City Slicker
From the blog of lifestyle guy George Hahn:
Between the space I occupy, the goods I consume, the energy I burn, and the trash I generate, I would argue that I create a comparatively small footprint for an American.
As everybody who knows me knows, I love city living. Aside from its unparalleled cultural offerings, amazing restaurant options and unyielding excitement, it’s incredibly efficient.
This is something I think about a fair bit. I watch all these Tiny Home videos (and I enjoy them!) but bristle slightly when they boast about their green credentials. How can building a house from scratch in the middle of nowhere be greener than living in an apartment building, close to everything you need, that already exists?
I love Tiny Homes and I see the economic attraction to them, especially if you’re coming from a city like, say, Melbourne where the cost of living is out of control. But buying land and putting a home on it — even a tiny one — is a contribution to urban sprawl. And, when all is said and done, building a new thing (any new thing) involves the extraction of raw materials from the earth. Many (but not all) of these Tiny Homes won’t last for decades or centuries like a real house. Not a problem for you if you don’t care about asset depreciation, but a disposable house is hardly the green option even if you invest in solar panels and keep your own chickens.
Around and around go my green bean-counting thoughts and I always come back to the conclusion that the greenest (as well as happiest, most cost effective, most socially-responsible) option is to live in a city. In a small apartment. As well as helping to continue the life of an old thing (with all its character and charm) instead of building new, you have all the efficiencies of high-density living. Everything you could possibly need is within walking distance so you might not need a pollution-producing car. Recycling centres are abundant. Club goods like gyms and libraries mean you don’t need to own so much stuff. It’s green! It’s efficient! Really!
After nearly 30 years as a New Yorker, I think I’ve managed to crystalize the biggest bonus of city living into one word, which is basically a byproduct of the city’s efficiency: access.
He means access to culture, supplies, transit, other people. And I think he’s right. I could be wrong because I don’t live in the country and there might be factors I’m not seeing, but I think he’s right.
On the other hand, Hahn seems to like “big cities” best of all and, while acknowledging their expense, he advocates for London, NY, Tokyo.
Instead, I’d say it’s smarter to keep it simple and live in a cheaper city if you want to work less and have a better chance at escaping the consumer treadmill: Glasgow, Manchester, Liverpool, Montreal, Naples, Antwerp, [East] Berlin. Why not? Escapology happens more readily in the margins.
About Robert Wringham
Robert Wringham is the editor of New Escapologist. He also writes books and articles. Read more at wringham.co.uk
I spent a year building a tiny house before living in it for 2 years. My main goal was to save money, however I found that I wasn’t really saving much over a standard apartment while also taking on all the maintenance work that comes with owning a home. Compared to a 1-bedroom, 800 sq ft apartment that went for USD$1,200, the lot rent of $500 to park the tiny house was indeed cheaper. However, maintenance ran somewhere between $100-$200 a month and the opportunity cost of building the tiny house instead of investing that money ran about $300/mo. In the end, I was saving $200-$300 every month for a few years before the RV park I was in got bought out and the lot rents shot up to $800. Ended up selling the tiny house and moving into an apartment 3x the size for less money overall.
That said, I do miss the incredible soundproofing and kitchen layout I did in the tiny house. Now I am much less scared of adapting apartments within reason to fit my wants better. Plus, having a lot more options for living locations with apartments compared to tiny houses is much less stressful. The area I was in had a law against living in RVs long-term even on private land, so my only options were RV parks that allowed long-term stays or flying under the radar and hoping I don’t anger any neighbors.