Retirement: Very Small Houses as Opposed to Condo or CCRC (trouble, taxes)
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No, not kidding. These may be the houses of the future, who knows. For those who work all day and party all evening and only need a place to drop overnight, why pay thousands for an apartment rental or house? These may be portable too, so when your job moves you, the house goes too.
I was looking at an article this week on the Granny/Grampy pods - they are about the same size, attaching to the grown kid's home. They're pretty pricey. Interesting concept. Do we really need and want a whole lot of space as we age? I live in half my house and could well do without the other half, and I have plenty of room for two dogs and hobbies. Love the ease and freedom. My next earthly home will be half the size of this one.
No, not kidding. These may be the houses of the future, who knows. For those who work all day and party all evening and only need a place to drop overnight, why pay thousands for an apartment rental or house? These may be portable too, so when your job moves you, the house goes too.
I was looking at an article this week on the Granny/Grampy pods - they are about the same size, attaching to the grown kid's home. They're pretty pricey. Interesting concept. Do we really need and want a whole lot of space as we age? I live in half my house and could well do without the other half, and I have plenty of room for two dogs and hobbies. Love the ease and freedom. My next earthly home will be half the size of this one.
We already have what you are describing, a mobile home ! I bought a new one 53 years ago, first house, wife, kid. Worked well in the cornfields of Iowa. yes, we did move it, several times, all over the state, and It was 14' wide 60" long. Moving rates were reasonable.
The problem today is there have been way too many" expensive " modular/pod/Flat pack homes out there.I know I live in a Rocio Remario LVL. took me 4 years to build, 1500 sq. on living level, same below for garage, mechanical s, shop, etc. I can see what I have done is first class, but also expensive considering I was my own GC. ( came in at about 400,000 on a killer view overlooking lake Superior ) You might want to look at Wee Houses, they have some ultra modern solutions., also expensine, but, they do sell models from time to time at great price. They can be moved anywhere , until you get into the big stuff. Check them Out.
If I had my way,( and not so dam old ) I would go the motor home route again, full timer. Not a bad way to live, and, see the country you never knew was there., trust me, have done that too, would do it again, with the right pardner, and , yes , I am looking !
No, not kidding. These may be the houses of the future, who knows. For those who work all day and party all evening and only need a place to drop overnight, why pay thousands for an apartment rental or house?
I think you've nailed it--a really teeny tiny place like that is good for young career people who are always on the go and just need a place to sleep. In your senior years I think most people need a little more space than that. So much of your day is spent in the house after you retire--you need room to do a lot of different activities. Of course, when you reach the very end days of your life you spend most of the day in a chair or a bed and can pretty much live in just a small room--but in early retirement I think a lot of people need a bit of space.
The older we get, the less we need. I have been selling off my " stuff" for the last 10 years or more, a little at a time. Its the stuff we , or I collected the past 40 years. All this stuff , takes a lot of room, space, and your demand for larger than you actually need abode. I collected Cars/trucks/boats. so it was a real problem, but, I sold em all ! Actually funded my retirement for over 8 years and then some. ( I was not a Picker as on Tv)
Ebay has been my best friend for years, now I am down to Crags List for whats left, I averaged 400-500 a week between Ebay/Craig s List for a long time. Now there is not much left, but what I need for my hobby at hand. If I really need what I sold, I will rent it, or borrow, or buy, then resale.Do not make the mistake of " hanging On", until its too late. My best friend did just that, on a real big scale, now he has had 3 strokes, in a home, and his kids could care less about all that junk, which is worth millions !
The moral to my story is, travel light, be ready at any moment to make drastic changes in your lifestyle. None of us know when the day will come....glad in a way I don't know, its best that way.....
If I had to, I could live in the place. I'd have to jettison some 'stuff,' but I could make it work ... depending on where I located the house. It would have to be a friendly weather environment however.
In my college years - yes, now, no. My Christmas decorations alone would take up the entire space-and no, not ready to give them all up just yet although I've done a lot of downsizing.
I agree wih Caladium, I spend more time here now and need a place I can be comfortable in. I definitely plan to go smaller in my next spot but not that small.
Ditto. I couldn't even stay in a hotel room as small as that. BTW - I wonder what "affordable housing" means there in terms of dollars and cents. Robyn
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