Why we chose to live in a yurt

Sometimes I get questions about why we live in a yurt. I wrote a post about living in a yurt before which I have linked to further down in the blog post. In that post, I talked about dimensions, shared floor plans and some of the practical aspects of living in a yurt. 

But as the cost of living is rapidly increasing with the rising interest rates and inflation I wanted to share more deeply about why we made the decision to live simply in alternative housing. I hope by sharing our story that it will help others look at where and how they are living, and if there are things they could consider doing differently during these difficult times. Not necessarily to live in a yurt, because for most people it wouldn't suit nor be even possible. But to perhaps help people see the benefits and potential of living in a smaller, more humble home. I guess I hope to provide some balance to the narrative that bigger is better. 

Our kitchen is small but functional. I do a lot of prep on the kitchen table too. 

Living in a yurt

Firstly living in a yurt is nothing new. People have been living well in yurts for thousands of years. Originally they were primarily used as traditional housing for nomadic people in Central Asia, particularly in Mongolia. If you're interested you can read about the history of yurts HERE.

If you want to see more you can watch this great documentary on YouTube - Life with Mongolian Nomads (Kate Humber Documentry)

Our yurt is a modern yurt, roughly based on a traditional design but using modern building methods and materials. While a modern yurt can be pulled down and moved, it is a big task and still relies on a deck or a round subfloor, whereas a traditional Mongolian yurt/ger can be erected on the ground and packed and unpacked with relative ease. We have lived in our modern yurt for 3.5 years now. I call it a modern yurt due to the materials it is built with. It is not made with wool felt and canvas like traditional Mongolian yurts or gers. Instead, it is made with a heavy-duty coated polyester material and the roof is made from fire-resistant heavy-duty industrial vinyl. It also has a thin layer of man-made insulation. There is some debate in the yurt world about these kinds of modern yurts not being "real" yurts or that man-made materials are inferior. But each to their own. For us our home and its style suits us and the region in which we live quite well.  

The tall roof adds to a feeling of spaciousness. 

Being in the sub-tropics we often have prolonged periods of rain and very high humidity. A traditional yurt made with natural fibres would not be well suited as they would struggle to dry out and would develop mould. Mongolia is a cold, dry region and the natural materials used in traditional yurts is better suited to dry climates where they can breathe easily. 

Choosing a yurt as a home filled the brief we had at the time. We needed a home that came together fast for not a whole heap of money. The yurt was set up in a week and gave our family a comparatively spacious home compared to some of the alternatives we had considered like a bus or large caravan. Once it was up, it was essentially done. We didn't have to insulate, plaster or paint while trying to live in the space, which was essential to me. Moving interstate with a young family was enough to juggle at the time. 

We have adapted our yurt over the years and put in internal walls, a kitchen, a loft, cupboards and shelving. It is no longer a movable building. When we initially built the yurt it was one big open space and we positioned wardrobes and bookshelves to give us privacy. It helped that our children were a lot younger at the time and privacy was less of an issue. The internal space of our yurt has evolved over the years and suits us quite well now. Though we will be adding a large undercover deck with an extra bedroom on it when we can, hopefully starting in a few months.   

We chose a yurt as a home as it was important to us that we lived on our property from the beginning. We couldn't afford to build. If we had chosen to live in a rental property and tried to save a deposit to get a loan to build, we would still be renting now and would have frittered away many thousands of dollars in the process. The average weekly rent for a family home here is $500-$600. That cost over 3.5 years would roughy have accumulated to $90,000 - $100,000 plus bills. Easily double what we have spent living in our own small but comfortable yurt home.  

A yurt isn't a perfect home. It is poorly insulated compared to a traditional home and it is a hot building in summer. But we have many windows we keep open in the summer months and run fans which get us through the worst of it. We can go for a dip in the creek/river to cool off and if it is unbearably hot we do have a small air conditioner that I can position a chair in front of to create a cool little play space on the floor. It isn't big enough to cool the whole yurt but it's enough. However we have to run the generator for it, so we don't use it often. There are many people who believe that living in constant climate-controlled environments is not healthy for our bodies and that experiencing varied seasonal temperatures in our bodies builds hardiness. Perhaps it is not a bad thing, it certainly means we go swimming more in our beautiful rivers and oceans. 

Our wood-burning Aga keeps us warm in winter, as does wearing jumpers and putting extra blankets on our beds. 

Yurts look complicated, are they easy to set up?

In short, yes. We found the Pacific Yurt very easy to assemble and we did it mostly by ourselves over a week. However, the roof covers are very heavy and awkward and require a couple of strong people to help get them on. We found the Pacific Yurt instructions very clear and also their customer service was excellent. I'm confident that if we had any queries or issues during the building process, they would have been more than happy to advise us of a solution.  

If you want to read more details about our yurt, its design and its floor plan you can find an older post I did HERE. 

How many years does a yurt last?

A yurt is essentially a timber-framed building and as such the frame will last as long as any other timber-framed building, as long as the covers of the yurt are in good condition. The frame will need to be kept dry to protect it and observed for signs of borers or termites over the years. You can buy replacement covers if needed, or some people clad them with solid siding once the covers wear out. I have seen many people who have been living in their yurts for 15-20 years and the original covers are still going strong. All homes need some form of maintenance, be it paint, roof repair, gutters fixed etc. Since the yurt is a small and simple design, the maintenance required is minimal. So far we have not done anything nor had any issues with the exterior. Though the outside could do with a gentle scrub with a soapy broom and a good rinse. This a job we will tackle once we have the window covers on for winter.  

The interior lattice does collect a little dust but that's not hard to deal with a handheld broom and a vacuum cleaner once or twice a year. 

Is it legal to live in a yurt?

In most places in Australia, you will not get council approval to live full-time in a yurt. However, you may get approval to have a yurt on your property and live in it a couple of days a week. So if you choose to live in a yurt or a similar kind of alternative dwelling you will likely do so at your own risk. It is important to consider the region you are in and how pedantic your local council is and if there are other people living in unapproved dwellings to see if it is generally accepted. Where we are there are people all through the mountains living in sheds, shacks, caravans and tiny homes hidden out of sight, just as we are. If you are going to live in an unapproved dwelling it is best to get along with your neighbours because the council will often turn a blind eye as long as no formal complaints arise.

Each country and state will have its own rules and regulations which you will need to research for yourself. 

Why would you choose to live in a yurt if the council can force you to move out? 

We choose that risk because we want to live well and maximise the time we have as a family together. We do not want to live our lives with both parents being forced to work just to survive. I understand for many people there is little choice and it is necessary to have two parents working full-time.  We know from our own lives it is very difficult to support a family these days if you're on a low to modest income, many single parents face even more challenges. Many other people love their careers and find their paid work valuable and enjoyable and want to balance that with an equally meaningful home life. 

We are all different and I think that is a very good thing. 

For us living in a yurt minimised debit, which allowed us to afford to have one parent at home. This is a decision we value as a family and will continue to do for as long as it's viable and suits us. We want to live a simple home-based life and to spend as much time as a family together as possible. We don't want to put our kids in childcare/before-school care/after-school care if we can avoid it. Given the distance, our children have to go to school that would not only be very tiring for them but it's expensive too for a family our size. We want to have the time to milk goats, build our farm, garden, cook nourishing meals and be present for our children. To make that possible we make choices that enable us to live as cheaply as we can and minimise debt. 

Here you can see the stairs leading up into the loft. Under the stairs is a big pantry. 

It seems that with each generation the average person is losing essential skills that would have once been considered normal. Many people can't sew on a button or take up a hem. They don't know how to mend, cook, ferment, fix or build things. We have an epidemic of depression, loneliness and isolation. Our children are at risk of being the first generation to live shorter lives than those before it due to the increasing presence of chronic health problems. This detachment from the basic elements of life seems to be the opposite of "progress" in all the areas that truly matter. 

Not so long ago in Australia, an average family could buy a block of land in the country and build a simple, modest home themselves for their family using local materials. Now it seems there are endless boxes to tick, forms to fill out and criteria to meet. I think in many cases the endless red tape to get through has gone way above and beyond what is sensible and logical. Not to mention there is a fee to pay at every turn which is clearly fattening someone's pocket.  When I look at housing developments today I see big homes with multiple living spaces and bathrooms that take up the majority of their small blocks. There is little room left for children to play outside, for dogs to run or to create beautiful, productive gardens. The homes are designed so individuals all have their 'own space' which on one hand can be nice, but in a small home, people are naturally brought together. They learn how to adapt to each other and their needs out of necessity and practice. Generally speaking, the majority of people have lived in small homes throughout the ages, and there is an element of living small that is deeply beneficial to fostering close relationships.  

This is the boys loft, The room is divided in two so they each have their own space and their own set of custom shelving that utilises the height in the ceiling. 

For us living in a yurt is a way we have chosen to live a little outside the system, a way we can claim back some of our independence from debit and financial pressure whilst still having a sweet and cosy home for our family. We can't escape rates and taxes, and we are happy for our dollar bucks to go towards important services that help the collective good. But what we can do is choose to minimise our personal debt in every way possible and live a life that aligns with our values. 

Will we always live in a yurt? I don't know. There are parts of a traditional home that I miss, but then I suspect if I were ever to move back into a traditional home, there would be parts of living in a yurt I would miss also. 

For us during this season of life, it works. 

Much love,

Emma

xx