((PKG)) TINY HOUSE BLOCK ((TRT: 8:24)) ((Topic Banner: Tiny House Community)) ((Reporter/Camera: Arturo Martínez)) ((Map: Mount Laguna, California)) ((Main character: 1 female)) ((Sub characters: 2 females)) ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Text on screen: Trailer homes and parks have long been a housing option for lower income Americans. More recently, the concept of small, portable homes is proving increasingly attractive to middle income customers.)) ((Natalie Cornacchione, Student and Employee, Tiny House Block)) A tiny home is a home that is under 400 square feet [37 m2]. So, yeah, this is definitely it. It's always been my dream to live in a tiny house. I saw the documentary “Minimalism” when I was 17 and I started to realize that you could live in a way that was different and that we don't necessarily need all of these things that the American dream tells us that we need: getting a bigger house or a better car, and just always trying to accumulate possessions that are a reflection of who we want people to think that we are, but really we just bought those things and it has nothing to do with who we are at all, and we should be focusing on relationships. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Natalie Cornacchione, Student and Employee, Tiny House Block)) In here is the living room. Yeah, I like shoes a lot. I've been into sneakers pretty much my entire life. This is the kitchen area. And then, over here is what I call the office. And then in here we have the bathroom. And my loft, I absolutely love it. It's my favorite part of the house. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Natalie Cornacchione, Student and Employee, Tiny House Block)) I feel like I was always meant to live in a small place. Everything feels like it's the right size for me. I'm 5’3” [160 cm] and the world is built for like a 5’10” [178 cm] person. And I think that the push is coming from the younger generation, especially just with the way the economy is and affordability of having your own space. Living in a tiny home makes it so attainable and affordable to do so. It really does. ((NATS)) ((Natalie Cornacchione, Student and Employee, Tiny House Block)) There is 25 houses here at Tiny House Block. Some of them are individually owned, a few of them are, but then most of them belong to the community. Jon and Melissa Block [Affordable housing entrepreneurs] started Tiny House Block because they saw the need for and the demand for a place that is safe and legal to park a tiny home. We have ones as small as number one over there. I know hikers really love that one. We get a lot of hikers visiting us here. It's just such a beautiful place. Over here is actually number eight, the Flower Fun House that I'm going to be cleaning today. ((NATS)) ((Natalie Cornacchione, Student and Employee, Tiny House Block)) I'm lucky enough to actually be able to work on site at Tiny House Block and my main job here is cleaning our short-term rentals that we have on Airbnb for the guests when they check in and check out. I do housekeeping and then I also do the social media and I'm responsible for the newsletter. ((NATS)) ((Natalie Cornacchione, Student and Employee, Tiny House Block)) Erica moved in around the same time as me and it's been so great having her here. ((NATS)) ((Natalie Cornacchione, Student and Employee, Tiny House Block)) Hi. ((Erica Moslander, Tiny House resident)) Hi, how are you? ((Natalie Cornacchione, Student and Employee, Tiny House Block)) I'm good. How's my little Iggy? ((Erica Moslander, Product owner, Tiny House resident)) Lovely as always. This is my house. Yeah. Well, it's not my house. I'm renting it. I'm working internet-based. So, as long as I can tap into the internet, we're all good. So, with COVID, since the kids were able to be remote, we could go really wherever we wanted to go. And I found this tiny home community, which is something that's always been intriguing to me, definitely within my budget. ((NATS)) ((Erica Moslander, Product owner, Tiny House resident)) There were some challenges. Like they've had to learn to adjust to a different lifestyle, for sure. And so, like you start to go within yourself, I think, for your basic needs, like to keep yourself company, to keep your imagination going and just to be able to appreciate the people that are around you. ((NATS)) ((Natalie Cornacchione, Student and Employee, Tiny House Block)) I just feel like everything's okay. ((Erica Moslander, Product owner, Tiny House resident)) Definitely. It's actually possible to live a lifestyle like that where you're free from all those things that burden you, all those materialistic things that we are trying to keep up maintaining. There's a liberation that comes in not having to maintain all of that. ((NATS)) ((Erica Moslander, Product owner, Tiny House resident)) I got rid of everything before I moved here. ((Natalie Cornacchione, Student and Employee, Tiny House Block)) How awesome is that. Yeah, I have a blender and a coffee pot and that’s it. And the microwave. I just think it's so insane, like how we can do so much with so little. Yeah. ((Erica Moslander, Product owner, Tiny House resident)) Yeah. It's actually really fulfilling to do that as well. Yeah. We're mountain people now. ((NATS)) ((Gail Arnold, Retired, Tiny House owner)) Hey Natalie, what are you doing? Come, come see me and Bodhi. How was your weekend? ((Natalie Cornacchione, Student and Employee, Tiny House Block)) It was good. We went out for sushi and we played Mario Kart. ((Gail Arnold, Retired, Tiny House owner)) Yeah, no, it's been a good thing coming up here. You know, it's interesting because we're all kind of quiet people, but we all, like at night, Lionel likes to have fires at night. So, then you look out and there'll be people sitting out there having a fire and doing shots [of alcohol]. ((Gail Arnold, Retired, Tiny House owner)) Well, it was difficult to get a loan to buy a condo because I retired. So, I got turned down by five loan people. And I go, “That's it.” I go, “I'm going to go and buy me my tiny home, pay for it, still make money” because I was going to put more down than that, and I go, “And then it's mine.” And so, this is kind of, I think could be like my final place to live. You know, just stay here till I'm too old to climb the loft, the stairs. ((Natalie Cornacchione, Student and Employee, Tiny House Block)) And you have this little TV here. ((Gail Arnold, Retired, Tiny House owner)) I know. I watch movies, a lot of movies, so. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Natalie Cornacchione, Student and Employee, Tiny House Block)) Okay, I have the taco filling and now I just need to make the beans. ((NATS)) ((Gail Arnold, Retired, Tiny House owner)) Oh, I'm full. ((Erica Moslander, Product owner, Tiny House resident)) Yeah, me too. I’ve eaten a lot today. ((Gail Arnold, Retired, Tiny House owner)) That's so true. ((Erica Moslander, Product owner, Tiny House resident)) I will say that you have brought such a dynamic of community here. ((Natalie Cornacchione, Student and Employee, Tiny House Block)) I agree. ((Erica Moslander, Product owner, Tiny House resident)) Yeah, like the first time you knocked on my door with like Julian apple pie and then… ((Natalie Cornacchione, Student and Employee, Tiny House Block)) So sweet. ((Erica Moslander, Product owner, Tiny House resident)) Just definitely encourages that sense of community. ((Gail Arnold, Retired, Tiny House owner)) Yeah. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Natalie Cornacchione, Student and Employee, Tiny House Block)) I feel like I'm my best self when I'm very connected to nature and the community. And being here at Tiny House Block gives me both of those things, every single day. ((NATS/MUSIC))