TINY HOMES

Tiny Homes is a growing trend in the states and there is plenty of material out there on them. I bring them up because they are more efficient, but also because it seems to me that it is more economical for college kids or people who move a lot.

If you have a kid going into college; or you are one, instead of living in the dorms and sharing all kinds of crap and dealing with loud roomies and neighbors, roomies going through your crap while you're not there, paying the bills for the place... what about building a tiny efficient home to live in while you're in college. They can plop down in RV parks, trailer parks (I know some people don't like the idea of living in an RV or trailer park because... well, I don't know exactly, it's got a stigma I guess and people are petty.) and some colleges have taken to the idea and seem to be ok with putting them on campus to show their support for 'green technology'.  You can use that sort of narrow-mindedness to your advantage financially. 

When you're done with school, you move your home to wherever your next job is and live in it while you get to know the area, get comfortable at your job... and then if you want to invest in a bigger home or move into an apartment, you now where the good and bad areas are. If you're a parent, you build it, when the kid's done with school, you can put use it as a guest house to keep visiting inlaws in or a separate office or music room, a gaming room... whatever. Plus, being an actual cabin instead of an RV, it goes up in value instead of down.

But, the real seller for me is that they are extremely efficient and cheap to own, so if you've been wanting to move off-grid or to a small town, your biggest expense will no longer be your house. If you can generate your own energy in an smaller more efficient home, then you don't need such high paying jobs to pay for the energy, there is a lot less cleaning and maintanence to do... and if you want to pack up an go, you take your home with you (if it's of the mobile variety). Everyone talks about being a slave to these energy costs, but we don't have to be.

Aside from tiny homes but in the same vein, are Cargo/Shipping Container Homes.
Tumbleweed Tiny Homes
Tiny House Blog
Tiny House Design
This Tiny House
Tiny Green Cabins
Tiny House Living
Shipping Container Homes
Shipping Container House Design