Why Yurt Living?

[Wintergreen282]

I suspect there are almost as many "yurt experiences" as there are yurts. Being closer to nature means you are affected more by nature - good and bad. Great house designs and their issues have been tweaked and problem solved for generations.

Yurts have too, but then you add Westerners used to a certain level of constant comfort and ease and the problems start. I'm sure there are folks who bought a yurt, stuffed it with every modern convenience, and it worked out great. But you are putting a lot of money into systems "housed" in a structure not designed to last 50+ years (yes, parts maybe). Or easily support those systems. In my experience, it's easier and more rewarding to just live simply. Enjoy your smaller footprint on the world.

I bought my yurt over 2 years ago from a great guy who did a great job setting it all up. He said, "If I didn't have to put a suit on everyday to go to work, I'd be living there." That said, once while texting, I mentioned cold floors. He immediately texted back elaborate plans for coils around the wood stove pipe, feeding down into the insulated floor. There is no way his plan - esp retrofitted - would work, much less work well. (Good to brainstorm though! Never know what you'll come up with.). I texted back, "Or slippers". I realized my first year in the yurt, I needed several slippers of various warmth levels. The same way I need different coats - from a windbreaker to a heavy down jacket. For maximum comfort, just one coat won't cut it in New England. Same with yurts and slippers.

If you are on-the-grid, radiant heat is perfect for yurts. Of course many on-the-grid areas don't allow yurts. Catch 22.

To me, yurts are about surrendering to "nature time" and using what's available, when it's available: rain, sunshine, cool breezes, a swim in the lake, the natural insulating value of snow. Solar power, the Internet, and cell phones have been a game changer for remote living, still, not the typical American way.

If your life is so busy, you need every second that dishwashers, W/D, garage door openers, hands off central heat and/or AC, and running hot water with a twist of a handle, afford, you are probably better off in a house or apartment. If paying for and dealing with those things annoy you and you truly enjoy filling the woodbox, doing a few dishes by hand, and airing out bedding and clothing in sunshine and fresh air to extend wash day, that's closer to happy yurt life. For all the new age talk of good yurt energy (true), for full time yurt living you need a healthy dose of realism and knowing what truly makes you happy.

You can sometimes simplify your life in place. It's easy because you can try it, but all the systems are in place if/when needed. Hardest part is getting everyone on the same page. (Yes. I was single. Lol)

The year before I moved to the yurt, I turned off the cable, refrig, and water heater (cut electric usage 75%), washed dishes by hand with water heated on the stove, heated by wood, used a composting toilet as worked out by The Humanure Handbook. It all felt great. When I got to the yurt, it wasn't all that different. -- Cindy