people who live in individual Tiny Houses living in the same area. They might be friends who bought a piece of land and all pay their portion to live there. Or they might be a group of strangers who just bought their little lots next to one another. But in the end, they became a community.
So why should you look at moving to a Tiny Home Community?
1. It easily solves the problem of where to put your home. Many Communities have put the time in to make themselves legal before they started renting or selling spots to live.
2. It gives you a support group of people who are on the same journey as you. They will often have the same goals as you and help you along the way.
3. Amenities, amenities, amenities. Many lots not only include great things like a shared garden, hot tub, or community area, but the lot fees also can include water, taxes, sewer, laundromat, landscaping, and trash pickup.
Satellite Homes
While some communities are businesses like apartment complexes and RV parks, the satellite home style of community is based around a “big house” in which the residents place two to six “Satellite” Tiny Houses on a lot around the full-size house.
This provides the residents with the privacy of their own homes while giving them access to community areas like a living room and kitchen for game nights and shared meals.
Should You Move onto a Tiny Home Community?
If you value your privacy and want to cut off all contact from the outside world, you should definitely avoid a Tiny Home Community.
For everyone else, the answer obviously depends on your needs. They are a fantastic option, giving you a ton of benefits while still holding on to the Tiny Home charm. Where else can you find a group of friendly people who are living the same life you do, and get to build a community with them? Visit our preferred builder, Greenwood Tiny Homes, for more information on building your own tiny home.
For the Tiny Home Movement, the greatest problem has always been “where can I put my Tiny House?”
The answer has been found— a Tiny Home Community