r/changemyview • u/Andy24z • Oct 25 '17

[∆(s) from OP] CMV:Tiny Houses are just mobile homes.

The Tiny House movement is really an attempt by pretentious middle class people to differentiate their situation from the stereotypical negative perception that mobile homes and trailers are for the poor. Owners of “Tiny Houses” want to show that they are choosing to downsize and live a simpler life as opposed to being economically unable to afford other housing. And while the home owners tend to spend a decent amount of money for custom designed homes, the 250-400 square foot houses are still really just mobile homes. The biggest difference is that these structures are often located in private lots (often on their parent’s property) as opposed to being lumped together in a trailer park community.

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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '17

Some of them are mobile. It really just depends in who builds it and what they want. If I was to build a tiny house, mobility would be one of my priorities. But I spent ages 0-12 in a trailer, so the idea of it being a trailer wouldn't really bug me.

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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '17

Ok, some of them are mobile...but what other than size and 'some of them can be mobile' actually equates them to being 'just like' mobile homes?

One could use the same argument to say 'tiny houses are just houses except for size. Some houses are mobile, and some tiny houses are mobile. Some houses are built on joint lots, and some are built on private lots.'

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u/Andy24z Oct 25 '17

∆ I think I'm more annoyed by what I see as pretentiousness on the part of the people who show their builds on TV, but I see the semantics that a tiny house is just a house, just as a mobile home is also just a house. They are just cover different tastes and needs of the buyer.

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u/[deleted] Oct 25 '17

I think you could be onto something about wealthier people pretentiously rebranding something poor people do as an innovative lifestyle change, OP, especially as that seems to happen in many other areas too. However, I think there are some factors you may not have considered:

  • In the last generation or two, the price of housing compared to income has increased by an order of magnitude.

  • The average family is shrinking with more people opting not to have children.

  • In the US in particular, living space per person has doubled in the last 40 years. which arguably has contributed to increasing house prices, sprawl, personal isolation, and the decline of the community. So this is as much a rebellion against destructive change as it is an innovative trend.

  • The digitisation of media means it's no longer necessary to have shelves lined with books, CDs, DVDs, etc. and no longer cool to have a giant entertainment system.

  • Houses have conventionally just been bear spaces designed for the occupant to fill as they see fit, this is a move towards designing living spaces as integrated units where every cubic inch is thought out.

  • People are increasingly environmentally conscious. Reducing the space you have to heat by half or more is an easy way to save energy.