A Very, Very Good Idea
 

One of the better social safety net ideas I have seen. S/B put in a permenant cluster somewhere though.

"Tiny houses help address nation's homeless problem"
Tiny houses help address nation's homeless problem

I know someone who lived in a 400 sq. ft. apt for three years. This was someone who downsized from 2500 sf.

After a few months they wondered why they did not do it sooner. They finally had to move due to their work and they could not find an upscale apt with the same small size in their new location, so it was back to a 2000 sf house.

400 sf isn't that unusual in New York or many of the more expensive European cities.

400s/f is very liveable. I'd be happy to do it as long as it has a driveway :D

Mine's about 500. I could get away with considerably smaller if I didn't have so much crap. Lack of a garage is my only complaint.

Now if I could just find a 500 sq ft house with a three car garage (nah, make it six), I'd be all set.

Have a good friend who's lived in about a 400 sq ft apt for about 15 yrs.

When I took over the ranch the livable inside space was about 950sf. That space had been just fine for multiple generations of very large families. My father had 4 brothers and 3 sisters, for example.
I added about 1K square feet and raised my kids with ample space.
The more space you have the more shlt you pack it full of. It's like a rule. Like growing a bigger, heavier tail you have to drag around behind you. Or something.

The first Home my wife and I bought in 1979 in Tucson, AZ. was a 750 sq ft 1 bedroom, 3/4 bath single family home.

While it was quite comfortable for the two of us, it would have been impossible with our three daughters.

Now that the last daughter at home is graduating college this spring, I'm longing for a smaller home. I just do not need, nor care to maintain, 5 acres and 3k sq ft any more. I like having enough room to have privacy, which I think is important for our marriage, and enough land to have a nice shop, so some land and a 3 bedroom home in the mid 1000's sq ft seems like an ideal size.

My wife is screaming like a leprachaun with a hotfoot at the very notion of downsizing. She doesn't want to address getting rid of anything or losing the shrines (er, unoccupied bedrooms) to our kids.

Our 2nd house was 1500 sq ft, and our third was 1800 sq ft, both very comfortable, especially if there are only two. Plenty of room for visitors.

This is going to get interesting as I'm planning on retiring soon.

Jim

I have 500 SF one bedroom apartments with very nice features such as wood flooring full kitchens, central AC and washer dryer. They are the easiest to rent. Almost always to a single person, occasionally I will have a couple. I also have 400 sf studios which rent well too. My larger units at 900, 1000 and 1400 SF are almost always harder to rent.

I have had discussions about the space needed with people. My viewpoint is people usually want much more than what will probably meet their needs . This nets them higher property taxes, extra heating costs and maintenance as most people do not do their own work. Even then if you do your own you are buying more materials.

I probably have not sat in our living room for six months. The dining room is only utilized for special occasions usually. Even the computer I am at is in the family room.

Plus the wife and our two dogs at the moment. The dogs have developed a new game. The more you let us out the more frequently we will request it. Plus no is not an acceptable answer. Spring is coming. They have a form of cabin fever I suspect.

We have three chesterfields in the family room temporarily as well. One goes to the cottage as soon as the weather moderates. We may use the room more because it is at the back of the house. There is little noise at the front as the road is not busy and the front is all triple glazed thermo pane windows.

Besides the better energy efficiency they do reduce sound transmission a lot better than one would expect.

Three feet below the kitchen and eating level is the family room. Almost everything but sleep happens there by choice. It is kind of an open concept house.

On wheels you can build small. Need a permit here for anything not on wheels and absolute minumin is 750 square feet for a house.

Some of those mini units are not much larger floor wise than a sheet of plywood. No utilities at all would be somewhat painful.

better than an underpass or a cot in a drafty shelter. gives someone some human dignity back

Hahahah Good one! I can just picture that!:D

The article comments on the shared kitchen/community room- I think it is a great concept for a lot of folks, Co-housing of a sort. I think we will see more of things like it, as the aging population looses ability and can no longer support suburbia or be supported in suburbia.

Great article about trailer park retirement communities....
Senior Living: How the Trailer Park Could Save Us All - Mind & Body

good to see that someone actually read the original post and understood the topic. things are changing and we need to look at stuff differently to find solutions...thanks