5 Creative Alternative Housing Options

There was a time when most homes were built similarly with one goal in mind: living in comfort. As the population continues to boom and many natural resources become increasingly scarce, it's become crucial to find alternative housing options. With a larger population and fewer resources, we need to find ways to house everybody without taking up too much space or unnecessarily wasting resources, and there are lots of great ideas out there. Check out these five great alternative housing ideas for tips on living your best life without following the norm or negatively impacting the environment.

1. Tiny Houses

If you've never seen a tiny house before, you're missing out. These miniature houses are designed to give you everything you need for basic living and nothing more—and they're small enough that you can put them nearly anywhere. You can find plans to build a tiny house online or you can pay somebody to build one to your specs. The best part is, you don't need a lot of land for your tiny house so you can put it pretty much anywhere.

2. Mobile Living

To some people, there's nothing better than the idea of being able to pack up and go anywhere at any time, and that's exactly what you get with an RV. Living in an RV is a great way to save a little bit of money on housing and give yourself an easy way to travel. Since you don't have to worry about taking care of your home while you're away, you can take your RV pretty much anywhere without having to spend too much money. In fact, as long as you can pay for gas, food and a place to park your RV, you're good to go.

3. Steel Buildings

Most people think wood when they think of a traditional home, but getting away from that mentality is an important step in conserving natural resources. Deforestation is a real problem all over, so save some trees with a SteelMaster Buildings Quonset hut. These huts are designed to last for years regardless of weather, so you won't have to spend a ton of money on repairs after every storm. Plus, you can customize your Quonset hut in any way you'd like, so there's truly no limit to its capabilities.

4. Shipping Containers

One of the best ways to find a good home for yourself without impacting the environment is to use recycled materials to build your home. Shipping container homes are becoming increasingly popular because of the insane durability and potential for customization that the containers have. Whether you want to use multiple containers to create a larger home or use one customized container as your living quarters, shipping containers are great. Plus, you can find customizable pre-built containers online.

5. Outbuildings

If you have land but you don't have a home built yet—or if you want to add a pseudo guest house to your property—outbuildings are a great solution. You can find pre-fab outbuildingsin just about any style you can imagine, including some really nice cabin and barn styles. Add some modern amenities and spruce the building up with some paint and you've got a nice little temporary home or a place for your guests to stay when they visit.

While simply purchasing a nice home for a decent chunk of change is the easiest route, it's not the best way to go if you're looking to save money or find a unique house. Alternative housing isn't just a good way to reduce your impact on the environment, it's a good way to get great housing for less—and who doesn't love saving money?

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