In this article I want to share my vision about sizing down. I am very curious about what you would miss most when living in a small home. What are things that you appreciate about the home you live in right know? Please let me know in the comments!
This article is mostly intended for people who, for a big part, work just to pay their mortgage/ monthly charges and young people who are looking to buy their first house.
If you do not belong to this group, but are still interested in the general concept, I invite you to keep on reading ;)
(I am sorry in advance for any spelling mistakes, this is my first post and English is not my native language)
For most people a comfortable home is a very important aspect in their life. It is the place where you can rest after work, enjoy family life and feel ‘at home’ Most people strive to own a big spacious house. In many cases this is perfectly within reach, but when circumstances work against you (scarcity of homes, pricy plots and building fees) you need a high mortgage and a regular day job just to afford a standard home. In a small and crowded western country like the Netherlands, this is really becoming a problem, especially for young people. After the financial crisis of 2008, decent paying and most importantly, regular jobs became scarcer and with this, the opportunity to get acces to an mortgage.
Starter home on the ‘cheap’ side in a small Dutch country town
100m2(1076 ft2)
price: € 140.000 / $ 153.000
Next to the financial aspects and situational circumstances, there is also the question of how you want to live your life, which may be even more important. This question applies to every human being, regardless of the country or situation you live in.
After the financial crises, the Tiny house movement picked up Steem(*pun intended.. ), initially in the USA.
The people who own a tiny mobile home, are focusing on the ‘important’ things in life by downsizing their home and the amount of materialistic possessions they own. Although this is quite a big change in comparison to a standard home and way of living, the idea by itself, is very interesting. With downsizing, you decrease monthly expenses considerably, which results in more personal freedom and spare time. From my point of view, this freedom is one of the perks of ‘being rich’ and can be considered a luxury, even in the modern western world of today.
interior of a tiny house
A few possibilities favored by the Tiny house community:
• Work less and spend more time with family, kids or friends.
• Work fulltime and have more money available to spend or invest.
• Work part-time as a volunteer in your own community
• Start a business from home
• Have more time to rest, travel or learn new things
• Having a smaller home but build at an A+ location
In addition to more personal freedom, there is also the subject of time and money spend on keeping your property in good condition. A smaller house needs less to no maintenance and keeping it clean is very easy.
My personal preference is a kind of hybrid form, which is permanent, small and cozy but has the look and feel of a real house. It comes fitted with all modern appliances and is build to all modern building specifications, with as result a high comfort level.
In this case there will be (almost)no monthly energy costs, because the house is mainly solar powered. This is a realistic scenario, considering the small footprint of the house.
Also an important question, does the house holds it’s value over time, something I have my doubts about with mobile or ‘non permanent’ homes.
Before we all go ‘less is more’ over here, it may be that a big spacious home is something you really enjoy and see as one of the important things in life. I’m not here to say that living in a big house is wrong. The thing I want to accomplish with this article, is that a smaller home is seen as a viable alternative worth considering. Also, small homes come in different shapes and sizes, so most people can find a variant to their liking.
I would love to build my own small home one day and in the meantime I plan to post my insights and thoughts about the subject on Steemit.
If you like this and want to hear more about it , follow me and upvote this post, thanks!
What you would miss most when living in a small house?
What are the things that you appreciate, about the home you live in right now?
Do you have any doubts about living in a small house?
Please let me know in the comments!
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