|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What is alternative housing? Tents, RVs, cabins, underground homes, renting a room and anything else that is at least a little less common than the houses, condos and apartments that most people call home. Here are some of these housing options, and why people choose them.
Mobile Alternative Housing
Recreational vehicles. Here in Arizona there are whole communities that spring up each winter, full of people living in their RVs. The advantages of RV housing are obvious. You get to move with the seasons, try out different places, and not pay property taxes. I have seen people living in Rvs that cost $200,000 and ones that cost $600, so the selection of accommodations is varied, to say the least.
School busses. While camping at a hot springs area, we sat around the campfire one night with several young men living in the desert in their old converted school bus. They paid nothing to park it in the desert, bathed for free in hot spring tubs that were as nice as those in nearby expensive resorts, and played guitar around the fire each night. Not a bad life.
Conversion van. My wife and I spent almost a month living in our conversion van one year, as we traveled from Arizona to Florida and then to Michigan. The advantage of a van is that it gets better mileage than an RV, and it is inconspicuous. We could park and sleep almost anywhere.
|
|
Other Alternative Housing
Buy land. A friend of mine, after living in state campgrounds in a tent for a while, upgraded to a shack he built for $3,000 on a small piece of land he bought. He did eventually run into problems with the county because he had no occupancy permit. You can't live on your own land if your home is too small, apparently, but you can camp on it. In other words, a small used RV parked on your land makes for a cheap and legal housing alternative.
Rent a room. In almost any area where rents are high, renting rooms has become common. For single
People live on houseboats to avoid paying property taxes. Others live in the jungle near the beaches in Hawaii, so they can afford to be in paradise. I have friends who lived in a basement while slowly building the house above for cash. There are people living in cabins built in the national forest wilderness, moving every few years as they are discovered. Your imagination is the only limit to your alternative housing options.