Vacation Houses Were Too Expensive, so We Bought Land and a Trailer

We began dreaming of living on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula while on vacation there in 2010.

I’d picked up a travel brochure about the city of Port Townsend and joyfully read it aloud as my partner, Carol, and I drove through the area.

It described a place great for kayaking, hiking, and biking with an active sailing community and emerald forests — all things my outdoorsy mate loves.

We were even more sold on the area when I learned about its charming Victorian homes, historical seaport, array of music and arts festivals, and thriving local writers’ community.

This was the ideal destination for our second home. At the time, we were both working and living in Arizona, only returning to the Pacific Northwest for short trips.

But we didn’t want to just vacation in the area; we wanted to establish a foothold and be a part of the community for several months each year.

Unfortunately, our dream seemed financially out of reach as housing prices in the area continued to climb. Many listings were priced over $500,000, which was well out of our budget.

Our prospects looked dismal until our real-estate agent sent us a listing for a wooded lot of trees and wildflowers about 30 minutes out of town.

It didn’t have power, sewer, or water, and the only permanent structure was an outhouse. But the property did offer a developed road and easy access to Highway 101, as well as excellent cellphone service and WiFi connectivity.

And it was within our budget.

To achieve our dream of having a home in Washington, we embraced living off the grid

In 2022, we purchased the 4.6-acre property, sight unseen, for $160,000 and ordered a rugged, 20-foot Airstream Basecamp for $65,000 to serve as our new abode.

Rather than developing the land, we decided to live off the grid. We purchased portable solar panels to augment the system on the Airstream’s roof.

We capture rainwater and boil it for domestic needs (washing dishes and hands) and haul water from a facility about 5 miles away for drinking and cooking.

To make things a little easier, Carol even set up a small, battery-operated pump for delivering water into our trailer.

We’ve also created strategies for conserving energy, like charging our phones, computers, and battery-operated gardening tools when we drive into town.

Our cozy little Airstream can get a bit crowded, so we put up an outdoor tent with a propane stove, a foot-operated pump for washing dishes, and a table and chairs for outdoor dining.

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Carol joined a local band, so the outdoor tent also serves as a rehearsal space.

Our property is landlocked, so Carol pays a monthly fee to store her kayak at a boat haven 18 miles from our property. This also gives us access to a marina 8 miles away.

At either location, we can use the coin-operated hot showers and garbage facilities to dispose of our trash. Though we are conservationists, we are not complete Luddites.

One can only sacrifice so much.

All in all, it’s great to spend part of our year living in the forest

Living off the grid has been an interesting adventure, but we don’t regret our decision.

The Pacific Northwest is now our home for three to five months a year, just like we dreamed. We spend the rest of the year in our on-grid home in Arizona.

Before we migrate south for the winter, though, we always prep our riding lawn mower for the cold, put additional gravel on the dirt roads, lubricate the hinges on our storage container, and trim our trees.

All in all, I’m grateful we’ve found a way to enjoy Washington without the hefty cost of homeownership.