Micro-Homes

    I love small spaces.  I feel cozy, comfortable and safe when I’m inside a tiny area. Apparently I’m not the only person that enjoys being like a sardine in a small tin case.  A new trend is developing in the housing market: tiny homes.  A tiny home is generally a house under 500 square feet. Three of the major benefits to tiny houses are affordability, Eco-friendliness, and people seeking a simpler lifestyle.  Tiny homes are an emerging trend in modern housing because they offer an environmentally friendly, cheap and easy way for people to live.

    Tiny houses are a very affordable and inexpensive mode of living for many individuals.   The average house in Ithaca costs around 184,000 dollars!  That’s a ton of money for most people.  The average family in Ithaca earns $29,000.   No one making that kind of money would qualify for a mortgage, but if they did, it would take them about 50 years to pay it off.  Most micro homes cost only $10,000-$40,000 to build.   Some can even be made for as low as $5,000.  Not only are they cheaper to build they’re also much cheaper to fix and maintain.  A house this small is much easier to heat because there is less space to heat up.  There isn’t as much to fix because the entire structure is smaller.   Another benefit to the lower upfront cost is that you can spend a bit more money per square foot and buy better materials.  Micro-homes create housing almost anyone can afford.

            In addition to being a financially feasible option for many, micro homes are also very environmentally friendly.  The are environmentally friendly for three main reasons.  The first is they require fewer materials to be constructed.  There is far less wood, metal, plastic, wiring and other building materials put into a tiny house because of their small size.  Anther reason they are better is that it takes less energy to warm and cool them.  This energy savings is good for both the wallet and nature.  Lastly, having such a small house means a person can’t buy as many things because there isn’t the room to keep them.  This lack of consumerism leads to less materials and pollution being created for stuff people buy.  Micro homes help the world by requiring less of it’s limited resources. 

            One more reason people are interested in tiny homes is they lead to a simpler life.  When you can only have so many things in a small space you don’t buy or collect as much.  This equates to having more money, more time and less stuff to take care of. You have more money because you’re less likely to buy stuff you don’t urgently need.  You also then do not have to pay for the upkeep of your junk.  That means you have more money and can work less, and have more time.  You also have more time because you don’t need to spend a lot of time cleaning and repairing a smaller house.  Lastly, when you have less stuff you enjoy what little you have even more.  Micro homes make for simple living for their occupants.

            Tiny houses are a trend because of how sustainable, affordable and amazing they are.  With more people looking to save money and the environment we can expect to see more of these tiny homes popping up.  In fact, there are a fair number of tiny-home communities being built or inhabited in the Ithaca area.

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Reference: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/36/3638077.html

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These houses are so cheap that a man by the name of Carmen Guidi is building these homes for the homeless of Ithaca to live in. in There are almost done and are in Newfield just outside of Ithaca.  There are 8 of these micro homes being built to help the homeless make a fresh start.  For more on this project read the IthacaTimes article here  

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Pinterest Board of Tiny Home Ideas

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