A couple have vowed to “never live in cities again” after building their own tiny home in regional Australia, despite not having any construction experience whatsoever.
Lizzie Villestas, 42, and David Menhennett, 56, moved from Hong Kong to Australia — where David was born — in 2021. They have now joined the scores of Aussies ditching city life for simple, stress-free living.
The couple are encouraging others to take the plunge and make the move as the ‘Australian dream’ of a multi-bed detached home in the suburbs becomes increasingly unattainable.
“It’s the only way forward for younger generations,” David told Yahoo News.
Determined to leave behind the “high-level stress” city living brings, the married couple made plans to relocate to Tasmania, but ultimately decided on southeast Victoria.
While David has family scattered around the country, including in South Australia, Queensland and Sydney, the couple hoped to set up “as far away from the rest of the world as we can possibly get”.
Three years on and they’ve never looked back.
Speaking to Yahoo News Australia about their big life change, the couple said they’d always dreamt of building their own home, despite lacking the know-how.
The couple tackled the build themselves which cost them $130,000.
David admits they taught themselves through “lots of research” and a crash course at “Youtube university”. In other words, following and watching how-to videos on YouTube.
How much does it cost to build a tiny home?
The total cost to build, including a verandah, rainwater catchment system, and solar power system, was about $130,000.
But this was during the height of Covid when construction costs surged, Lizzie said.
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DIY kits these days can cost as little as $30-$79k for a shell or up to $120k for a professionally built home on wheels, known as a THOW.
The tiny home took 18 months to plan and nine months to build from scratch.
It took the couple nine months to build the tiny house from scratch.
During the build, the couple relied on Lizzie’s part-time wage to get by while David worked full-time on the build.
“That was probably the best nine months of my life,” he said.
Tiny house perfect solution for Lizzie and David
Living tiny has not been “a compromise” for the couple. Coming from Hong Kong, where their home was just 51sqm, the tiny home — at 55sqm — offers more space than they’ll ever need.
“Every square inch of my space has been thoughtfully designed to maximise functionality,” Lizzie said.
And because it’s on wheels, David and Lizzie can move it wherever they like. They’ve been lucky enough to find someone willing to let them put their home on their property.
“We were never that keen on moving around a lot,” Lizzie said. “We wanted to find somewhere to park permanently and set up from there.
“But we’re still on wheels, so if we ever need to move, we can move,” David added.
In Victoria, a permanent tiny home can be constructed on land where there is an existing dwelling if the new construction is 60 square metres or less. A building permit is required.
A home on wheels is allowed by most Victorian councils for stays of up to 60 days over a year. Some councils around the country are starting to allow homes on wheels, including caravans, on properties permanently.
Have you found a unique housing solution? Contact newsroomau@yahoonews.com
The couple say they have more space then they’ll ever need.
More Aussies choosing tiny, modular housing solutions
The couple are among the growing number of people ditching traditional housing for tiny house solutions, which are often more affordable.
Modular, or prefab, housing is also showing promise as a solution that guarantees people get into homes sooner.
When done professionally, they take a matter of weeks to construct, compared to a traditional build, which can take months.
This housing alternative somewhat bypasses the critical tradie shortage currently experienced across Australia.
Having spent three years on their quarter acre, both LIzzie and David agree, “we will never live in cities again”.
“There’s so much land out here that people can come out and exist on,” David said, claiming cities are “rapidly failing” people.
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