It is definitely the case that if you are willing to think small, things to live in can be very affordable. Already, we have found a couple of web-sites where you can buy a home, custom-made if you wish, for affordable prices (e.g., £20,000), as long as you are willing to live in a small space. For example:
http://www.barreltopwagons.co.uk/specs/barrel-top-wagons-living-wagon.html
http://www.tinyhouseuk.co.uk/gallery.html
In principle, you can install a wood burner, solar panels, and a small wind turbine and be relatively self-sufficient. Obviously, water and sewage is also an issue to think about.
Further issues to consider are:
Mortgages - I have heard that banks have certain requirements for you to take out a mortgage, often requiring that your home is bricks and mortar rather than a cabin, and potentially that there is a working kitchen, bathroom, and central heating...this requires more research!
Land - this is the big issue as far as I can tell. In England, to live in any dwelling long-term you require planning permission, even if it is a mobile caravan. It is a lot cheaper/easier to buy land without planning permission than to buy land with planning permission. It is very difficult to get planning permission on land that doesn't already have it. Our dream of living sustainably in a cabin in the woods seems almost impossible in England. I have heard that there is a slightly better possibility in Wales (e.g., http://www.brithdirmawr.co.uk/, http://humanplanet.com/timothyallen/2013/11/off-the-grid-emma-orbach-wales/) or Scotland, but even then things are still difficult. Again, this requires much further research which I hope I will cover in future posts. On the positive side, I believe we live in one of the most alternative cities in the UK, Bristol, which is amenable to the idea of smaller living (e.g., http://wildgoosespace.org.uk/, http://www.smallisfestival.org/home/)
http://www.barreltopwagons.co.uk/specs/barrel-top-wagons-living-wagon.html
http://www.tinyhouseuk.co.uk/gallery.html
In principle, you can install a wood burner, solar panels, and a small wind turbine and be relatively self-sufficient. Obviously, water and sewage is also an issue to think about.
Further issues to consider are:
Mortgages - I have heard that banks have certain requirements for you to take out a mortgage, often requiring that your home is bricks and mortar rather than a cabin, and potentially that there is a working kitchen, bathroom, and central heating...this requires more research!
Land - this is the big issue as far as I can tell. In England, to live in any dwelling long-term you require planning permission, even if it is a mobile caravan. It is a lot cheaper/easier to buy land without planning permission than to buy land with planning permission. It is very difficult to get planning permission on land that doesn't already have it. Our dream of living sustainably in a cabin in the woods seems almost impossible in England. I have heard that there is a slightly better possibility in Wales (e.g., http://www.brithdirmawr.co.uk/, http://humanplanet.com/timothyallen/2013/11/off-the-grid-emma-orbach-wales/) or Scotland, but even then things are still difficult. Again, this requires much further research which I hope I will cover in future posts. On the positive side, I believe we live in one of the most alternative cities in the UK, Bristol, which is amenable to the idea of smaller living (e.g., http://wildgoosespace.org.uk/, http://www.smallisfestival.org/home/)
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