Solitude is Not the Same as Isolation

Emily recently asked a question on the blog:

Are you guys relatively close to a decent grocery store? I know that if you can buy food every three to four days, you don't need to worry about a fridge/freezer. But you seem pretty isolated. Maybe looks are deceiving.

That's a great question and probably not something that we've addressed much on this blog. We frequently talk about how we built our house on a remote spot in the mountains. We talk about how we hike up to our house from where we have to park the car. 

But I sometimes think that maybe we haven't defined what that really means.

For me, solitude is not the same thing as isolation.

I love the solitude of our mountain. I love the quiet, contemplative space we've built in the middle of nature. But a short walk gets us to our cars and a short drive will get us to the nearest civilization. We are in the Appalachian mountains but we aren't in the wilderness. We are near a very small mountain town and only a thirty minute drive to the city of Asheville.

When I moved into the tiny house one of the best surprises in our new lifestyle was how much more engaged we felt with out community. We don't stay in our tiny house 24/7. We frequently go out with friends or to events in town.

In fact, that connection to community has become the most important thing in my life and it was facilitated by the tiny house.

So in a direct answer to Emily's question we are not too far from a grocery store and we can get food multiple times a week if we want. We make an event of going to local farmer's markets and there we engage with the sellers and support local agriculture.

While I imagine isolation is the goal for some tiny home builders almost everyone I've met in the tiny house community loves interaction, developing friendships, and sharing our experiences.

What is the role of community in your life? Do you want to engage more with the people around you?