My lifelong companion and I are finished with urban living. Through garage sales and freecycling we are in the process of getting rid of all our 'stuff' and soon we will be down to the bare essentials. We have contacted a few realtors and hope to list the house for sale within the next few weeks. If everything works according to plan we will be on the road, headed to the West Coast before the end of December. Our plan is find a few acres and build a homestead, working towards a goal of being as self sufficient as possible. Our first project will be to erect a Yurt for our shelter and then we will begin construction of outbuildings for livestock. Here are my questions: I am needing information on YURT living. I would love to hear from anyone that lives in a yurt full time and would like to hear what your experiences are and any suggestions you might have. I have found a number of yurt manufacturers online and there are a wide range of options available. I am wondering which upgrades would be recommended and which would just be nice to have. I have also been looking for building codes that would pertain to yurts but as of yet have had no luck. I am specifically looking for zoning and building codes for Vancouver Island in BC. Once the yurt is erected then we will begin construction of the outbuildings. We are interested in cob construction and have seen some interesting videos on youtube praising the virtues of cob buildings. We will probably start off with something small like a chicken coop and if all goes well will progress to larger buildings. I am looking for any advice on cob and am particularly interested in any workshops that might be available. I saw a workshop posted a few months on an eco-village website but can't find the website again. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Congratulations for the change of lifestyle ... It certainly take some courage to head up on this way of life ... People of the weat coast are nice , warm and open minded ... You should have no problems ... There is always some exceptions , but theese can be found everywhere !!!
I am really excited to be moving forward with such a drastic change. I visited Vancouver Island for two weeks in the Spring and I found the people extremely friendly and laid back. The slower pace is what convinced me that the Island is the place that I want to be. The mainland media has me a bit worried though in that they are suggesting that the City of Vancouver is experiencing an unexplained sudden increase of homophobic violence. I am hoping the same is not happening on the island. The people appeared to be open minded but at the same time, they didn't know I was gay.
Stop The Bus could you share the links you found? Are the yurts suitable for permanant (years and years) living?
Here are a few to start with: This first one has a fantastic gallery. http://www.yurt.com We are seriously considering getting our yurt from YURTCO http://www.yurtco.com Great video of a yurt being built http://www.rainieryurts.com/video/yurt-video.html They are suitable for year round permanent living and thats how we plan to use ours. The length of the warranty on the cover and insulation varies according to manufacturer but most have a warranty of 10-15 years. I would imagine that when it is time for the cover to be replaced the wood structure on the inside would still be strong. In the long run, cover replacement every 10-20 years would still be cheaper than maintenance on a wood and brick house over the same 10-20 years.
So, If I was looking for a place to settle down and call home, would I be an asshole if I said "I am cautious of fags cuz I don't want to invite any trouble"?
Interesting point, Death. I want to keep this thread more to the point of the forum of self sufficiency and living in harmony with nature so I will be posing the third question from my original posting in a more appropriate forum. So sticking with the first 2 questions, does anyone have any comments, thoughts or impressions on yurts or cob?
Try looking into cobwood =], I hear it's better to use cobwood rather than just cob in wetter areas. I'm moving to Northern California on the coast & building one in an ecovillage; it looks like be best & most artistic way to go. As for gays & lesbians in Canada, expecially in the West, all is well. There's very little judjments & conflict I find in the West & if anyone were to say something you just laugh & walk away. Canada's pretty chill.
