Does anyone here live in a yurt?

[jimblejamble]

I have been in love with yurts for years but today I've been looking at pictures of them and obsessing a little bit.  :)  I just drew out my dream yurt.  http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4033/5182711772_db995e81c8_b.jpg  Do you live in one?  Could you tell me more about life in a yurt?

[CariOfOz]

Hehe.. no I do not live in a yurt, but I have been in love with them for a couple of years now!  One of the manufacturers has tons of sample floor layouts you can download even... got em on here somewhere!  One of these years *sigh*  Your layout looks a little tight on space for me.. but then I have 4 boys and one husband!  So my dream is to have a living area yurt with a loft bedroom.. and a second yurt with a couple of bedrooms linked by a bathroom /breezeway unit ...  my 17yo has informed me that before i have my hippy yurt he'll be in an apartment with a roomate FAR away from my yurt lol.  So 3 br's should suffice ;)

[limette]

There's a thread in the country living forum on yurt living.

I like the idea but financially it was cheaper for me to buy an already existing house on land then to do the whole yurt thing.

[coyotemist]

We really want a round house.  Bigger space, bright and light, better for our climate here.  http://www.helikondesign.com/  I definatly love the round design.  Your design would be wonderful if the climate is mild enough to be outside everyday so children would have room to play.  It would be fun for 2 adults, though!

[jimblejamble]

We're in Utah so the winter would be unbearable from November to February but I'm trying to convince my husband to let us move somewhere where it isn't so cold.  Heck, I'm still trying to get him on board with the yurt idea.  He said maybe we could build one in the back yard when we eventually own a house so for now this idea is just in my head. :) 

[CariOfOz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JessicaRenee 

We're in Utah so the winter would be unbearable from November to February but I'm trying to convince my husband to let us move somewhere where it isn't so cold.  Heck, I'm still trying to get him on board with the yurt idea.  He said maybe we could build one in the back yard when we eventually own a house so for now this idea is just in my head. :) 

Actually, yurts were invented in Mongolia... pretty darn chilly there   From everything I have read, yurts do quite well in colder climes...the do come with insulation packages (although you may have to pay more for the wall insulation there? not sure) and if you add in a woodstove most people say they are reasonably cosy?   
 

[jimblejamble]

Yeah, I was talking about having children play outside since yurts are so small.

That's another thing I want...a woodstove! Sigh..

[laohaire]

I do not live in a yurt, but earlier this year my husband and I made the decision to sell our house and move to land and erect a yurt and start a homestead.

We put our house on the market and saw our dream die. We had no idea whatsoever that we were underwater. I thought at first we would walk away with $40k with the sale. Then I adjusted my sights to $10k. Then I adjusted to just breaking even. Then I understood that similar houses in the area were going for about $6k less than we owe on this place. Which doesn't even count the commission. We could not responsibly make this move, though we had our eye on an area where we coul dhave bought land for half of our mortgage. We did not have the cash to walk away.

We did stay in a yurt while we still thought we could do it, just for the experience. It was terrific. My DD was not at all on board with moving until we stayed at the yurt - then she was ready to move. When we realized we couldn't, she was really disappointed. (My description of growing all the sunflowers and grapes she wanted probably didn't help either). Sometimes she still draws pictures of yurts.

In an odd twist, my parents (who are about 90 degrees away from hippy dippy, and, for example, have a TV about the size of our car) are talking about selling their house and moving into a yurt. Life is like that, you can't even make this stuff up.

Jessica, I love your drawing, you obviously have a talent. That looks like a 24 foot yurt? One thing I'd point out is that yurts feel as awesome as they do because they are open. Your walls would negate that open, round feeling. DH and I were planning to have no interior walls at all, and just moveable screens for the bathroom area. But many people have walled bathrooms but make that the only enclosed space. You could also consider an outbuilding for the bath facilities.

The yurt we stayed at had no electricity, no running water, no flushing toilet. A trench outhouse was next to the yurt. I've despised every outhouse experience I've ever had until I sat in that one. It was wonderful! I even have a photo of it, it was so pleasant. Must be really cold in the winter, though! Very light, spacious, good smelling (cedar, I think).

Utah is not a problem for a yurt at all - they are built for cold. We were going to live on the Canadian border. If we could live in spitting distance of Canada, Utah would be no problem for you.