It seems my feed is always filled with stories about tiny houses. They're pretty nifty and I'd love to get one as a vacation home. But if you're planning on living in one you're telegraphing to the entire world that you're a quitter.
You're quitting on marriage and family. I know they're out there but every couple I read about or see on TV is unmarried. The tiny house gives them the lowest level of commitment possible. If they break up there's not going to be a huge fight over who gets to keep the tiny house. As far as family goes, who would raise kids in a tiny house parked in someones back yard? For that matter, who wants to grow up in a tiny house where everyone's business is always in your face? Tiny houses are cute, ironic versions of a Lower East Side tenement flat from 1900.
You're quitting community. Tiny houses tell everyone not to come over and you're not having anyone over. I mean, c'mon, I've seen the pictures of the couple over, with legs dangling down from the loft and the other couple standing below them sipping Chardonnay. It's the lamest, tiniest party ever. Tiny houses also telegraph to everyone you're not interested in building community. You live in a house that could suddenly disappear one night without a trace!
You're quitting on commitment. A tiny house is designed for a person who doesn't know what they want to do, where they want to live, and who they want to be. Houses are about commitment. They are typically built on slabs of concrete that say to the world, "I'm sinking down roots that I can't run away from and we're building a little kingdom here." Neighborhoods are made of houses that face out onto streets that get filled up with noisy kids, conversing wives, and husbands trying to convert garages into private lairs of Norse Meed hall awesomeness.
Oh, it's so institutional - buying a home with a mortgage and a garage. Not these days. Institutional is looking around at the world like a frightened rabbit and worrying about all the things that could go wrong. I might marry the wrong person. I might have kids I don't like and who don't like me. I might have neighbors I don't want to live next to. I might lose my job. I might be forced to regularly interact with...people.
Living in a real home means you've finally decided to be an adult.
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