I live in a tiny home mansion and fell in love with it — it's the only way I could afford to live in California

• The tiny home lifestyle became appealing to Stacey Murphy after she attended an online course.
• She moved to California to live in what she calls a "tiny mansion" and has no regrets.
• The home's small size meant she could afford to customize it with luxury upgrades.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Stacey Murphy, a 55-year-old relationship coach originally from Brooklyn, New York. It's been edited for length and clarity.

When my 26-year-old daughter told me she was interested in the tiny home lifestyle, I had to take a look at it as a concerned mom. I wanted to make sure she and her boyfriend (now husband), both environmentalists, knew what they were getting into. 

I didn't expect that I'd fall in love with tiny home life myself — and that I'd use it as a way to be able to afford moving from Florida to California.

Tiny homes were a mystery to me, so I jumped into learning

As a practical minimalist who tries to keep only what is necessary, the idea of a tiny home was appealing to me, but there was so much I didn't know. That's where the GoTinyAcademy came in, a course I found out about through a global tiny house conference and decided to take so I could best prepare myself for the lifestyle. 

When I took the class in 2020, the cost was $250 for a 12-week course over Zoom. I and four other "students" — all of us women — would meet for about 90 minutes a week. Women are the leading buyers of tiny homes — maybe because it's more financially viable, or they're transitioning into different stages of their lives, like becoming an empty nester (as I was) or starting over after a divorce.

Our teacher, Lindsay Wood (@tinyhomelady on Instagram) walked us through every detail of tiny homes: the pros and cons, the cost, how to choose a builder, and how to design your space. You have to be extremely intentional when designing a tiny house because of the smaller square footage (most are 600 square feet or less), and it really makes you drill down to what you actually need.

I never thought I would end up learning so much about toilets and electrical systems, solar panels, and molding, but I did. One of the best tips I got was to take my time interviewing builders to make sure I found one who really understood my vision. 

I'd been living in Florida, but things had started to feel stagnant and the pandemic felt like a chance to shake things up.
I'm a relationship and life design coach who works from home, and before I settled on a place to live, I'd traveled as a digital nomad — I wanted to make sure I ended in the right place for me. 

My tiny mansion allowed me to move to an expensive area

Once I decided to make the leap into tiny home life, I began an exhaustive search for a builder. It took a few months, but the long process paid off. 

When all was said and done, my house cost about $150,000 — money I'd saved up from investing aggressively. The builder completed about 60% of the home, and I finished the final 40% using a general contractor, trade specialists, and my own customization: I bought home improvement materials and major appliances at Lowe's; flooring and butcher block from LL Flooring; lighting, wallpaper, and kitchen hardware at Wayfair; cabinet hardware and specialty decor on Etsy, and other miscellaneous items on Amazon. 

I now live in Ramona, California, about 45 minutes from downtown San Diego, in what I call my "tiny mansion." It's 550 square feet total, and I'm part of a tiny home community that has a mix of tiny homes on wheels, park models, and manufactured homes. I love the vibe here, and the nature, and the lifestyle — the home makes me more financially and environmentally conscious, with a smaller footprint. 

I'm not sure I would've been able to afford living in California otherwise; this is an area with expensive real estate. I can now afford luxuries for my tiny home —  like a metal roof, higher-end appliances, and a full-house water filtration system — that otherwise would be out of reach.

I'm also shocked there are several things that are cheaper in California than Florida — groceries is one of them. 

I have no regrets about my choice to build a tiny home

Some people might find the small size daunting, but I love it. I love being surrounded by only the things I love and nothing frivolous. I love the tiny home community and how everyone has a similar mindset. We have such a strong sense of community and it's lovely to spend time with people who value the same things you do. 

Of course, it's not all rainbows and butterflies. I'm having a hard time with cell reception in my tiny mansion, but that will be worked out. 

But overall, tiny home life has really surpassed my expectations. It turns out people don't need as much space as they think they do — honestly, you'd be surprised.

Even though my daughter is the one that got me interested in the tiny home lifestyle, she actually doesn't live in one yet. She might later, but it's me who really took the concept and ran with it.