Tiny House Ice Breaker

"So, where do you live?", asked a person at a party.

"Out by the airport in a tiny house", I said.

What I think they heard was "Blah blah blah blah blah blah tiny house." That's when the judgment kicks in. From an obligatory bit of small talk, the conversation now hits a nexus from which many possibilities branch. Simply saying "tiny house" triggers responses that are sometimes suppressed, sometimes expressed, that are sometimes jeers and cheers, entertainment for the price of responding with two tiny words. A deal!

Admit it, conversations frequently need initiations. Let's get this talking started; otherwise, we'll be standing here embarrassed. To me, tiny houses are interesting. I think they're interesting enough that I bought one, live in it full time, and write about them. Others can respond as if they are banner carriers for The Next Big Thing, a panacea for many of society's problems. Others have responded as if they are One Of Society's Problems. One can romanticize the lifestyle. The other can imagine a tiny house as a notch below a run-down mobile home. To me, mine is a house that is tiny-ish. 

Live in a tiny house and tell people about it, and be prepared for those discussions and judgments. Scorn and aversion curtail many conversations. Such a life just is not 'normal'. (And don't try to pin down a consensus definition of 'normal'.) "How can you live in something that small?" That's a fascinating question from someone who hasn't seen or been in a tiny house. Maybe they get images of life in a large broom closet. Even in these turbulent times, some judgments are harsh enough to instantly create a desire for a new topic or a new person to talk to. 

Live in a tiny house and tell people about it and be prepared to be peppered with enthusiastic questions, which create conversations, or enthusiastic anecdotes that require no more than head nods in response. A few friends have built such custom and romantic tinies. Mine was factory-built, kind of like buying a car off the dealer's lot, though mine was used and already in place. For me, it is almost just right, a good practical solution to a basic human need. It isn't squalor. It isn't an art piece. It is 391 square feet for serviceable and comfortable living space. Without a mortgage! 

Like the title claimed, tiny houses are ice breakers - and sometimes icebergs that sink conversations, but make the owner more memorable.

Conversations can be built from a near-infinity of topics. Sports are safe. Politics is volatile. Weather had been a good haven, until the climate changed. Religion? Not touching it, unless it skews more to philosophy. Tiny houses aren't issue-free, but they are safer than many.

I wouldn't buy a tiny house simply as an ice breaker. I'm sure it happens. For many people, a tiny house is cheaper than a new car. They have the money to try one out by buying one. Fine. 

A few friends custom-designed and constructed tiny houses that were gorgeous and functional art. One needed it as a house. One needed it as a recovery escape. Both were impressive.

I simply needed a simple place to live simply. Starting a conversation didn't require me to buy something worth talking about. But it does happen.

I mention this, not as an encouragement to potential owners, but as a side benefit to new tiny house residents. My neighborhood outside Seattle has enough tiny houses that they are becoming common. Finding the land for them is a bigger topic. Conversations about comparisons are the likely outcome. Cool. Fine. 

Locals here are more likely to have experienced opinions, not some packaged message delivered by the media. Reality is refreshing. Some tinies are for basic survival. Food is more important than a party. Many are like mine, basically semi-mini-manufactured homes, 400 square-foot 'tinies.' And there will always be the artistic expressions, which might house creative lifestyles. 

There isn't one answer. There are many types of tinies. That's why a conversation of comparisons can be engaging and useful. Humans have built variations on tiny houses for thousands of years. Today's may be more artistic, or mass-produced, and definitely worth talking about. Go ahead, break that ice. Someone might learn something.