Talkin’ DIY: Part 2

So we did it. We moved into our custom designed Tiny House on Wheels (THOW). Now what? We needed a place to put it and a way to sustain being productive members of working society. It has been a big learning year.

WHERE TO PUT IT
Unlike those cute tiny foundation builds, a THOW needs a place to park. Effectively, it could hook up at any standard RV park, though we have heard some may be a little finicky about accepting new-fangled, alternative homes. We set our sights on two main opportunities for parking: volunteering at State Parks and Workamping jobs.

PARK HOSTING
National & State Parks systems utilize live-in volunteer work forces in exchange for parking and utilities. These positions are called Park Hosts. We have found retirees and full timers who enjoy filling these spots. Texas State Parks typically ask for a 3 month commitment and 100 hours of service work per month. Commonly, park hosts support the maintenance staff with care of the whole physical facility, i.e. cleaning restrooms & cabins, collecting litter, clearing campsites & fire rings, and maintaining lawn, trees & trails. They also can help with reservations and sales in the office & gift shop or with interpretive programs, leading guests in educational activities like guided hikes or introductions to native plants, wildlife and cultural artifacts. In general, park hosts are also a valuable set of extra eyes and ears to alert park staff to people or places that need their attention.

McKinney Falls State Park was our first home in our home. We applied for the program and found our closest Austin park was in need of help right away as they were very busy, but often have trouble filling park host positions in the heat of Texas summer. Snowbirds like to fill the spots over the balmy Texas winter months, but summer? Whew, gotta get up in the dark to beat the heat! Ultimately, we took delivery our home in the park itself on August 10^th. The springtime had helped us to pare down our collection of stuff with the support of KonMari guidance, garage sales, donations and a wee bit of storage. So we moved in with our minimized household and met all the ranger staff who stopped by to get us oriented. Khara was the primary for our service requirements during our stay, caring for the restrooms, campgrounds and day use areas. Jesse continued working as a Social Recreation Coordinator with Meals on Wheels. While home, we both were available to campers who had questions or needed help. Looking ahead, we also made plans to be park hosts at Enchanted Rock State Natural Area starting February 2020.

WORKAMPING
Another cool opportunity we discovered for those who like to travel with their home for work was Workamping. Several sites list these job opportunities. To start, we focused on Workamper, Working Couples and Happy Vagabond. There are a wide variety of work opportunities, but most of them include a parking space and full hookup, in addition to paid hours. Some jobs are similar to park hosting, but offered at private RV campgrounds, where you might do regular lawn maintenance or check in guests etc. Some are seeking extra hands on a ranch or for harvest seasons. Apparently, many oil fields in Texas seek Workampers to live at and monitor gate access to their properties?! There are also lots and lots of seasonal positions, which seek extra staff for housekeeping, cooking, guest services and managing activities. While we haven’t yet had first-hand experience Workamping, we have learned that not all gigs are created equal. It’s important be sure you are clear about expectations with employers before you commit and head out because you don’t want to end up stuck somewhere in a disagreeable arrangement. You really want to know what the responsibilities are, the hours required, and what the compensation does or does not include in relation to site/rent, utilities and pay.

AND IN BETWEEN
Other options we’ve found for parking include at a friend’s house and THOW friendly RV parks. Before we settled in at McKinney Falls, we had a first plan to park at an RV park less than 5 minutes from our apartment. The owner was open to Tiny House parking, but at the last minute he informed us we’d need to sign a longer lease than we were prepared to. So, in our scramble, we looked into parking on a friend’s ranch just east of town. Zoning laws outside the city limits are more flexible for this kind of thing. (There is a much larger conversation out there about the legality of adding small homes to existing properties, not to mention defining what a tiny house is, in terms of a non-recreational vehicle, a mother-in-law house, rentals for B&Bs etc. Check it out here.) Our friend’s place would have been a lovely stay, but would have needed some adaptation for us to get the house all the way up her drive and the addition of a 50 amp outlet. Luckily for us McKinney Falls needed us around that same time. So it was a good match. But they only had room for us through October and Enchanted Rock would not see us until February, so we went hunting again and discovered…

Austonia RV Park welcomes Tiny Houses. Just east of the airport, this old farm property was still in development of its long-term plan. Do check it out. It sounds pretty cool! However, the owner had just added some new RV spots and was hoping to keep Tiny Home rentals there eventually. So, we were able to fill in and meet some new neighbors. We found full timers who worked remotely and some who traveled as nurses. Some even homeschool their kids along the way! While we stayed here, Jesse worked at Meals on Wheels and Khara did some contract work for Austin Montessori School.

There are a variety of websites out there collecting resources for Tiny Home Parking, for those who travel. There are even some Tiny House Villages out there for more permanent stays in intentional communities. Austin’s Mobile Loaves and Fishes even developed a very cool place called Community First! Village which provides tiny homes and resources for people coming out of chronic homelessness.

So, if you move for work, where do you call home? Well, for now Texas continues to remain our home to which we will continue to return. Fortunately, we discovered Escapees RV Club, which offers a variety of services to support a mobile lifestyle. Primarily we have utilized their mail forwarding service, which gives us a stable address to receive old timey paper communication. They also own a handful of RV parks and offer roadside assistance catered to trailers, a job exchange, online community and a series of discounted products.

WHAT TO DO
Okay, you’re in the house, you’re on the road, but what are you doing? For lifestyle, please see the rest of this website. For work, please see this section is still a work-in-progress. We mentioned some of the jobs we did while in Austin, which one could reasonably continue to do in a city in a tiny house. The general plan for us in moving has been either to marry volunteer hours in parks with local work in the community or to work seasonal Workamper jobs together. We have also explored some online remote work positions but are not yet confident with consistent internet service. Also, the COVID pandemic has had an impact on a lot of planning in general. For example, Khara was working at Becker Vineyards during our stay at Enchanted Rock, but the tasting room is now in an extended temporary closure. We also had arranged to head to Colorado in May for a workamper gig at a whitewater rafting resort. Those plans were delayed and then insecure, so we made the tough call to stay put until we learned more about how the pandemic might be managed. Our fingers are crossed to return to that opportunity next summer!

In other words, we are indeed learning some things, including practice in patience and flexibility. Hindsight is sure to be 20/20 for 2020.

The good news for now is that we are already meeting some of those goals we set out for.

1. Live with less stuff
2. Live outside more
3. Live in some new and beautiful places