Tiny House Living vs. Van Living

With surging property prices and limited income, it is becoming increasingly difficult for people to be able to afford housing. Which is why people have now started to look for affordable living spaces that serve as an alternative to traditional houses. It also costs a lot to live in traditional houses, with huge energy and water bills. Enter tiny homes and camper vans! Both these options are a great alternative and help reduce the expenses to a large extent. With these alternate living spaces, there are also many sustainable options to reduce energy costs. Let’s take a look at how viable living in a tiny home or a camper van can be.

First things first, for those, who don’t need their homes to be mobile, tiny homes can be built on a slab foundation. They can also be built on a trailer for those who are looking for mobility. In tiny homes, there is a greater push to look into the aesthetics as space is limited and you will want to maximize every square inch of the available space.

A tiny home is generally built to be like any normal house in quality. However, it usually turns out to be better in quality since space is smaller. It also is noted that tiny homes have better insulation as well in comparison to a traditional house. This naturally results in a better return on the energy you spend on cooling and heating of the living space. Energy efficiency is just one of the many examples. If you delve deeper, you will find tiny homes to be more efficient in many other parameters, as compared to a traditional home.

Tiny homes center around the theme of minimalism and living small. This is a trend that appears to be catching on with the newer generations. A tiny home is built with a lot less building materials. The building materials used can be eco-friendly so cause less stress to the environment. In comparison to a tiny home, the construction of a traditional house yields over four times the waste. In addition to requiring fewer resources to build, tiny homes also use fewer resources for their upkeep. For instance, heating or cooling a tiny home will consume about as much energy as that of a small bedroom.

Now that you have a fairly good insight on tiny homes, let’s also go over some significant features of camper vans. To begin, let’s take a look at the financial benefits. No mortgage! Less initial costs (for setting up everything). Less expenditure on maintenance. Less expenditure on renovations. Having to pay off a mortgage can weigh you down. Those with a mortgage will have to put in over twelve hours at work every single day. Some may have to work two jobs. Spend an increasing amount of time away from the family. Not to mention health deterioration that comes with long working hours. Camper van living can help you ease a lot of your financial distress.

Living in a camper van encourages togetherness. A small dwelling place such as camper van doesn’t allow you to storm off into your room every time you have an argument or a fight. The amount of space you are in is limited. This helps in resolving conflicts much quickly and more effectively. Great conversations take place when you are together as opposed to binge-watching shows on Netflix. It helps understand each other better and strengthens the bond.

Photo by Micah Baird

Living full-time in a camper, means you get to park the vehicle somewhere amazing. You get to the in the experience of the place and the breathtaking views that nature offers. To get these views in a traditional house (for instance – a beach facing house), you would have to shell out more money than you can think of. Camper van life offers incredible freedom. If you aren’t too fond of where you are staying as of now, you can choose to move on to a different place. If you like where you live, you can choose to live there for longer.

Photo by Micah Baird

There are many skills that you will learn as you embrace the camper van lifestyle. Of course, you don’t have a lawn to mow, like you would in a traditional house. But you will learn to tinker with and fix a lot of things such as flush the radiator or fixing the generator or check gauges etc. minimalism is at the core of living in a camper. You learn how to do away with things that are not essential. In a traditional house, a few dishes left out is not as much of a big deal. But in a camper, even one dish that is left out will make the entire place feel messy. You learn to appreciate the importance of cleanliness.

If you are looking for a lifestyle change, but you are undecided about choosing between living in a tiny home or a camper van, let’s go through a few points of comparison.

Initial cost: In the case of a tiny home, the cost is determined per square foot. This means you are looking at a figure in the range of thirty to fifty thousand. Camper vans will cost must less including the initial cost and cost of upgrades. You can even rent one to get the feel.

Endurance: Tiny homes are not designed to withstand the water, wind and other debris that it may encounter during long transits. In comparison, camper vans are built to encourage adventures and long hauls. Just make sure that you have safety features to your Camper like trailer wheel locks, etc.

Reselling: People, in general, find a camper van more familiar than they would, a tiny home. if you are looking to sell a camper van you are likely to find a buyer very soon. In case of a tiny home, its cost evaluation is rather difficult and you may not get the price you expected when you’re selling it.

Living in a tiny home or a camper van is a lifestyle choice. It will work best if the driving factor behind your choice isn’t – I am doing it because everyone else is doing it. It must be more of a conscious decision to cause less stress to the environment. Sure, the minimal lifestyle will not make you an environmental crusader but it will definitely make the planet a little greener and healthier – something that we must all strive for. You can start by renting a Camper from us and get the feel of how it is to live in a camper.

Words by Olivia Moore from Tiny Spaces Living