A couple who fled New York City for a slower life in Oregon got a rude awakening when their tiny home dream fell apart.
Soo Jae Lee and Jeffrey Castro gave up their 400-square-feet studio in Manhattan in 2019, after they were inspired by tiny-house videos on YouTube, as reported by Business Insider.
In 2020, they bought one on wheels from Facebook Marketplace for about $60,000 and parked it on a lot they leased for $675-a-month on Sauvie Island, about 30 minutes from Portland.
‘In retrospect, we realize that we had jumped into the deep end before fully grasping the concept of “living tiny,”‘ Castro said, adding it took a few months ‘to really sink in that this living situation was not what I expected.’
Lee and Castro, who made a living by selling their crafts, spent under $2,000 for some updates including installing a shower system and a fresh coat of paint.
But the home was in a wildlife area, which made their internet connection spotty, forcing them to rely on cellular WiFi, which was ‘unreliable and slow at best.’
Soo Jae Lee and Jeffrey Castro gave up their 400-square-feet studio in Manhattan to live in a tiny home on farmland in Oregon
In 2020, they bought a tiny house on wheels from Facebook Marketplace for about $60,000
Lee and Castro, who made a living by selling their crafts, spent under $2,000 for some updates including installing a shower system and a fresh coat of paint
The couple often experienced power outages, particularly when it was turned off during fire season.
And when winter came, they had frozen pipes, with Castro sharing that sometimes they faced water shortages for days.
Being in the wilderness also meant the couple were left exposed to the elements, and when wildfires broke out in Oregon in 2020, they said they were under hazardous breathing conditions for weeks.
‘When the wildfire smoke engulfed the island, it kept us locked inside the tiny house because of the high toxicity levels,’ Castro told BI.
‘Stepping out the door required an N90 mask, the air was horrible-smelling, and we saw no sunlight that entire time.’
Because the wildfires happened during the Covid-19 pandemic, the couple had nowhere to run to.
‘Our small world had become even smaller and dangerous. This situation felt completely beyond our control, and that was terrifying, Castro explained.
The home was in a wildlife area, which made their internet connection spotty, forcing them to rely on cellular WiFi
When winter came, they also had to deal with frozen pipes, with Castro sharing that sometimes they faced water shortages for days
Being in the wilderness also meant the couple were left exposed to the elements
Then, the next summer they went through a heat wave that saw them live in temperatures up to 116 degrees Fahrenheit without a cooling system or even ice.
The couple was surprised to find that life in the wilderness does not necessarily mean less work.
‘To our astonishment, we didn’t slow down. Mother Nature truly keeps you on your toes,’ Castro said.
‘There was always something to prepare for living on the farm, and all of it felt like a tight deadline.’
After two years in their tiny home, the couple sold it and moved to an apartment.
Then, in 2023, they moved to into a rental house in Portland.
‘Honestly, I didn’t enter this journey with a clear sense of self or my capabilities,’ Castro said of his time in the tiny home.
He added: ‘I’m proud of how Soo Jae and I overcame the obstacles we put ourselves through.’
