Off topic for this blog but I spend a lot of time thinking about this. 5 years from now I wanna live in a 10X20 shed with a lil porch big enough for a camp chair and electricity from a couple nice solar panels in the back connected to a 1,200 watt-hour battery. There’s a root cellar and slightly spaced floor boards that let me have nice passive air conditioning in the summer and a mini wood stove or space heater that keeps the place nice and toasty in the winter. I would only need to run it part of the time because of the excellent insulation. There’s 200-gallon rain barrel that collects water from my roof and I use a manual pump to pump it to my sink. Berkey filter or lifestraw setup for drinking/cooking water.
I got a lil kitchen in there with a mini fridge and counter and a solar and/or brick oven outside. Indoor composting toilet with an outdoor compost hut. Like 3 chickens tops with an extensive vegetable garden and maybe a timeshare goat (but still easy access to an Aldi). Reliable cable internet or cellular data. A loft large and sturdy enough to hold my current IKEA mattress.
I’d build most of it myself (except the shed shell) and the whole setup would cost about $30,000 (including inflation by the time I actually execute it in 2025). I would work part time as a public health or occupational health RN, which would cover the cost of my land rent, student loans, mortgage, and other necessities. The rest of my work time would be spent volunteering at a free clinic or a series of part-time VISTA positions if they happened to be nearby.
I’m already a huge fan of utilitarian physical activity and healthy spaces. This would not be too much of a stretch. I could do it.