40-year-old pays $1,600/month to live in a tiny home by the beach—it's smaller than a parking spot

From 2020 to 2022, I divided my clip betwixt 2 rentals: a one-bedroom flat successful New York City and a tiny location successful Santa Monica, California.

But 1 day, I decided I needed a change. My stepfather had passed away, and I was going done a breakup. These losses shifted my perspective, and realigning my beingness to acceptable my values became a priority.

I realized that I didn't request truthful galore belongings, fto unsocial 2 places to live. So successful May 2022, I sold oregon donated astir of my stuff. I enactment 5 boxes of wintertime items into a retention portion and near New York with 2 suitcases and a camera.

Now, astatine 40 years old, the 140-square-foot tiny location successful Santa Monica is my superior home. I'm an eight-minute thrust from the beach, and determination are plentifulness of places to hike nearby.

The location is smaller than the mean size of a parking spot (which is astir 150 quadrate feet). But it's designed successful a mode that doesn't consciousness cramped.

I recovered the listing connected HotPads, an online rental marketplace. The location was built by architects astatine Minarc Design Studio, and is parked successful the backyard of a single-family home.

The main country functions arsenic my surviving room, office, walk-in closet and kitchen. I added a fewer tiny aspects similar hooks and accessories, but different the spot is precisely arsenic it came.

The solid doorway allows for plentifulness of earthy airy and truly opens up the space. The indoor LED lighting has six adjustable settings. I usage softer lights successful the evening and lone person lights connected successful the bath successful the morning.

Since there's nary stovetop successful the house, I support a treble propane burner outside. I've honed my Girl Scouts skills and present navigator astatine location astatine slightest six days a week.

Most days, I enactment from location moving my children's brand, Big Little Universe. Since I walk truthful overmuch clip here, meticulous enactment isn't a prime — it's a necessity.

Living with volition successful a tiny abstraction has galore benefits: I prevention time, vigor and wealth (especially aft getting escaped of my $4,500-per-month New York apartment). It's precise serene and grounding. I lone person 1 high-quality mentation of everything, and each point has its ain place.

I've go much mindful with my societal commitments, too. I lone person 1 idiosyncratic implicit astatine a time. And I question to sojourn household and friends successful New York each fewer months.