Surviving Hurricanes and Building Sustainable Tiny House Communities

Jan 17, 2025

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I'm thrilled to welcome Betsy Barbour back to the show. Betsy has been living in a 200 square foot tiny house since early 2019, navigating the challenges and joys that living tiny presents. Over the past few years, she's moved her home between various locations in Florida and Pennsylvania, even enduring back to back hurricanes. Betsy has also worked in the tiny house industry as a community facilitator and lifestyle consultant, bringing a wealth of experience and knowledge to our conversation. We'll be diving into her unique lifestyle insights on building resilient tiny homes and the potential for tiny house communities. Stick around. This episode is packed with valuable information and inspiration for anyone curious about tiny Living.

In This Episode:

Betsy shares her personal experience of what it’s like living in a tiny home during a hurricane including what steps she took to prepare and just how well her tiny house held up.
The importance of creating and ensuring tiny home communities remain affordable housing options despite the rise in luxury communities.
Betsy shares her vision of sustainable tiny home communities, including hybrid options that provide options for 55+, families and luxury resort areas that provide multigenerational living.
Facing challenges of developing properties and rising infrastructure costs, Betsy sees this a good opportunity to repurpose land that has already been developed, creating more sustainable and affordable options.
How Betsy’s personal experiences as a tiny home dweller has shaped how much she values creating and being part of a true community.
Current roadblocks in the tiny house industry, including infrastructure and development, along with concerns about housing affordability.
Designing and planning your tiny home to be supportive through, injury, illness, and retirement, leaving room for future adaptability and accessibility
The future of tiny homes and tiny communities, including more widely accepted and normalized, zoning restrictions and code ordinances.

Find the full show notes, transcript and additional photos on the website at https://www.thetinyhouse.net/betsy-barbour-2