Location Independence and the Tiny House

London Trip, October 2014

Here's something you might not know. When Matt and I discovered tiny homes we were already working hard to become location independent.

What is location independence? 

The concept of location independence is that you can work from anywhere in the world. It is part work from home and part travel. Some location independent people are called "digital nomads" and there is a strong RV culture around it. There are so many possible careers that could be considered location independent. I spent years cultivating a career as a freelance writer while Matt works remotely for the technology company he's worked with since the late 1990s.

The main goal with location independence is to be able to take your work anywhere. And while we were looking at this as an option for our lives we stumbled across tiny homes. We realized that by building a teeny home that didn't require a mortgage or rent, or utilities in our case, we could save more money than we spend and transform our lives to be more location independent. And by building our tiny home on a foundation in the mountains we would always have a low maintenance home base that we could come back to any time we needed to.

There are so many possible paths to this lifestyle that there is no one right answer. 

Since moving into the tiny house we've practiced location independence several times. Within our first year we traveled to Michigan, where our families live, for two months over the winter holidays. We've traveled to New Mexico and Arizona. We've gone on extended camping trips. We spent 10 days in the UK.

As a freelance writer I no longer get traditional "vacations" - I either have to work while we're traveling or get as much done as possible before we leave so I can have more free time on the trip. I usually do a combination of the two. I love having this flexibility and I love to travel and experience new things so this is perfect for me.

So, tomorrow we leave for a month trip up the southeastern coast. By "we" I mean myself, Matt and Piglet. We travel every Wednesday relocating to different AirBnBs each week. We will both work and explore the town where we're visiting. I am very excited for this adventure.

Every tiny house is a catalyst for a new life. 

And for us, a new life means the ability to travel and work from anywhere in the world. There is no right way to do tiny living and it can be different for everyone. That is what I love most about this movement.

Why do you want to build and live in a tiny home?