So you want to live in a yurt?

When my husband and I first moved into our big blue, 30 foot yurt, we felt such a sense of peace and accomplishment. There were several reasons for that sigh of relief. It was and is our first home that we actually own, which means we can paint the walls any color that we want or have an indoor dog (or two) without needing someone else’s stamp of approval. Yay!

It was also a huge weight off, since our goal had been to be inside our new home by fall and instead it was creeping into mid-winter. Mid-MOUNTAIN-winter. Brrr.

But most of all, we felt euphoric because we truly loved (and love) our new round, tent-like home. If you’ve never been inside a yurt, it’s hard to capture the feeling in words, photos or even video. The dramatic open floor plan, combined with ridiculously tall ceilings topped off with a central plexiglass dome (like a sunroof for your home), is breathtaking.

While we’ve had quite a long list of naysayers both before building our yurt, and after, in addition to nose wrinklers at the sheer “oddness” of it…we have yet to find someone who didn’t step foot inside our home and say, “Wow, this is COOL!”

But, before we go any further, are you familiar with a structure known as a “yurt”? Some people aren’t, so here’s a quick definition – “a circular tent of felt or skins on a collapsible framework, used by nomads in Mongolia, Siberia, and Turkey.”

Those were the original yurts, of course, so they’ve come a long way in terms of modern conveniences, like specially treated canvas walls and the aforementioned fiberglass domes (which opens, by the way).

Now that we have THAT clarified, here are a few potential negatives about yurt living.

1. They don’t block noise from the outside world, which means they aren’t the best choice for urban living.

2. The open floor plan of a yurt is one of the biggest selling points, so if you like lots of rooms and closets, it’s not for you.

3. While not a “tiny house” per se, in general the largest yurts still max out at 720 sq ft, so space is a commodity.

4. Our yurt is great in the winter, but can get a bit warm in the summer (but we are FULLY exposed to the mountain sun).

5. You will get lots of raised eyebrows when you tell someone you live in a yurt, but people typically embrace it.

Our yurt, all told with permits, the yurt itself, raised deck, appliances, etc etc, cost us in the mid-$50K range. Which as far as I’m concerned is pretty darn good! Even some conservative country boys that randomly stopped by to see “that there tent thing” agreed they’d far prefer a yurt to a double wide.

Now, that my friends, is a compliment you can take to the bank!

Living in the round has been an amazing adventure for us, and we highly recommend yurt dwelling for adventurous and creative people. They are full of possibility, quick to raise, relatively cheap to build and have a sense of fun that a square home never will.

Life in a yurt has given us the chance to live on 22 acres, surrounded by nature and plenty of farm animals, and for that, I will always be an enthusiastic endorser of all things round.

If you’re looking for a home solution that is unique, relatively inexpensive and very durable, definitely consider a yurt. And if you want to know more about our experience building a yurt, our ebook “So, You Want to Live in a Yurt?” is included in the awesome Survival ebook bundle!

BIO:

Erin and her husband, Mike, left their stressful urban lives two years ago to live in a big blue yurt on 22 rolling acres in rural Southwest Virginia. A rag tag mix of farm animals keeps them company, from oinking pigs to honking geese. They’re slowly using sustainable methods and animal power to rehabilitate their land…one acre at a time. Follow their adventures on the Blue Yurt Farms blog or Facebook page.

Erin, Blue Yurt Farms

SOCIAL MEDIA:

http://blueyurtfarms.com/

http://www.amazon.com/You-Want-Live-Yurt-ebook/dp/B009AE7HBW