I’ve been thinking through a few shelter 1.0 options for when I get my land in Portugal.
The plan is to put up a small scale budget option, enough to live in comfortably for a few months or even a year while I do land-things.
The main reason I’m interested in rooting myself on some land is to plant perennials, and establish a sustainable water harvesting, food growing and waste management system. I’m primarily interested in that ‘natural’ side of things, especially soil building.
Shelter isn’t so much my bag, but I do realise I need to be warm and dry, otherwise I’ll just get miserable, so it does require some thought!
Don’t get me wrong, I do fancy a full on passive eco-house, but I can happily take my time building one over several years. In the meantime I’m considering the following four basic ‘shelter options’...
These may also come in handy in case I luck out and end up living on someone’s land rather than renting somewhere while I get to know the area.
Below i'm considering the 'new' prices of ready made shelters, rather than cheaper second hand or DIY options. I'd rather pay and get settled quickly, then get on with land-stuff.
The Bell Tent
This is my preferred option - I’m looking at buying a 4 metre one for around £450.
Spacious enough to get in my double inflatable mattress, store everything and get a desk in to work at, just about.
I can also collapse it into the car very easily.
The Tipi
A lot more Kudos than a ‘bell tent’, but with the poles it just wouldn’t be portable, and honestly, what’s the difference with this and a bell tent?
Well, except for the poles, it’s around £5.5K. At least if you buy one from this Tipi company a small Tipi like the one picture above will cost you £6000. (WTF?!?)
For that premium, you can keep yer damn kudos!
The Yurt
This is the option I’ve always really fancied! Max kudos, max romance, max practicality with the straight up sides maxing out your useable space, and more portable than a tipi.
They are also slightly cheaper than the Tipis I’ve seen for sale, which is surprising as there’s a lot more ‘kit’ with a Yurt.
If I knew I was staying somewhere very long term, say more than 2 years, with no option of building, this would be the option I’d plump for!
The shed
I’ve always thought sheds are perfectly livable in, with a bit of insulation and a burner.
Sheds are cheap for what you get.
You can get a regular sized English style shed for around £400, you can get a palace for around £1000!
The problems are that they're not exactly portable once they're up, and they're no where near as cool as a Yurt. It would yield option A below, rather than option B.
Option A
'So Karl, what are you up these days?'
'Oh I'm living in a shed in Portugal'.
'Fucking looser'.
Option B
'So Karl, what are you up these days?'
'Oh I'm living in a yurt in Portugal'.
'Fucking legend!'.
Comparison Chart
The last three criteria are relative rankings, 1-4, 1 being the highest
| Shelter | Cost | Practicality | Portability | Kudos |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bell Tent | £450 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Tipi | £6000 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Yurt | £4000 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Shed | £1000 | 2 | 4 | 4 |
Final thoughts
These are only my first explorations, so I'm sure I haven't found the cheapest options for each, and I haven't considered second hand purchases or DIY options, both of which are possibilities!
There's also the caravan option of course, but I think that's even less cool than a shed, but it's still also a possibility.
Then there's the van conversion option, another possibility. I still want to do one of those!
In each of the options above I’d definitely have a burner inside for winter, and maybe a raised floor, both of which would add on a little extra cash for the builds - let’s go overkill and say around $200 - $300.
ATM I think a simple canvas bell tent gets my vote - it’s relatively cheap for a decent amount of living space, and it’s the easiest thing to collapse into the car.
Of course I might just sell my house in UK and buy an actual house with land in Portugal, and live in the house!