Here’s one of the few things I’ve learned in 50 years: Rent is money you give to someone who’s richer than you.
If Emma and I weren’t happily playing caretaker at a place we love, we would probably get a park model home (a remarkably house-like 400 sq. ft. trailor intended for parking, not hauling) like one of these at Stewart Park Homes. A number of dealers make them now; they’re around $40,000 for what’s essentially a comfortable one-bedroom house. When we had paid for it, we would buy a second, park it by the first, and connect them with a porch. At 800 sq. ft. (meaning an office for each of us), Emma and I might be done. But when the second park model was paid for, we might get a third to form a U. I can’t decide; 1200 sq. ft. for two people seems like a lot of unnecessary housecleaning to me, but maybe it would be nice to have a dedicated guest room or two.
If our work required moving a lot, I think I would look into getting one of the bigger Airstream Internationals. At $50,000 or more, it’d be less space and more money than a park model, but Airstreams are just so gorgeous.
And if I moved a lot and wanted to get extravagant, I would get Airstream’s Skydeck motor home. At around $200,000, it would be the pricier option, but compared to buying a house in the US, it’s cheap. And the roof is a deck! Park anywhere, then take a scooter or a Smartcar for local cruising—
Emma and I hope to stay where we are for the next five years. But then, maybe a park model as a base and a Skydeck to supplement it. Since the 21st century failed to give me an airship, can I hope for a hydrogen van? (Rhetorical question. Please don’t depress me by answering that.)
Oh god yes. Actually, when you get into the larger airstreams, you wind up with a lot of stuff you don’t need - I think the model I used to lust after was the 19′. This was after actually going down to Peoria (we were living in Chicago at the time) to look at them.
However, if you need one in a couple of years, buy it now. You want it to outgas a lot before you try living in it. They’re actually a lot cheaper than list, so they’re possibly more reasonable than you think. On the downside, you need a pretty sizeable light truck to haul them.
I keep wanting to buy one, and Andrea keeps shooting me down. Sigh. So much quicker than straw bale…
Ted beat me to it. I was going to remind you to let it outgas, too. Thems things can be nasty.
My older sister and her husband just quit their jobs (a credit union and Saturn auto) and are now living in their camper and working in campgrounds, moving with the weather. So far they love it. Meself, I’d like to have a house. Can be straw bale. Mud. I just want some land to care for and a place to sleep. But if that doesn’t happen, it won’t be a tragedy. In the meantime I live in a little yellow house and give someone who owns the little yellow house money for the privilege.
Did you ever see these
http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/houses.htm
I was lucky and bought a 600 sq. foot house with a basement and backyard for $61K in Philadelphia before the house prices doubled and etc., though I am still paying a mortgage.
Ted, for lay-out, my favorite’s the 22′, if I remember right: it has a writing desk. But it’s essentially a studio apartment, and Emma likes to have A Room of Her Own. (Which, in Bisbee, was a corner of the bedroom while my desk was in the living room.)
I periodically check on used Airstreams. They’re heavier than new ones, but they’re much cheaper, and you can fix them up as you wish. Whenever we drive by Franciscan RV, we stop to see what’s in. Doesn’t look like they’re advertsing any Airstreams right now.
As for towing, the Toyota Highlander hybrid is generally considered a fine What It Is.
Kim, the notion of a base is what I like about the park models. Most industries are becoming more conscious of outgasing; I should see if the trailer/prefab biz is.
Rebecca, I love Tumbleweed’s stuff. Especially in the 350′ size. Your 600′ in PA sounds swell; I’m pretty sure the place we loved in Bisbee was about that size. The world needs fewer castles and more cottages!
Or you could get a park model with a loft and use that as one office.
Only thing is, it will be well over $40K once you add in the cost of land.
Incidentally, we’re clearly a lot more stuff-oriented than you. We’re talking about doing a wanderjahr in an RV, but we’d probably get a big toyhauler. Not because we want lots of fancy clothes or ATVs, but so we could tote kayaks and bikes, because the chance to use them would be what we’d want to travel *for*. (Also books, of course.)
Paula, true about the land, but new home construction is going to be high in money or time or both. One of my disappointments was discovering that the price per square foot in construction is based on an “average” (meaning, too big) house price; in general, the smaller you go, the higher your sq. ft. price. But the flip side of that is it’s easier to opt for better quality: a change that’ll add $10 per sq. ft. is easier in a 600 sq. ft. place than in a 2600 sq. ft. place.
Emma and I quite understand the desire for kayaks and bikes, though we’d look at inflatable boats and folding bikes first. Emma would want some room for some costumes, and though we’ve weeded an astonishing number of books in 20 years, getting the library down to modern vardo size would be a challenge. (But not as challenging with the web and ebooks.)
One of the areas to research is renting. I think I’d want to own a pair of folding bikes, but I might rent boats if I wasn’t sure I would use them regularly.
Folding bikes wouldn’t work for us - I don’t think I’d really trust one on a mountain bike trail, which would be a primary usage. Also, I don’t they come in as many sizes as regular bikes, meaning the smallest is likely too big for me (I’m 5′2″). Folding or inflatable boats may be an option, though, since we don’t really have the skills for serious whitewater anyway. I’m not that fond of ebooks for pleasure reading, but *if* you have good internet access (and Verison now offers a wireless version that might work well for a traveling RV - of course, it’s not an issue if you’re staying put) that could drastically reduce the need for research books.
Paula, want durable? Hummer tactical mountain bike. But their smallest frame size is for 5′3″. There’s a 15″ Dahon mountain bike here that might do you.