The Ultimate In Simplicity: Yurt Living.
Posted: June 5th, 2009 | 41 Comments »Every time I start to think about the kind of house I would like to own one day, the idea of living in a yurt keeps coming up. I can picture myself in a 20 or 30 ft diameter yurt sitting up on a raised deck, somewhere in Colorado or New Mexico, surrounded by beautiful views and possibly a river. After many years of cutting back and rearranging my thinking, I have very minimal needs for my life – basically give me a roof over my head and food on the table, a reliable vehicle, an internet connection, a cell phone, my books, and maybe a few channels on the TV, and I would be a pretty happy camper. I don’t collect anything, hoard “stuff”, or have much need for things that don’t serve a purpose, so my storage needs are minimal at best. I imagine it looking something like this, from the Colorado Yurt Company’s website:
Wouldn’t that just be pretty cool? Nice and quiet, pitch black at night, and incredibly simple to both live in and also to maintain. I stayed in a yurt up near Big Sur, CA for a week and had an amazing time. Even though it was cold & wet outside, it was nice and toasty inside – and very home-y to boot. I just felt at ease while staying in the yurt.
Living in a yurt would certainly require you to minimize clutter and maximize organization, two things that I am getting very good at. It wouldn’t be like living in a tent, as you could have windows, heat, plumbing, snow and wind-load tops and sides, and you put them almost anywhere. Never mind the price – a fully-loaded 30 foot diameter yurt (which is huge, lest you think it isn’t – it’s giant inside), configured as I would want it for this area, would only run me a little under $16,000. Trying getting what amounts to a 900 square foot house for that much!
Find some land, drill a well, set up a few solar panels and boom – a very nice house for not too much money at all. Ditch most of the stuff I still am holding on to for some reason, pack up the cat and the computer, and move into a yurt near the mountains and a river. Sounds lovely and so very much like the simple and slow life I am after for myself…all things considered, who wouldn’t want to live like this:
Hmmm…time to make a dream a reality? Have you ever wanted to live in a yurt? Do you already? I would love to hear from you about it!
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I share your dream David…but with moving to the desert later this summer, I’m thinking haybale or mud brick of some sort will end up making more sense in the longrun. Same criteria other then that!
if only i could convince my husband that a yurt is the way to go! well, that and being able to find land out here that we can afford .. someday, i hope!
Great post! I don’t know what a yurt stands for – is it an acronym? But I do like the idea. Living here in Thailand we have the Thai version of a yurt. Ultra-simplistic living with only the bare necessities. Well, plus all the computer stuff I need to run my online businesses. Our small place costs us 3,000 baht per month (about $105). Water? Free. Electric? Free. Government is paying both for all Thais right now for some reason. Food is cheap. Everything is cheap here really.
Still – not cheap enough for me. At some point in the future I want to make a yurt-like structure on top of a concrete platform – like the wooden platform you have in the picture there. I like the round wall idea and Haven’t seen that in Thailand yet. Someone can figure out the plan I’m sure.
Probably can have it built for about $9000 USD.
Now that’s cheap living! Oh – for our monthly expenses we’re looking at total anywhere from $400 to $1000 for two people (another on the way in October (baby)).
I wrote some articles about living on less – at my blog. Don’t know what your policy is on sharing links as this is my first time posting. If you encourage me to I’ll post a link here.
Great article and site. I’m reading more since I found you through Leo’s zenhabits link.
Winds blow too much and too hard here on the coast for that – altho there are some in the state parks that can be rented. Would suggest someone try the park rental before purchase
And good luck with the zoning regulations – here they just don’t accept anything out of the ordinary.
Marci – they are not considered permanent structures, so most of the time zoning laws don’t apply. Also, people live in them in Artic places (and where they orginated, Mongolia) with winds over 100 MPH. So unless a hurricane came through, they actually hold up better than many houses because there are no corners.
Go for it, David! I think this is great. I also love Tiny Houses, but I think this might be even better. Cheaper, too.
I’m very impressed. They are so light filled, and you can still have decent enough space to have all the modern necessities – kitchen, bath, laundry. I never knew that about yurts. If they aren’t considered permanent structures than you probably would save a ton on property taxes, too, which would be great.
Cool on the wind capabilities – last winter tho we had 125 mph winds thru here once, and several times over 90 which is well over hurricane strength.
If it’s not considered permanent, will they allow you to live in it full time then? I just know they are not ‘allowed’ where I live. Bummer
I think they could be the answer to many housing cost problems if they were to be allowed!
I think they are tres cool!
I remember watching on TV this lady who moved into a yurt for a year in AZ. Just her and her dog. I know she said the coyotes were scary at first or the fact that you could hear every little sound. Never did follow up though to see how it turned out.
I could see the same… somewhere like Colorado or Oregon summers in the middle of freakin nowhere. As a Vacation home.
Love your post and your angle on life! Thanks for the link.
Hi all, we live in a pair of 30 foot yurts. Myself, my wife, and our four children love where we are in life. We live in Ontario, Canada and know what winter and wind are all about…
These responses have REALLY opened my eyes up to the possibilities of yurts! Wow! It’s not just for camping anymore
Really Jason? Would you care to share your experience and some pics in a guest post? I am sure everyone, including myself, would love to hear more about it!
Great Post. I am sold! You have captured my dream house and lifestyle. Thank you for the encouragement.
Kirk
Here is a link to some info about us,and I am in the process of putting up more pics of interest..
Thanks Jason, please do let us know when you have info/pics of the yurt situation up on the site!
Hey there,
many thanks for your awesome post and thanks for sharing the picture of our yurt near Telluride, CO. Never thought dreaming big could mean something so small. You guys are right, moving into a yurt makes things simple- lets us see how to situate our lives in terms of the detritus versus nature and landscape. More pics and ideas can be found at http://www.coloradoyurt.com
thanks again,
sam (the colorado yurt internet guy)
My husband and I have been considering yurts for a few years now. Because of bi-laws and other issues, We needed to find a “non permanent” dwelling to put on our land. We purchased, gutted and renovated a mobile home, about 800 sq ft, but require a bit more room for our growing family. So my question is … can I attach a large yurt to our home? and is it really “winterized”. We live in Ontario, very close to nowhere!
Any info appreciated
Thanks Sarah
Sarah – You might want to check with a company like http://www.coloradoyurt.com/, as they might be able to give you those kind of answers. Good luck!
Sarah,
If you check our website at http://www.ttrsracing.com/yurt.htm
you will see that we are attaching a 30′ yurt to our mobile home. Eventually, we hope to remove the mobile and live in the yurt and the 16′ x 12′ addition. Our planning and zoning department in our county was very agreeable, after we supplied them with engineered plans that met code. We hope to be completely finished by June, 2010.
Hey there!
Either you´ll be happy enough with tent living to remain that way or you´ll move on to something else but with a fantastic experience in the luggage.
Moving into a yurt with my two kids is without a doubt one of the best choices I´ve made in life and I could probably go on for hours a bout it, but I´m not. I just want to say do it! The internet is a fantastic pool of inspirational ether but it´s also so very easy to get stuck there with all these fantastic pictures, stories, catalogues and discussion forums. So, get it done!
Big hug!
Petter,
who´s about to stack the firewood to keep us warm through the Swedish winter
Thanks for the info Petter – if you ever want to write a guest post talking about what you did, would be thrilled to run it!
Hello Again, I would Love to share some of our experaiance with living in our Yurt. We have two 30 foot yurts connected with a 20 foot hallway.We heat primarily with wood, with Propane backup for when we are not here. We have 1200 watts of solar and 1000 watts of wind. We utilize a grey water system and composting toilet. My wife has a large garden and the four kids all have there own green projects. I am not sure how to post pics here so if someone could give me a tip I would love to put some up.
Thanks Jason! Unfortunately, you cannot publish pictures with comments, but thanks for sharing more about your setup!
Hi again..if you are on facebook do a search of gypsy house and you should find our Yurt pictures
WOW!!!! Thanks for pics Jason!!! What area of Ontario are you in? (We live about an hour west of Ottawa) And the ice storm we got last week is making me a little nervous ;(
Thanks
Sarah
We are approx 3/4 hr North of Kingston, We have had no issues with snow or ice yet. but one never knows. honestly, I have walked around on our roof and unless its 4 inch hail I am not worried.
Hey there,
wanted to give you a shout out for a nice post. Thanks for using our pics and linking to our site! There was a pretty cool article about a yurt family in the NYTimes recently… a very cool life but I’m with you, I think yurt living should be an adventure and cozy. Check out the nytimes article and my response here:
http://coloradoyurt.blogspot.com/2010/01/response-to-nytimes-broadband-yes.html
best,
Sam
Cool, thanks for sharing!
My buddies sister in-law lives in one full time in Taos New Mexico. From what I understand she has a really nice set up, I’m hoping to visit this spring/summer. That’s the cool thing about places like Taos who allow people to live the way they want. I live in a log cabin on the east coast, and have a camp in the Adirondacks which is just a slapped together framed 800sq building with a porch. I’m thinking about throwing one of these in Colorado or NM as another vacation spot, and to learn more about solar power. I think these things are perfect for the way I like to live! It would be nice to walk through life without leaving a footprint.
For the past 10 months my husband, myself 2 cats and 2 dogs live in a series of 3 yurts in North of England. When we made a decision to yurt-live we decided on 3 yurts – one 18ft for the living room/kitchen; and two 14ft for a bathroom and bedroom. Initially the question was how to connect them. For several months we played with ideas, cutting up bits of to-scale cardboard and looking at different corridors/porches to join the 3 structures. Husband woke up one day after a Eureka moment and the decision was made to connect them with a specially designed octogan and that is what we have. We have two toilets, one DIY composting toilet for solids and one for liquids which is rinsed by the waste water from the bathroom sink. We also have a sunken bath. My big requirements were that we were warm and dry and the past 10 months have proved our yurt living to be just that. In fact, the multi fuel burner we had specially made from recycled calor gas bottles is fantastic. We have just come through the most severe cold and snow for many years and yet the heat is sometimes painfully hot as I use the stove for cook The whole experience has been amazing. One recent and welcome feature has been getting wireless internet. Would love to share some pics but dont have or want facebook.
Maggie – If you would like to write an article about your yurt and living in it, and send along some pics, would be happy to run it here on the site. Just let me know!
Will try to get round to it David and thanks for your interest. When I posted yesterday my comments went into cyberspace before I finished! I was going to add that although the whole project cost a lot more than we planned in financial and physical terms, we dont regret it one bit. Its a mega place to live.
Where in California and Oregon can one live in a yurt Full-time on you own Land??
I have not had any luck?
Y’all should check out gear pockets. They are used by some back country yurt excursion outfitters to hang clothing while in the yurts. They are great, simple vertical storage that can be taken with you. I hope to live in a yurt full time before long!
HI, My partner and I live in New Zealand and are planning on moving into a yurt at the end of this year, we are in the process of getting land and will then build a deck for it. There are a couple of companies here in New Zealand that make yurts that suit our environment.
http://www.jaiatipis.com/yurts.html
I can’t wait to live somewhere so cosy and round. I was excited to read your post.
Hi I am looking to purchase land and build a yurt, anyone know if its possible in CA, Contra Costa County? pls email me with any ideas, i also plan on installing solar panels.
Mendocino county and napa county both allow yurts as permanent living structures. In CA.
Also, might anyone be able to tell me how much the platform costs to build (the platform that the yurt sits on)?
I see this post was written over a year ago. Curious to know if you up & Yurted!
Btw, found you here http://wtfshouldidowithmylife.com/?p=83
may be i will live in a yurt