Why would people choose another lifestyle and living habitat other than dwelling in a traditional city of small-town condo or house? Besides the apparent financial reasons, meaning cutting back the costs of living, there must be a deeper psychological aspect to it. An attractive force, if you will, that is driving people to explore new frontiers.
It is safe to assume that your lifestyle means finding the ideal private property. But before we delve into exceptional residences and the reasons behind their popularity, let’s take a quick look at revealing statistics compiled to investigate moving trends within the US.
Relocation trends and numbers in the US
According to 2019 Moving Statistics, approximately 32 million US residents changed their location in 2018, two years before the global pandemic. That is 10,1% of the entire US population. US citizens had a clear concept about which cities are optimal to start a new life before 2020.
During the Covid-19 outbreak and the ensuing quarantine, about half of the adult population considered the possibility of relocation due to various reasons. The wish to own a more significant portion of free personal space was the most notable among them. As a result, the US housing market prospered during the epidemic. The relocation trend seems to grow in 2021 too. About 56% of American citizens plan to start fresh instead of the 35% that actually moved one year before.
Explore and adapt to new surroundings
The sense of living and moving in a free world has never disappeared from our consciousness despite the external adverse, even antagonistic circumstances. Democracy entails the freedom to enlarge our perspective on life and embark on new journeys to venture with things out of our comfort zone; generally speaking,
In a more explicit context, our article’s protagonists, genuine adventure-seekers, applied the fundamental liberty of freedom of movement to living and thriving on an unusual piece of land. Let’s inspect how they’re doing!
Living in a tiny house
Do you wish to live in a three master bedroom extravaganza with a golf course and an ocean view? No, thank you! I will choose my own mini home instead! A tiny house you can custom build, and its construction is indeed budget-friendly! One of the most inexpensive tiny houses at approximately 200-square-foot and total utility costs between $25,000 and $35,000. Consequently, you don’t necessarily have to apply for a mortgage!
Build windows so every room can receive natural sunlight! We also advise you to install a mini-split system for heating and cooling. Electricity won’t be an issue since it is hard-wired, meaning that an electrician can connect electrical cables into your household wiring. The best houses are equipped with several other commodities, such as an outer storage box to save you precious space.
Another advantage is an in-built outdoor outlet providing you with the option to plugin external lights. Let’s peek inside, shall we? In a two-story small house, you can save on space with pull-out sofas to pack your stuff. Moreover, you can reduce your energy consumption with a small wood stove by powering it with a solar battery.
And now comes the mind-blowing feature! You can connect your house to a Recreational Vehicle via an RV hook-up. Therefore, it turns into a fully mobile mini home! Nonetheless, we have to separate tiny homes on wheels or trailers from those built on a foundation. The first type is registered as an RV, while the second is legally labeled as “accessory dwelling units” or ADUs. Oregon, Colorado, and Tennessee excel as top tiny home builders, and here you can find the most of them too. Owning a mini home has therefore turned into a trendy alternative to alternate housing.
Besides the electricity, fuel, water, and waste bills being significantly lower, it gives you the pleasure of living off the grid!
Are only cowboys allowed to ranches?
The answer is an absolute no! Life on a ranch delivers on the promise of escaping the sometimes intoxicating modern life in crowded metropolitan areas, and it pays big time! If you’re an enthusiastic fan of Thoreau’s Life at Walden Pond or you always meant to explore what Rousseau’s “back to nature” rallying cry implied, search no more! Every once in a while, everybody dreams of getting back to basics.
There is no internet, no constant messaging, and other futile distractions! You will have to learn how to handle animals, raise stock, and cultivate plants. For this, you will have to rely on your resourcefulness and diligence!
Learn universal truths doing ‘simple’ things, such as feeding the animals early in the morning, cleansing weeds from dirt, and actively participating in the composted cow manure preparation! Eat and drink healthily with fresh dairy and vegetables you pick from the bio garden you tend to every day! Animals will offer you true companionship and soon become your besties.
Are you fed up with smog, smoke, and pollution blocking your view at sunrise? Here, you will have an unadulterated spectacular front-row seat to behold at the changing seasons with brighter colors and more articulate changes in temperature! All these natural elements create the perfect environment for self-sufficiency to grow what and how much you need. In other words, you can reach out for absolute freedom here!
In a nutshell, living on a ranch will recharge your batteries and show you the way to self-discovery! If you wish to work on a farm, try your luck in Nebraska, Kentucky, South Dakota, and Iowa featuring the best ranch hand jobs! If all these advantages triggered your imagination, you can also choose to live in Lakewood Ranch, FL!
Discover gated communities in the US!
Unlike our previous instances, a gated settlement will sacrifice absolute free movement for its residence well-being, safety, and protection. At certain junctures in life, priorities shift. Once you settled, married with children, you might find the idea of living in a gated community appealing. For their heightened security implemented, people choose “walled communities” over regular ones.
We explicitly refer here to “a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. ” (source: Wikipedia)
There are some fantastic perks to becoming a “gated local.” The principle of exclusivity grants entrance to only a selected few. Due to this, foreigners, such as solicitors, will come seldom knocking on your door. Although gates and fences were introduced as tangible means to stop crime, attempts to obliterate felonies seem to be mission: impossible.
Walled communities provide certain benefits; however, comfort comes at a price. Automated gates are expensive but so are hiring guards too. Moreover, you can forget about purchasing a budget-friendly property here. The truth is that homes were built at higher quality standards using better construction materials. Additionally, residents organized traffic in an exemplary manner. Families can step outside to quieter streets, not fearing any accidents.
Exclusivity indulges in uniformity. Fancy living in a gated community? Once you decide to join such a neighborhood, you will have to adapt to strict home design regulations. The Home Owner Association is watching you! For artistic freedom of expression, you’d better visit New York or San Francisco. Try the best gated communities in California at Emerald Bay, Laguna Beach, and Beverly Park in Los Angeles! Additionally, Star Island in Miami Beach, FL, and Conyers Farm in Greenwich, Connecticut, also represent the most famous walled community locations.
Conclusion
As you can see, these surroundings grant you various possibilities and “elbow-room.” Tiny houses endowed with the mobility feature can take you anyplace, and you’ll still feel at home. Secondly, you can grow your food on ranches while returning to our technology-free roots. On the other hand, a gated community focuses on security by all means. However, protection comes at the expense of exclusivity and restriction in movement.
If you are particularly fascinated by living and thriving in one of these particularly unique environments, get in contact with a top real estate agent to check your options!
Angela Spearman is a journalist at EzineMark who enjoys writing about the latest trending technology and business news.