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tiny houses: do couples living in those things really not end up wanting to kill each other? O_O

alex.magnus

Member
Oct 28, 2017
405
I've been binge watching the tiny houses show on HGTV and I'm... speechless I guess?
couples moving into houses that are as big as my entire living room... how long can you live in those conditions really?

I can kinda understand buying something like that if your job makes you travel constantly and you are basically never home, but on the damn show I see couples looking for those things and considering having a kid in there?

also you still need to own the land the house is sitting on, otherwise you end up paying rent, so is it really that much cheaper?

do any of you people know someone that actually lives in one of those things?
how are they doing?

edit:

for people that do not know what these things are like they are basically extremely narrow little homes about 250sqft (22 sqm) that are usually not wider than a SUV (they are moved around so they have to fit one lane on the road)

5JrXdk2.png
 
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Finale Fireworker

Finale Fireworker

Love each other or die trying.
Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,713
United States
So I have a theory.

I don't think these people live in these houses as their primary residence. I think most of the time these people are really wealthy and building these tiny homes as a novelty because they are trendy and relatively inexpensive to produce. I think they probably end up renting them out on their own existing property or list them as Air B&Bs or something.

I just don't believe that most people, especially people with families, end up living in these for very long - if at all.
 

Deleted member 86105

Banned
Nov 18, 2020
1,408
Live in a studio apartment in NYC like I did for many years. It's basically a tiny house. 🤣

Some people really like minimalism. I will say: it's shocking how little you really need to live comfortably if you don't have encumbrances like a dog or a family. I found myself perfectly happy paring my possessions down to the absolute minimum. And cleaning those super-small places is a breeze.

Many people who own tiny houses build them on their own parcels of land. Otherwise they'd just live in apartment. I know a hippie couple who lives in a tiny cabin and they seem happy enough living off the land. Their electricity is run by a generator and they get their water manually from a well. No Internet / TV. VERY outdoorsy and self-reliant.
 
Slayven

Slayven

Never read a comic in his life
Moderator
Oct 25, 2017
93,143
Finale Fireworker said:
So I have a theory.

I don't think these people live in these houses as their primary residence. I think most of the time these people are really wealthy and building these tiny homes as a novelty because they are trendy and relatively inexpensive to produce. I think they probably end up renting them out on their own existing property or list them as Air B&Bs or something.

I just don't believe that most people, especially people with families, end up living in these for very long - if at all.
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I seen most time they set them up on the property of someone else's house, more often parent's driveways
 
PinkSpider

PinkSpider

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,924
I moved into a quarter house when I first moved out with the ex 15 years ago. Totally was a mistake and probably the reason after 4 years we broke up.
 
colorblindmode

colorblindmode

Chicken Chaser
Member
Nov 26, 2019
2,565
South Carolina
Finale Fireworker said:
So I have a theory.

I don't think these people live in these houses as their primary residence. I think most of the time these people are really wealthy and building these tiny homes as a novelty because they are trendy and relatively inexpensive to produce. I think they probably end up renting them out on their own existing property or list them as Air B&Bs or something.

I just don't believe that most people, especially people with families, end up living in these for very long - if at all.
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I live in a neighborhood with a pretty strict HOA. My wife and I have done the math and found it would be cheaper, and easier, to just build a tiny house in our backyard instead of going through the process to build onto our home.

So yeah, your theory tracks pretty well with what we've experienced.
 
GeekyDad

GeekyDad

Banned
Nov 11, 2017
1,689
USA
Yeah, I think I could do it solo, but if my wife and I had to do it together, ugh...it's already a bit much and we have a three bedroom / two-full bath home with garage. :D I love her, but there are limits.
 
Nabs

Nabs

Member
Oct 26, 2017
15,695
I think for some, it's a transitional home, then they probably airbnb it after a year.
 
julia crawford

julia crawford

Took the red AND the blue pills
Member
Oct 27, 2017
35,289
Akira said:
Live in a studio apartment in NYC like I did for many years. It's basically a tiny house. 🤣

Some people really like minimalism. I will say: it's shocking how little you really need to live comfortably if you don't have encumbrances like a dog or a family. I found myself perfectly happy paring my possessions down to the absolute minimum. And cleaning those super-small places is a breeze.
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Omg...... small apartment, big city, this is the DREAM
 
entremet

entremet

You wouldn't toast a NES cartridge
Member
Oct 26, 2017
60,142
I live in NYC. Many people do this very easily. I know a couple that just had their first baby too!

Humans are very adaptable.
 
OP
OP

alex.magnus

Member
Oct 28, 2017
405
Akira said:
Live in a studio apartment in NYC like I did for many years. It's basically a tiny house. 🤣

Some people really like minimalism. I will say: it's shocking how little you really need to live comfortably if you don't have encumbrances like a dog or a family. I found myself perfectly happy paring my possessions down to the absolute minimum. And cleaning those super-small places is a breeze.

Many people who own tiny houses build them on their own parcels of land. Otherwise they'd just live in apartment. I know a hippie couple who lives in a tiny cabin and they seem happy enough living off the land. Their electricity is run by a generator and they get their water manually from a well. No Internet / TV. VERY outdoorsy and self-reliant.
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I lived with my SO in a tiny apartment in London as well... and the key difference there is the ratio of the rooms... these things are extremely narrow, is like living in a corridor...
so while the overall surface might be the same it does make a huge difference o.o
 
trappedinsap

trappedinsap

Member
Jul 26, 2019
472
So... a lot of people don't seem to actually like being around their partner? Then... why are you with them?
 
Temascos

Temascos

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,522
Well not so much a house but I lived in a studio flat with my brother during lockdown (I slept on the sofa for months). We were both working from home so we were on top of each other and he had enough of me, even though I tried my best to be as out of the way as possible.

I'm now in my own room in a shared flat, I feel isolated in a flat of people to be honest. I want to have my own flat that I can shape as I see fit rather than being boxed in.
 
OP
OP

alex.magnus

Member
Oct 28, 2017
405
Time to beer up said:
What size are we talking here?
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5JrXdk2.png

something about this size... so really really tiny... and very very narrow

chezzymann said:
Lots of people live in apartments that aren't much bigger lol
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entremet said:
I live in NYC. Many people do this very easily. I know a couple that just had their first baby too!

Humans are very adaptable.
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yeah my studio in london was really tiny too, but rooms were wider than 2.5 meters... the problem here is ratio... it's like living in a corridor.
 
TRV

TRV

Member
Nov 27, 2020
267
The Netherlands
I could live in a tiny house with my SO, as long as there is at least one seperate room. We've lived in a studio smaller than many tiny houses, which was doable, though not ideal.

However, we're both working from home currently, which is something I definitely wouldn't want to do while living in a tiny house. So I'll stick to building tiny houses in Sims 4, for the moment. :D

Also, it helps if you live somewhere where being outside is nice all year round, so not The Netherlands where we live!
 
evrythngwastakn

evrythngwastakn

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,538
My wife, three year old and I live in a ~600 square foot townhouse that was made for lower income rentals in the 1960s (now we pay $1800cdn a month!). Basically two 100 sqft bedrooms, a bathroom that barely fits a tub and a toilet upstairs and a 300ish sqft living room/kitchen down stairs. It's obviously bigger than those tiny houses but we're almost always together. You get used to it.
 
Randam

Randam

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,884
Germany
alex.magnus said:
I've been binge watching the tiny houses show on HGTV and I'm... speechless I guess?
couples moving into houses that are as big as my entire living room... how long can you live in those conditions really?

I can kinda understand buying something like that if your job makes you travel constantly and you are basically never home, but on the damn show I see couples looking for those things and considering having a kid in there?

also you still need to own the land the house is sitting on, otherwise you end up paying rent, so is it really that much cheaper?

do any of you people know someone that actually lives in one of those things?
how are they doing?
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brbusingimaginationsincenopics.jpg
 
HeySeuss

HeySeuss

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
8,858
Ohio
Maybe it's regional but there was a big push a couple of years ago for these tiny houses for the environmental benefits and people wanting a smaller footprint. It seemed mostly a fad thing and i don't hear about it as much. But honestly I have no idea how long I could be crammed together like that with my girlfriend. We'd both drive each other crazy. People need their own space for mental health.
 

Deleted member 29691

User requested account closure
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Nov 1, 2017
1,883
It's not for me but if it makes people truly happy, who are we to judge? I have been striving towards living with a much smaller footprint and consuming more consciously this year so I've been moving in that direction.

Being on top of each other is incredibly difficult. It's putting a lot of strain on my second relationship this year.
 

Deleted member 86105

Banned
Nov 18, 2020
1,408
noisetank3000 said:
It's not for me but if it makes people truly happy, who are we to judge? I have been striving towards living with a much smaller footprint and consuming more consciously this year so I've been moving in that direction.

Being on top of each other is incredibly difficult. It's putting a lot of strain on my second relationship this year.
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The key to success is to designate personal spaces and do your own thing within them. Like if you're on a desktop all the time, face your screen towards the wall. Everyone needs a little privacy of their own and small changes like that can make a big difference in your mental health.

Always sharing the same space and engaging in the exact same activity as your significant other can be very tiring. I imagine that a lot of couples who live together in tiny houses spend a lot of time outside.
 
OP
OP

alex.magnus

Member
Oct 28, 2017
405
evrythngwastakn said:
My wife, three year old and I live in a ~600 square foot townhouse that was made for lower income rentals in the 1960s (now we pay $1800cdn a month!). Basically two 100 sqft bedrooms, a bathroom that barely fits a tub and a toilet upstairs and a 300ish sqft living room/kitchen down stairs. It's obviously bigger than those tiny houses but we're almost always together. You get used to it.
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that's about 3 times the size of a tiny house and the studio I used to live in london... the issue there is also width


Randam said:
brbusingimaginationsincenopics.jpg
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added one to the op with size

ascii42 said:
The episodes where they have kids are particularly strange.
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same... poor kid!
 

Deleted member 24097

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 29, 2017
704
alex.magnus said:
5JrXdk2.png

something about this size... so really really tiny...
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For 2 people? Seems fine to me. Besides the fact that kitchen is way oversized for the total amount of space available.
I lived in a place that was probably not more than 2/3 of that with my now-wife back in the day. We moved to a slightly bigger place when we had our first child.
We now live in about 35 square meters with 2 teenagers, all sleeping in the same room.
 
Seneset

Seneset

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,079
Limbus Patrum
Finale Fireworker said:
So I have a theory.

I don't think these people live in these houses as their primary residence. I think most of the time these people are really wealthy and building these tiny homes as a novelty because they are trendy and relatively inexpensive to produce. I think they probably end up renting them out on their own existing property or list them as Air B&Bs or something.

I just don't believe that most people, especially people with families, end up living in these for very long - if at all.
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Just wanted to point out that inexpensive really depends on where they are. I've seen tiny homes on HGTV cost more than 4 bedroom home in the south plenty of times.
 

Deleted member 11413

User requested account closure
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22,961
Finale Fireworker said:
So I have a theory.

I don't think these people live in these houses as their primary residence. I think most of the time these people are really wealthy and building these tiny homes as a novelty because they are trendy and relatively inexpensive to produce. I think they probably end up renting them out on their own existing property or list them as Air B&Bs or something.

I just don't believe that most people, especially people with families, end up living in these for very long - if at all.
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This is true for some tiny homes but people definitely live in them as well. Living in them full time seems to be more common in certain places in the US where the housing situation is very dire, or in other countries with similar housing issues.

One thing I will say is that the vast majority of people covered by tiny house media who live in their tiny homes have access to land in some form or fashion, usually through parents or a friend. That's how they get by living cheaply in one of these.
 
Sabretooth

Sabretooth

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,067
India
This thread is a doozy for me given that as someone living in India, I've seen houses less than half the size of the one in OP's picture, with families with kids living in them.
 
Aya

Aya

Member
Sep 7, 2018
1,262
an obscure body in the S-K system
My boyfriend and I have been living in a tiny studio for the last three years, it's not that bad. We have a tiny balcony too, very cute all in all!

Also that lil house in the OP is really lovely, if it comes with a little garden I'm sold.
 
Chopchop

Chopchop

Member
Oct 25, 2017
14,171
I figure you either have to be used to living in such small spaces, or one of you goes out a lot.

Personally I wouldn't mind staying in such a small space for a week or two as a novelty, but there's no way I could do it long-term.
 
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