Looking to live differently? Opting to forego a traditional house or apartment for a home the size of a typical American living room would certainly be a change. If that sounds like heaven, consider a tiny house. People are attracted to tiny living for different reasons. Find out what makes these communities flourish. Here are six flourishing tiny house communities throughout the U.S.
1. Little River Escape – Cloudland, Georgia.
In the northwestern corner of Georgia, this gated community on Lookout Mountain is made up entirely of tiny houses. The property was founded by Ed Watters, who first learned about tiny houses in 2011 after having recently developed a retirement community in nearby Rome, Georgia, and was exploring more downsizing options for people as they retire.
2. Airstream Park – Las Vegas, Nevada.
Downtown Las Vegas has possibly the most famous tiny house community in the U.S. Created by Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh, the community is the permanent home to Airstream trailers, tiny houses and a few alpacas. Hsieh transformed a parking lot he owned into the existing community as part of his efforts to revitalize the city’s downtown.
3. WeeCasa – Lyons, Colorado.
WeeCasa is a tiny home resort for people looking to experience the lifestyle for a short period and also enjoy the local area at the edge of the Rocky Mountains. While WeeCasa owns many of the tiny houses on the property, others are contracted to WeeCasa to be rented out to guests. The resort is particularly busy with wedding parties during the summer months, but it also serves to provide a glimpse into tiny living.
4. Tiny Homes Detroit – Detroit.
Created and operated by local charity organization Cass Community Social Services, Tiny Homes Detroit is a permanent tiny house community aimed at using the small size and cost of tiny homes to help resolve low-income housing needs. Those who occupy these tiny houses, funded through charitable donations, are formerly homeless, senior citizens or even low-income college students.
5. Canoe Bay Escape Village – Near Chetek, Wisconsin.
Canoe Bay started out as a community of brick-and-mortar buildings on more than 300 acres on a lake in northwestern Wisconsin and has since expanded to include a community of tiny houses used as second homes, vacation rentals and short-term stays. Most people who own a tiny house at Canoe Bay come on weekends or stick to seasonal visits, especially snowbirds who live in southern U.S. during the winter.
6. Tiny Tranquility – Waldport, Oregon.
Tiny Tranquility launched in 2018 to offer nightly stays in the property’s tiny houses, along with spaces for rent to park existing tiny houses and hook them up to available utilities. Like many tiny house communities, much of the focus at Tiny Tranquility is on easy access to outdoor attractions, including a dog park, picnic and fire pit area, greenhouse and hiking trails.