4 ms·

This is fine in a warm country, or in a place where you're going to be in or out of your house all the time. Living in a cold and/or isolated place, being coope

This is fine in a warm country, or in a place where you're going to be in or out of your house all the time. Living in a cold and/or isolated place, being cooped up in such a small area would be unhealthy, you need to move around much more as a matter of course. Particularly if you're working at home, you'd have to be very proactive to avoid serious impacts on your health, because your lifestyle would be almost inherently sedentary. Exercise is not just doing a certain amount of cardio each week, you have to have movement interspersed throughout the day. I reckon you could have various different 'pods', though, rather than a standard house. A small space like this, then an isolated office room five minutes walk away, perhaps a cafe/communal eating area somewhere else ,and so on.

protomyth 13y ago
Whoever's down voting Brakenshire is down voting the truth. There are actual studies that show the point[1]. 1) and since I am 7 hours away from my office, I cannot point them out right now
grannyg00se 13y ago
I like that distributed space idea but if you're not in a warm climate that would be a serious annoyance. Who wants to go out in freezing weather to get to the kitchen? you could get your exercise interspersed throughout the day without leaving the tiny house.
kaib 13y ago
Having been raised in a cold and isolated country (Finland) I think you incorrectly assume that means a lot of time spent indoors. This can be true, but does not have to. I do think you are on to something with the idea of pods, most farmhouses where I come from are arranged in a number of small separate buildings.
- sliverstorm 13y ago
  Sure you went outside plenty, but did you go outside at night? Personally, where I live, when the temperature drops below freezing at night, I stop going outside when it is dark, and as the nights get longer that means at least 14 hours a day indoors.
  - SG- 13y ago
    I go out every night and mostly only at night when it's -20C. I do stay in when it goes below that usually, you just need to get used to it and dress properly. This is just something you need to change yourself and get used to, it won't get any easier if you just ignore the cold.
    - sliverstorm 13y ago
      The problem isn't being cold; I have good clothing and don't mind 40F in the slightest. The issue is I haven't really discovered reasons to even be outside- good activities I can safely enjoy among the ice & snow and in the extra-dark of winter
  - orasis 13y ago
    Buy a pair of Icebreaker merino wool leggings, some smart wool socks, and a good fleece layer. If you're cold at 32 degrees F, then you are having a clothing fail.
snogglethorpe 13y ago
But in many places that have a "small dwelling" culture, what happens is exactly as you might expect: people do not just sit in their single chair 24 hours a day, rather they start spending more time in public, and relatively less time at home. As small dwellings are often correlated with population density, this works pretty naturally, with smaller dwellings being in exactly those areas with a greater number of amenities catering to people living in them. Indeed, in such case, you're probably a lot better off than "home dwellers" as far as exercise is concerned, as walking around to go to the cafe to read, etc, uses a lot more energy than just walking around your house... In a way, what happens is that your dwelling expands to include your neighborhood as well (with the actual dwelling remaining as more just a place to sleep). [Certainly this sort of thing is a little easier in a warm climate, but it clearly works fine in many other climates too. A little snow doesn't stop people.]
tim333 13y ago
Dunno. I spent 2 months living in a 6ft x 8ft tent while trying to climb Everest. I got plenty of fresh air and exercise - sometimes a little too much. I actually found it quite pleasant although I was reduced to reading paper books - internet access was tricky.

protomyth 13y ago

Whoever's down voting Brakenshire is down voting the truth. There are actual studies that show the point[1]. 1) and since I am 7 hours away from my office, I cannot point them out right now

grannyg00se 13y ago

I like that distributed space idea but if you're not in a warm climate that would be a serious annoyance. Who wants to go out in freezing weather to get to the kitchen? you could get your exercise interspersed throughout the day without leaving the tiny house.

kaib 13y ago

Having been raised in a cold and isolated country (Finland) I think you incorrectly assume that means a lot of time spent indoors. This can be true, but does not have to. I do think you are on to something with the idea of pods, most farmhouses where I come from are arranged in a number of small separate buildings.

sliverstorm 13y ago
Sure you went outside plenty, but did you go outside at night? Personally, where I live, when the temperature drops below freezing at night, I stop going outside when it is dark, and as the nights get longer that means at least 14 hours a day indoors.
- SG- 13y ago
  I go out every night and mostly only at night when it's -20C. I do stay in when it goes below that usually, you just need to get used to it and dress properly. This is just something you need to change yourself and get used to, it won't get any easier if you just ignore the cold.
  - sliverstorm 13y ago
    The problem isn't being cold; I have good clothing and don't mind 40F in the slightest. The issue is I haven't really discovered reasons to even be outside- good activities I can safely enjoy among the ice & snow and in the extra-dark of winter
- orasis 13y ago
  Buy a pair of Icebreaker merino wool leggings, some smart wool socks, and a good fleece layer. If you're cold at 32 degrees F, then you are having a clothing fail.

snogglethorpe 13y ago

But in many places that have a "small dwelling" culture, what happens is exactly as you might expect: people do not just sit in their single chair 24 hours a day, rather they start spending more time in public, and relatively less time at home. As small dwellings are often correlated with population density, this works pretty naturally, with smaller dwellings being in exactly those areas with a greater number of amenities catering to people living in them. Indeed, in such case, you're probably a lot better off than "home dwellers" as far as exercise is concerned, as walking around to go to the cafe to read, etc, uses a lot more energy than just walking around your house... In a way, what happens is that your dwelling expands to include your neighborhood as well (with the actual dwelling remaining as more just a place to sleep). [Certainly this sort of thing is a little easier in a warm climate, but it clearly works fine in many other climates too. A little snow doesn't stop people.]

tim333 13y ago

Dunno. I spent 2 months living in a 6ft x 8ft tent while trying to climb Everest. I got plenty of fresh air and exercise - sometimes a little too much. I actually found it quite pleasant although I was reduced to reading paper books - internet access was tricky.