Written by Katie Kusiciel
Comics are classically seen as the demographic that will never be homeowners. Most cynics blame it on travel obsessed twenty somethings constantly purchasing avocado toast and specialty coffee instead of saving and investing money. While these may be partially true, the cost of living in major cities *cough cough Los Angeles cough cough* is shooting through the roof. For example, a millennial now needs to make $33 an hour to afford an average house in Los Angeles. That’s around $96K a year! So how is an adventure seeking young adult supposed to see the world, indulge in avocado toast during brunch AND still be a homeowner?!
The answer is: Go Tiny.
A tiny house is a small home that can be stationary or mobile and typically range from 85 to 400 square feet.
The Tiny House movement started in the late 90’s but didn’t really pick up mainstream popularity until the last few years. Now there are multiple shows on HGTV dedicated to Tiny House hunting and building. After watching 100+ episodes of this and going down many a Youtube rabbit hole, I am starting to consider myself somewhat of a millennial tiny house expert. The term tiny house does not usually come with people jumping on board, so here are some of the amazing benefits to going tiny!
Financial Freedom
Instead of sinking all your money into an expensive mortgage for a half a million dollar house, you can cut that number down by 90% and purchase an entire tiny home! Just the down payment on a normal house could flat out purchase a tiny house and then you are mortgage free. You can live as simply or as lavishly as you want; tiny houses can range from a build-your-own-yurt for $8,000 to a 40 foot cottage for $100,000 depending on your lifestyle.
The affordability of these homes leave flexibility in your budget for purchasing a little bit of land to put your home on. With all the money you will save by living in a tiny home, just think of all the trips, avocado toast and coffee you can afford now!
Physical Freedom
Let’s say you live in California in your 20 foot tiny home and you want to go visit family in Colorado for a month, BUT you don’t want to pay for a hotel. Sounds great! You can take your tiny home with you! Most tiny houses can be towed easily and are the perfect way to lead an adventurous, nomadic lifestyle while still having your own property and not paying for places to stay everywhere you travel.
Environmentally Friendly
Both of my reasons so far sound like the same benefits of living in an RV. BUT tiny houses are produced with all green materials and not any of the harmful chemicals (off-gassing formaldehyde) found in RV living. While newer RV’s can be made environmentally conscious they aren’t as practical for full time living. Tiny houses are all able to go fully off grid. By using a composting toilet and a few solar panels on top you can live completely self sustained for as long as you want! Living in a tiny house decreases your carbon footprint so drastically – on average saving 26,000 pounds of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere every year. So living in a tiny house not only saves you money and makes you more mobile, it also saves the planet… no big deal.
Living a Simpler Life
A tiny house creates a more streamlined lifestyle without as much “stuff”. Pairing your belongings down to move into a tiny house creates a purging of all unnecessary clutter. Millennials are gravitating towards more minimalistic lifestyles and getting a tiny house is the perfect way to start.
Minimal Maintenance
Less house, less problems. Even if small issues arise, or you want to make cosmetic changes, it doesn’t cost nearly as much as it would on a full sized home. If you want new floors installed you only have 200 square feet to pay for!
The amount of time you spend cleaning your home is also significantly reduced as it is easier to tidy up a tiny house. With the minimal storage inside tiny houses, it is easier to stay organized. Think of everything you could accomplish with all that extra time!