BY: CHARLOTTE LEFAVE
These eccentric homeowners wrote the handbook on unconventional living. If you think your first apartment was small, check out these weird, quirky, and outright strange places people have decided to set up shop temporarily and permanently. These people take extreme living to another level by refusing to live by the rules, or with central heating and electricity…
Either for minimalistic or unconventional reasons, these adventure-seekers have chosen to live in some of the strangest places you’ve ever heard of. You can go on a boundary-pushing adventure, but what do you do if your house is an adventure in itself? Whether to make a point or to skirt sky-high housing costs, living in unconventional spaces is getting more and more interesting.
Number 1 Fans
These people are some of the most dedicated fans you’ve ever heard of, choosing to actually live out their lives on the sets of their favourite movie franchises. A popular example is the devoted fans of the Star Wars movies who decided to pack up their lives and make the noble pilgrimage to the abandoned Skywalker residence in the desert of Tunisia. Since the set was left behind long ago by the cast and crew, fans have actually decided to move in to the 15 or so small structures that are still standing around 18 years after the movie was released to the public. Talk about dedication to the series!
Human Garbage
This one has even the housing market questioning if it’s gone too far. What exactly would possess someone to move in to an actual dumpster? Extreme minimalism? Really low self-esteem? A very dedicated tribute to their old childhood pal Oscar the Grouch? In the South of Arizona a couple has defied expectation and social norms by converting a dumpster into a beautiful two-person home, complete with a porch and delicate French doors. The Bigelows only spent a total of $13 000 on the mini-home that fills a total of 176 square feet. Strangely enough, the renovations done actually make living inside a dumpster look appealing.
High School Never Ends
If you were lucky enough to have a car or always get a ride to school, you missed out on the horrific beauty of the modern-day school bus. If you weren’t blessed with the experience in your youth, take a moment to imagine twenty plus kids crammed into a cheery yellow death trap being steered by someone on the verge of a mental breakdown. It’s safe to say most of us cringe a little just thinking about it. But for some reason, despite this, one family of six decided to make one of them their home, with a few renovations. The family road trip never ends as the bunch lives tiny and travels large in their portable home.
Storage Unit
For students seriously questioning whether they’re actually going to be able to afford a house one day, it’s important to be aware of all of your options. Storage units are relatively cheap, usually anywhere from $800 to $5000, so as long as you’re okay with living without heating or electricity or investing in renovations, it could be for you. Don’t knock it ‘til you try it. There are even storage container communities popping up across North America in places like Oakland and San Francisco. There is also a large amount of room for creative license in designing them, you can mix and match storage containers or add your own personal flare to the inside with fluffy rugs and fairy lights if you want to. The possibilities are endless! And cheap!
Cave Dwellers
This is going old school, like really old school. This type of living delves deep into the very heart of human history, right back to the very beginning before structural innovation and personal home living was even a concept on the drawing board. Some enjoy this kind of simple lifestyle by deciding to set up shop in something completely natural and living on just the bare minimum, cutting out every luxury other than necessary objects like a bed and a stove. There are several perks to this particular brand of living: it’s good for the environment, low cost, and energy efficient, as well as being incredibly beautiful.
Solitude
Living in solitude is not everyone’s cup of tea. In fact it is most commonly used as a punishment for misdemeanors in prison or as torture because of the damaging mental repercussions. Living in complete solitude has been proven to drive people into experiencing hallucinations, deep depression, or even full-blown insanity. You know when you spend a couple hours alone and you start talking to yourself a little bit? Imagine that, times a thousand. Most people use community as a life source to draw happiness and purpose from, but a rare few actually enjoy the solo life, without any human contact whatsoever. Even though humans are intrinsically social creatures, there are always exceptions to the rule, people like Christopher McCandless who decide to take their quiet time up a notch and break away from society completely. McCandless was a university graduate who decided to ditch the life of consumerism and normality and go off alone to live in the Alaskan wilderness. He wanted to live fully immersed in the wilderness because of the disgust he felt for a society based on excessive waste and greed. Both a book and a movie have been dedicated to his life’s story after his diary was found and he was recognized for his remarkable choice of lifestyle and respect for nature. Coincidentally, he also ended up living in a school bus… hmm. Some believe that solitude is the key to wisdom and decide to take up practices like extensive meditation, pilgrimages, and long term solitary living.
What will you try?
