Small World: The Tiny House Trend

Re:Small World: The Tiny House Trend by boxcardavin on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @12:13PM (#19087275)

I've lived in a ~250sqft 1940's era wood train car for the past 9 years, with my wife and now a newborn. It is doable if you enjoy the constraints and how it affects your decision making. I live about 5 miles from Seattle in a very rich neighborhood (a few blocks from the Paul Allen estate) on a large piece of land that is set aside as a reserve, while most of my neighbors have 5000sqft houses. As long as you have amenities (washer, dryer, full kitchen, shower, dishwasher) like I do then it's not some sort of struggle, it's more a set of limits to optimize against.

My neighbors can't tell if I'm eclectic and rich or weird and poor. It's a good thing.

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Re:Small World: The Tiny House Trend by danvoell on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @02:41PM (#19088960)

I'm going to guess eclectic and rich otherwise you probably wouldn't bring it up. I like the fact that how you live is reflected in your HN username.

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Re:Small World: The Tiny House Trend by irrational on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @03:45PM (#19089641)

Is this you?

https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/1949-railroad-boxcar-on-mer...

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Re:Small World: The Tiny House Trend by mruts on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @04:15PM (#19089903)

I'm guessing eccentric/eclectic and rich. Poor people don't make their lives harder than it already is. Also poor people don't live a few blocks from Paul Allen's estate.

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Re:Small World: The Tiny House Trend by existencebox on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @12:51PM (#19087627)

I'm fascinated by this. I live near seattle as well, but quite a distance due to finding something affordable with any amount of land, but your setup seems ideal.

Small house to maintain, separation from neighbor, better commute. I'm curious how you came into this situation, and if you observe opportunities like this to have vanished since the 08 era? (You seem to have bought at the perfect time...)

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Re:Small World: The Tiny House Trend by ip26 on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @02:21PM (#19088754)

Smaller doesn't always mean less overhead. Small enough (250sqft w/ 3 people probably hits that bar) and you're constantly moving things around and cleaning things to make space for something else.

If you've ever cooked in a tiny tiny kitchen, imagine that feeling spread throughout your entire home life.

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Re:Small World: The Tiny House Trend by haldora on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @12:36PM (#19087453)

Have you documented this somewhere online, and do you have pictures? Using an old train car sounds very interesting and unique! I'd enjoy reading more.

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Re:Small World: The Tiny House Trend by irrational on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @03:50PM (#19089696)

Based on the description and OP's username, I think this might be it:

https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/1949-railroad-boxcar-on-mer...

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Re:Small World: The Tiny House Trend by nyolfen on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @09:19PM (#19092129)

op said he's lived in it for 9 years, this says 30. also first name doesn't match his username.

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Re:Small World: The Tiny House Trend by snazz on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @12:39PM (#19087487)

Do you spend less time in your house as a result of its size?

I have a feeling this is where your username came from. :)

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Re:Small World: The Tiny House Trend by CydeWeys on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @12:48PM (#19087598)

I imagine it'd be easier to do it in a place with a nice year-round climate and no mosquitoes. And you could put up some outdoor shade pretty easily if you have the space and not have it count against your indoor square footage, and effectively get a living room that you can use most of the time.

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Re:Small World: The Tiny House Trend by georgeecollins on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @08:00PM (#19091726)

You sound like a very cool person. Tip of the hat!

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Re:Small World: The Tiny House Trend by cevn on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @03:46PM (#19089658)

I'd love to see pictures if possible

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[dead]

Re:Small World: The Tiny House Trend by reidjs on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @01:03PM (#19087791)

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, but this sounds like a miserable lifestyle to me.

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Re:Small World: The Tiny House Trend by module0000 on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @01:33PM (#19088213)

That's funny - I thought it sounded really nice. It evoked nostalgia from the military. Different strokes eh? :)

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Re:Small World: The Tiny House Trend by dvtrn on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @03:48PM (#19089687)

>It evoked nostalgia from the military.

Well now I'm remiss of not getting to see what the comment was, since it's now flagged. I can appreciate that specific nostalgia w/rt living quarters.

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Re:Small World: The Tiny House Trend by effingwewt on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @05:00PM (#19090359)

HN lets you see dead comments by toggling <show dead> to <on> in settings.

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Re:Small World: The Tiny House Trend by dvtrn on Tuesday February 05, 2019 @05:52PM (#19090865)

Ah, cheers for that

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