As someone who lives near Santa Cruz and works in Silicon Valley who wants to own a home but is priced out of the market, I looked into the idea of buying some

As someone who lives near Santa Cruz and works in Silicon Valley who wants to own a home but is priced out of the market, I looked into the idea of buying some land in either the Santa Cruz Mountains or the Monterey Bay Area and building a tiny house as an alternative to paying apartment rent. The major challenge is zoning laws (more specifically, minimum square footage requirements) that prohibit people from living either in tiny homes on foundations or mobile homes (which I’ll define as homes on wheels). While there are some municipalities in California that allow tiny homes, they usually only allow them in the context of ADUs. Even some of the more far-flung rural counties I’ve looked into prohibit tiny homes. I've since given up on the idea and resigned myself to the fact that I will need to relocate if I want to own a home.