The Tiny House movement is a growing group that advocates living in small homes to promote financial prudence, shared community experiences, and breaking away from a consumer-driven mindset.
Those are general reasons. But what about specific stories of those who downsized their lives?
In a recent post from Tiny House Talk, they interviewed 27 people and asked them why they decided to make the transition to smaller dwellings. Click here to see the full list.
We will also discuss GoSun's future plans for a tiny house of its own. That's the GoSun Dream (scroll down to the bottom of this post to see more).
But first, here's 12 accounts of why people decided to join the Tiny House movement.
Elise: Jungalow Tiny House
Oh man, so so many reasons. I think the main reason is that I didn’t want a mortgage. I have been saving up my whole life, so I wanted to use that for something beautiful and that could bring Joy to this world, so I thought “why not a place where I can welcome people! And have it decorated however I want!”. I have always wanted to run my own Airbnb, so now we can.
Elena: Life at Edgemere
When we started looking for homes in our favorite location, I was feeling overwhelmed and stressed with work, kids, housekeeping. Then I watched Marie Kondo and a little seed of simplifying life was planted. I looked at a ton of houses but the thought of keeping up with them made me hyperventilate. When our agent showed us an itty bitty house in our favorite location, it was like fireworks. I totally saw myself living small. Our current house came along soon after that and to this day I feel like we made the right decision.
Alexis: No More High Rent & Independence
I decided to go tiny because I was tired of paying high rent honestly. I figured I have been living in student housing and dorms for the past few years living in a tiny house really wouldn’t be that different in terms of space. By living tiny I’m hoping to just live a simpler life and find happiness! My goals are to live off the land, eventually raise some chicken and really just find a sort of independence that’s hard to find living in an apartment or living in a city or suburb.
Ida: Minimalism in Norway
I got inspired by the documentary The Minimalist (Netflix). Then I started to think about it as an option to buy an apartment. It suits my lifestyle: I love to live close nature. But also I have lived in so many different places and countries, and I know I have a hard time to decide where I want to live. There’s so many beautiful spots in this world. So right now I live in the south of Norway, but If I want to go somewhere else I just bring my home. The feeling of having a home, but also the freedom of be able to move it suits me perfect. It’s cheaper than an apartment here in Norway and it’s more environmentally friendly.
I hope I will get a better life, less stress and closer to nature. Be able to do more of the things that make me happy.
Tiffany: Financial Freedom in RV Renovation
We want financial freedom, less stuff and more experiences. We really want to teach our children that life is not about what you have but who you are. It’s about building character and experiencing as much as you can. It’s about loving people and being grateful and generous with what you do have.
Talia: Tranquility in Minimalism
I think a big reason why I was so drawn to tiny living is due to the fact that I am a neurodivergent, (meaning, my brain is wired differently) introverted, highly sensitive person (HSP). Due to my sensory sensitivities, I am particularly affected by the subtleties in my environment and so a simple, calming, clutter-free space is truly mandatory for me in order for me to function well. I get overwhelmed and exhausted by sensory overload in cluttered, noisy, or chaotic environments so a streamlined and easily-managed home environment makes a huge difference in my life.
As an HSP, I am also highly empathic and concerned with issues of justice, equality, and ethics and am therefore a passionate believer in Gandhi’s words: “live simply so that others may simply live.” For me, this concept has informed many of my life choices including being a vegan for 20+ years, choosing not to have children, and also choosing to be a minimalist, now in a tiny home.
In my tiny home, everything I own has its place which makes it easy to manage and keep organized and clean and also forces me to be mindful of what I am purchasing. My tiny home is a sanctuary for me, it grounds me by providing me with a soothing, simplified, self-contained space to retreat to and be comfortable in when I need to decompress and recharge from the external world. I believe that tiny/simple living is a wonderful antidote to overwhelm for everyone and especially for folks who may struggle with sensory sensitivities or executive functioning challenges such as highly sensitive people, autistic people, people with ADHD, and sensory processing disorder, etc.
Chrissie: Breaking Up with Being Tied Down
Honestly, I think the decision was birthed following a messy breakup. I found myself tugging up my roots one by one for months without really having a plan or knowing why. No more internet plan, no more heavy furniture… I became obsessed with not being locked into a location. The apartment I was renting began to feel like a trap. It was the next natural step for me.
Kaci: Bus Life Homesteading
We wanted to break free of the never-ending cycle of constantly having to work just to exist. We felt trapped by the lifestyle of paying so many bills every month… Rent, cars, insurance, utilities, cell phones, etc. etc. etc. The majority of our lives were spent working for other people’s companies making other people’s dreams come true, but not putting the time and energy into our own. We wanted the freedom to explore this beautiful planet, to not stress about money or owing anyone anything, and live life how we were truly meant to live: by just being.
Amanda: Single Mom’s Tiny Life
So many reasons, as I’m debt free I can work less which gives me more time with my girls. I also love being predominantly off-grid and as eco friendly as possible. I liked being able to design something that was uniquely ‘me’ and suited my family specifically.
Marie & Ben: Less Stuff, More Freedom
That is a tricky question, as it was more of an organic path to tiny living rather than a conscious decision.
We met five years ago in Costa Rica. We were backpacking across Central and South America. Marie had a plan, Ben had a tent! We ended up traveling together for five months and falling in love somewhere along the way. I guess our journey began with a form of minimalism, with very little, yet everything we needed in our backpacks.
Our lifestyle has always been that way, often on the move, possessing little. The less stuff, the more freedom! From minimalism to tiny living, there is only one step. And Marie is from Paris, where living tiny is not a choice!
Lindsay: One year, Two cats, RV life
I have always loved tiny living spaces. I look at it as a practice in minimalism. My first apartment was a little beach studio in Santa Monica and I fell in love with it. I love how I had to be intentional about everything I owned. Every piece of furniture had to be dual purpose. But at the same time, I was able to decorate it to feel cozy and not cluttered. I hated how much “stuff” I accumulated when I lived in bigger places after that and wanted to return back to a more simplistic living style. When I move back into a sticks & bricks place someday, it will be something small.
Laura & Matt: Family Bus Life
Going tiny, we wanted to go back to appreciating everything we had in our life, feeling grateful for the abundance that you can see beyond materialistic ‘stuff’. It also meant we could fulfill our dream to travel Australia as a family, creating adventurous memories together while learning about the land we live on.
So those are accounts of why it pays to give the tiny home lifestyle a try. And we would be remiss if we did not mention what we believe to be the best tiny home to live in. That would be the GoSun Dream. It takes GoSun's innovative approach that it applied to solar cookers, coolers, and lights, and applies it to an entire house.
GoSun Dream, a solar-powered off-grid, tiny house. GoSun designed the Dream to help you live a more independent, healthy, and resilient life. No strings attached. Take any place. Park any place. Live anywhere.
Of course, the Dream comes with all of GoSun's breakthrough, portable solar appliances. Stay cool with the ice-free Chill, cook with the solar + electric hybrid Fusion, and clean with the Flow water system.
An easy home on wheels, the Dream is designed for locations with decent solar exposure and a lack of infrastructure - power, water, or gas. These sites can be found in urban and suburban settings, or in remote countryside or farms.