{"id":7765,"date":"2019-02-21T12:45:12","date_gmt":"2019-02-21T12:45:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/young-people-living-in-vans-tiny-homes-and-containers\/"},"modified":"2019-02-21T12:45:12","modified_gmt":"2019-02-21T12:45:12","slug":"young-people-living-in-vans-tiny-homes-and-containers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.styledeals.co.uk\/blog\/young-people-living-in-vans-tiny-homes-and-containers\/","title":{"rendered":"Young people living in vans, tiny homes and containers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Media caption<\/span>The creative solutions to a lack of house affordability<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For many young people, the pleasures of their own hearth and home are out of reach. <\/p>\n

About 40% of young adults cannot afford to buy one of the cheapest homes in their area<\/a> in the UK, with the average deposit now standing at about \u00a326,000<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But they also face “unaffordable” rents<\/a> across most of Britain, according to recent research.<\/p>\n

So, many are turning to radical, innovative and sometimes mind-boggling alternatives. The owners of three unorthodox homes explained why they’ve turned away from bricks and mortar. <\/p>\n

Life in a van <\/h2>\n
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\n Tom, Harriet and their son, Ruben, use friends’ and family’s homes for showers or a break when the weather is particularly bad
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Harriet Baggley, 24, her partner, Tom Offen, 25, and their son, Ruben, two, live in a van fitted with a log-burning stove, insulation and a makeshift kitchenette. <\/p>\n

The 2008 Volkswagen Transporter 4, nicknamed “Iggy”, has been their home since they left rented accommodation in April last year. <\/p>\n

They move their home-on-wheels to different spots every few days, spending two to three nights a week at a relative’s more conventional home while helping them with child care. <\/p>\n

“Renting didn’t really sit well with us and the other option was buying a house and getting a mortgage, which is something we don’t want to do,” Harriet said. <\/p>\n

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Image caption<\/span>
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\n The van’s wood-burning stove was fitted by a blacksmith from west Wales
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The artist and hotel worker believes her family’s nine cubic-metre digs is “massively” attractive from a financial perspective. <\/p>\n

But she admits life in such a tiny space can have its drawbacks and is certainly not for everyone. <\/p>\n

“The hardest part is probably being on top of each other and staying organized. There’s not much room to be your own person. <\/p>\n

“But we have work, we have time away from each other and we come back to a space that’s our own,” Harriet added.<\/p>\n

There is no law preventing anyone from living in a van full time, as long as the vehicle is appropriately taxed and insured. <\/p>\n

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\n The van is fitted with a steel chimney
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But there can be restrictions on where can you can park and spend the night, with local authorities imposing different rules and constraints. <\/p>\n

Harriet said it can be a challenge to find places to stay the night but she and Tom have their “favourite spots” where they stop for short spells. <\/p>\n

“Our long-term plan is to buy a plot of land and to possibly build a cob house – we’re not quite sure yet,” she added. <\/p>\n

Living in a shipping container<\/h2>\n
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\n The \u00a330,000 price of Clare and Aubrey Fry’s home included the cost of buying two purpose-converted containers, as well as the ground works and utility costs
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For Aubrey Fry, 37, and his wife, Clare, 34, life in a repurposed 40ft shipping container was only meant to be short term. <\/p>\n

Three years later and the steel box is still home, sweet home. <\/p>\n

The pair moved to Hay-on-Wye, where Aubrey’s family own a farm, after growing frustrated with London property prices. <\/p>\n

They wanted to keep their costs low, while building their new home and business premises on the land, and Aubrey had an itch to try something different. <\/p>\n

“I’ve always wanted to develop a shipping container and make it into a home,” Aubrey said.<\/p>\n

“There are millions of them all over the world, they get used once and then get taken out of action; and I think they are a good space to live in.”<\/p>\n

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\n Aubrey and Clare Fry say life with their dog, Morgan, in the shipping container is very cosy
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So, they bought two converted residential containers from a firm in Liverpool and located them on the farm, near to where they run their canoeing and outdoor activity business. <\/p>\n

In total, they spent up to \u00a330,000 creating the temporary homestead. <\/p>\n

“I’d have been putting that [money] into rent if I wasn’t putting it into something we could live in and have and keep.<\/p>\n

“It’s extremely comfortable, I would happily continue living in a shipping container if I didn’t have a beautiful new home to live in. But that time is now coming to an end.”<\/p>\n

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\n Aubrey and Clare Fry’s main living space has under-floor heating and a log burner
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Clare said that, while the space is compact, that can actually be a good thing. <\/p>\n

“I’ve found it really good fun. A way of decluttering,” she said. <\/p>\n

But she warned anyone thinking of shipping life to consider the planning restrictions and regulations<\/a> that apply to some shipping container structures. <\/p>\n

The couple are now close to moving into their new, permanent home and they plan to sell the shipping container. <\/p>\n

“It will be really sad [to see it go], but hopefully it will have a new life somewhere and be just as useful to someone else,” Clare said. <\/p>\n

Building a tiny home<\/h2>\n
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Image copyright<\/span>
\n GETTY\/DAMIEN MEYER<\/span><\/p>\n

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Image caption<\/span>
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\n Tom Dutton hopes to build a “tiny home” on a trailer, similar to this one, made in Poilley, France
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Tom Dutton, 30, is a free-wheeling surfer. <\/p>\n

So it should be no surprise that he wants a drag-and-drop home; one he can pull on wheels to different spots and set down. Something he can build himself. Something cheap. Something tiny. <\/p>\n

The construction worker is learning how to build a “tiny home” – something that is becoming increasingly popular<\/a> – via short courses run at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) in Machynlleth, Powys. <\/p>\n

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\n Tom Dutton is hoping to build a transportable tiny home
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“A big part of it is the financial freedom that comes with having a tiny home,” Tom said.<\/p>\n

“Not being bridled to a mortgage for the rest of my life, being able to pursue the things I’m passionate about in life.”<\/p>\n

Aside from catching waves, this includes “helping others” in his free time. <\/p>\n

“For a lot of people the work-life balance is way out at the moment, and I feel that this is a way to pull that back.”<\/p>\n

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Image caption<\/span>
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\n Tiny homes can be built from a number of different materials, with the basic structure often made from a wood frame
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Of course, a tiny home builder still needs a plot of land and they need to adhere to planning regulations. <\/p>\n

But Tom, who lives in Porthleven, Cornwall, is hoping to build his moveable digs, mount it on a trailer and then move it between his friends’ smallholdings. <\/p>\n

He hopes to spend \u00a310,000 to \u00a315,000 to build the self-contained unit within the next 12 to 18 months. <\/p>\n

Right now, he believes owning a more conventional home is simply out of reach, having only just worked himself out of his university debt. <\/p>\n

He said: “We’re living in uncertain times – no-one’s got a clue what’s going to happen after Brexit or if we have another financial crash. <\/p>\n

“The idea that I’ve got something that’s moveable and it’s going to keep me warm and dry, and that I can survive comfortably, with very little, makes a lot of sense at the moment.”<\/p>\n

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Media playback is unsupported on your device<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>

Media caption<\/span>Could you live in a tiny house?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The tiny homes movement is growing in popularity in the UK – having gained traction in the United States<\/a> – with the outlay for these diminutive dwellings coming in as low as \u00a32,500. <\/p>\n

People living in tiny houses say they are reducing their energy costs as well as their carbon footprints.<\/a><\/p>\n

Carwyn Lloyd-Jones, who teaches the “tiny homes” building course at CAT, said it had certainly attracted younger people looking for a cheaper alternative. <\/p>\n

“It’s because they want to have that space to live in, but they are not necessarily able to afford that plot of land to build a full-size house,” he said.<\/p>\n

“But possibly they might have parents that have got gardens, so they could get planning permission to build a little annexe or they could chuck mum and dad out so they can live in the real house.”<\/p>\n

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Image caption<\/span>
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\n Carwyn Lloyd-Jones teaches a “tiny homes” building course
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