In June 2012 Ethan Waldman decided to create his own future.
He tossed his corporate day job to the side and started Cloud Coach to teach people how to use technology to improve their business.
Soon his company was up and running and he’d even launched his first product.
But something was missing and he longed to break free from the work to live – live to work cycle.
Ethan wanted to ditch his monthly rent payment, lower his overhead, and gain more free time to pursue his passions.
On June 1, 2012, I packed up the contents of my desk into two plastic tote boxes, left my ID Badge on my desk, and walked out of the office. It was my last day as a full-time, salaried employee. I got in the car and drove about an hour – to the Morrisville airport in Morrisville, VT. There in an empty airplane hangar was a brand new 22’ trailer loaded down with about $1000 worth of lumber. I had done it. I quit my job and started construction on my very own tiny house on wheels.
I asked Ethan a few questions about his journey to tiny house freedom.
Andrew Odom: When did you build your tiny house and is there one reason in particular that you did so?
Ethan Waldman: I built my house between June of 2012 and September of 2013.
My main reason was that I wanted price-stable housing that I owned and could bring wherever I chose to live.
AO: What are the size specs of your tiny house (size of trailer if applicable, square feet, number of stories, number of occupants, etc)?
EW: Currently, my girlfriend Ann and I live in the tiny house together. The house is built on a 22’ trailer, and is about 7’ wide on the inside (putting it at 154 sf.) with an 11’ sleeping loft, which adds about 77 sf. of living space.
AO: Are you living in your tiny house? If so, for how long now? If not, when do you expect to move in?
EW: I’ve been living in my tiny house since September of 2013.
AO: How do you feel about the tiny house movement and being such an instrumental part of it?
EW: I just feel grateful that I found tiny houses at a time in my life when it made sense both financially and logistically to build one.
I know tiny houses are a dream for many people, so I just feel lucky that I’m actually getting to live that dream.
AO: How long do you expect to live in your tiny house?
EW: We haven’t set a timeline on how long we want to live here.
All I can say is that we’re totally enjoying it and not at all feeling cramped.
I think we’ll just wait and see!
AO: What is the one thing in your tiny house you couldn’t live without?
EW: My Precision Temp NSP550 hot water heater is amazing! I love that I can take long, luxurious showers without ever running out of hot water.
AO: What one thing would you do differently or do you wish wasn’t part of your tiny house?
EW: I wish I had done more research about heaters. I went with a Dickinson Newport P-12000 stove, and it really is not performing as a standalone heat system.
I’ve had to augment with electric panels.
I wrote a lot about my decisions and what I’d do differently in a book that I recently published, called Tiny House Decisions
AO: Is your tiny house relatively stable or still mobile?
EW: The wheels are still on it, but it’s on 8 jacks and connected via an aerial cable to electricity, so it’s not going anywhere fast.
Thanks Ethan for the interview!
Ethan has recently released a book on his experience with accompanying videos from both he and other tiny housers.
You can purchase the package through his website at Tiny House Decisions.
Ethan and Ann in their completed tiny house.
More resources
Read the complete story about Ethan’s tiny house on his blog.
See more pictures of his tiny house on Facebook.
If you’re an entrepreneur and want a technology coach, check out the services he offers here.
