We’ve all seen them, the absurdly small and ridiculously adorable mobile tiny homes that are becoming popularized across America. And while this style of living may seem unrealistic, there are many benefits to living in a tiny home; there are also many drawbacks. So, before you decide to write off or dive into the tiny home lifestyle, here are some pros and cons to consider. 

The international residential code defines a tiny home as a house between 100-400 square feet, which means 144 average sized tiny homes would fit into one football field. This lack of space can be seen as both a pro and a con. 

The benefit to have a small living area is that is forces people to downsize their over-complicated lives. Getting rid of everything but the bare essentials is said to greatly simplify one’s life and relieve large amounts of stress. However, this does require people to get rid of many of their belongings (even clothes). 

Another benefit to this is that the house takes almost no time to clean. Many people with tiny homes say their house takes as little as thirty minutes to clean; however, because the space is so small, it gets messy more easily and has to be cleaned more often. 

Something else to consider is the mobility of a tiny home. If you love to travel, a tiny home would be perfect for you because you can simply pick up and move your entire home to different camp sites all over the country. 

But one con to this mobility is that not all campgrounds/RV parks accept tiny homes, and it might be challenging to find a place to park your new home. 

In addition to providing a more simplified and mobile life, tiny homes are also a lot more energy efficient. With such a small space to heat or cool, many tiny homes only need one air conditioning window unit and a furnace that needs very little energy. 

The last and possibly most appealing benefit of a tiny home is that it is significantly less expensive than a traditional home. While the initial cost of a tiny home may seem surprisingly steep, ranging anywhere from $8,000 to $180,000 (the average cost being around $30,000-$40,000), the reduced cost of amenities and maintenance will save you a lot of money in the long run.