We're doing it! That's what I keep finding myself saying when I think about the changes that are coming for our family. I am leaving my job, leaving San Francisco, and moving to a remote island in New Zealand where we plan to build a tiny house where my husband Isaac grew up. This has been a dream Isaac and I have had since we met. While falling in love (in a camper van driving around the South Island of New Zealand!) we talked about adventures we wanted to have, and how we wanted to live minimally, frugally, and near nature. We are no strangers to living small – we spent the first two years of our relationship living in a 200-square-foot cottage in San Francisco, and then when kids entered the picture we moved to an 800-square-foot apartment that we have adapted to make work for us (and that we love!). But now that there are two little nuggets are in our life, I've felt an urgency to be closer to nature and to spend more time with our kids. Nothing makes you realize the passage of time like watching a little baby grow into a toddler, and I don't want to be on my deathbed wishing I'd spent less time on a computer and more time teaching my kid how to swim or build treehouses. Living small and investing well has put us in a unique position where we can afford not to work for a while, provided we live by our values of frugality and minimalism. And, if we do so in New Zealand where health care is provided, public schools are good, and the cost of living is a fraction of the Bay Area, we can do so for even longer.
Part of the move for me is about reconnecting with something I have always loved – writing. Well, that and tiny houses. :) This blog is the passion project I'm undertaking to nurture those loves and geek out publicly on the nitty gritty of our tiny house project. I know my audience is likely to be friends and family, and I'm not concerned with how many people are reading this. For those who do, I hope this gives you a window into our life so we can stay connected. Thanks for being here. Now, let's go!