This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Margot Hollander, 64, a retired dance teacher and project manager. She lives in the Dutch tiny home village of Minitopia, Eindhoven. The piece has been edited for length and clarity.
After my divorce, I had to find somewhere to live. The rental market was tough, and as a retiree, my options for buying were limited without a mortgage.
I first came across Eindhoven’s Minitopia project in the news a few years back. When I started looking for a home in late 2023, at age 62, I found a tiny house there on a real-estate website. I booked a viewing and quickly made an offer.
I paid about $143,000 in cash for the tiny house, which was as much as I could afford. I moved into the Minitopia tiny village in January 2024. I’m very happy to have bought it at this point in my life.
Buying a tiny house was a chance to start fresh after my divorce
While I was very happy to move into a tiny home, there was a lot of downsizing involved, having moved from a regular-sized house also in Eindhoven. Even now, I’m still getting rid of clothes, shoes, and all the unnecessary things you accumulate over the years.
I think it’s good for your mind to downsize, and I’m happy to be living with less stuff.
It was a model home when I bought it, with the walls and floors finished, and the kitchen and bathroom already fitted. I enjoy interior design and added my own touches, such as shutters and new furniture.
I chose not to bring any furnishings from my old house. I wanted a fresh start. I’ve filled it with artwork that makes it feel like my own. That was important to me. After the divorce, moving here has given me independence.
I’ve found it easy to make friends
It’s easy to get to know people who live in Minitopia. The Eindhoven tiny home village is Minitopia’s largest, with space for 100 tiny houses. I meet people every time I take my dog out for a walk, and most are open and chatty.
You don’t need to make plans to go for a drink here; you can just easily fall into conversation with your neighbors. It’s the simple things, like making small talk on the way to the parking lot, that give me such a good feeling about living here.
I don’t come across too many other retired people like me. Minitopia Eindhoven is a real mix of young and old, single and married, and people with and without children. That diversity is what makes it feel like a proper community.
I wouldn’t want too many other retirees to move in. I don’t want it to become a retirement village.
As a retiree, it works well for me financially
I used to be a dance teacher and also worked in project management in the housing sector. Once you’re retired, it’s important to live within your means so you still have money left for other things.
The more you spend on housing, the less you have to put toward your hobbies. I like to spend my money on sports.
Financially, the tiny house works very well for me. I’ve found it’s much cheaper to run than the regular house I lived in before. I have solar panels, so I’m not paying for electricity at the moment. The ground rent at Minitopia, which is a few hundred euros a month, is far lower than what I’d have paid to rent a larger home.
I hope this is my forever home
While the house is relatively small, I have more than enough space for my small dog and me. It’s not somewhere you can easily host big dinners, but that’s what I like about it. I prefer one-on-one contact to large groups.
Overall, I see very few inconveniences to living here. I like my tiny house and the community very much.
I hope this will be my last home, though I hope I’ve got plenty of years left in it yet.
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