This whole story was born out of a dream, a dream to live debt free. The story is about my fiance and I, two young Americans growin up in the heartland. Neither of us came from rich or poor families, just middle class Americans looking for a way out of the old ways.
(Not our tiny home.)
Before our tiny house idea was our boat, the good news is it was still floating when we moved out. We moved back in with our family for a while to save money and figure out our plan. It wasn't long after that the tiny house idea came in.
The idea rummaged around our heads collecting all of the possibilities for a while. Once it had gathered enough, it presented itself to us. The tiny house, totally within reason for us, it made more sense than a big house or an apartment.
Let me explain why, we had just moved out of our boat and we owned that, for the most part. Though we did still pay about $700 a month to live in Marina Del Rey near the water (that's moorage, water, and electric). Why'd we move you ask, as everyone has. Well, a boat isn't like a tiny home. Boats at best are made to feel a tiny bit homey, tiny homes at the very least feel like home.
The other things that motivated our change in pace were less bills, more rural feel, and a sense of independence. Our tiny home will be off the grid, totally self sufficient, and home. Boats can be a great place to live, but are not intended to be lived on when they aren't in motion. Boats in motion have air flow through the cabin, natural moisture control, and empty holding tanks. When they are being lived on while docked, the air gets stale, mold can grow, and the holding tank can start to smell.
Our boat was 33' (pictured above), and one of the better designs for live aboard. That seems like a lot, but the interior length isn't quite that. Not at all, once you subtract the length of the cabin and chain locker, your down to about 20'. At most that 20' had an aisle way, and no more. The beam of the boat was 10' which once you subtracted the deck length and the shelf space the interior length was about 6'.
Our tiny home will be built on a 8x30 trailer, which will have significantly more usable space than the boat. Aside from that it will also feel like home, even more so since it will be our design. It will also have outdoor space, gardens, creeks, who knows what else.
If you aren't convinced that you should build a tiny house yet, read on. Join us on our journey to our tiny home.
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