Think you can live in 300 square feet? Tiny house owners do
Some Charlotteans looking to escape the noise and simply their lives are making a "tiny" change. These folks are packing up and moving west to create a life on a much smaller scale.
Founded on the belief that "smaller is smarter," a quaint community in the mountains of western North Carolina is made up of tiny houses as simple and unique as the people who call them home.
"By the time I turned 62 I wanted to be debt-free," Barbara Drum explained.
Drum is one of 14 people either living in or renting a tiny home in Flat Rock's Village of Wildflowers. She made the move from Charlotte in December and has never looked back.
"I lived in Charlotte for 29 years. And most of the time I didn't even know my neighbors. So I love that aspect of it. I'm close to everything. There's things to do. We have potluck dinners and bonfires and it's...I love it," Drum said.
Drum now spends her time passing along her love, for the tiny life.
She's encouraging others, like Juanita Duffy, to downsize. For Duffy, it's a move that forces her to focus on what's important.
"You don't just bring in the mail and plop it down on a counter top. You say, 'Ok, this is going in the garbage. Don't need this magazine. This goes to a good friend. This is something I will keep. So that, you know, the rhythm of downsizing is ongoing in a lot of ways," Duffy said.
At just 400 square feet, Duffy's freshly landscaped abode is one of the largest single residential structures in the village. Most are smaller - much smaller.
The tiniest home in the community measures well under 300 square feet.
And while every room of every house is distinctly built to fit the taste of the owner, they're all constructed on the theory that "less is more."
So whether you're a daydreamer, a drifter, or just someone looking to untangle your complicated life...there's a tiny house and a tiny community waiting for you to make your grand escape.
"There's so many other important things than just maintaining a huge house and a huge yard, and paying the high utility bills. And there's so many better things that you can do with that money and with your time. And people are realizing that," Drum said.
They're realizing some of life's biggest changes come in tiny packages.