When Dan Price returned to his home state of Oregon in 1990 he was determined to avoid mortgages or rent (he and his family had just finished care taking a mansion with a heating bill of $500/month).
He found an unused meadow in Joseph, Oregon, and began renting it from his neighbors for $100/year (in exchange for cleaning downed trees and repairing fences). His first underground structure was actually built to shelter his home/office, namely his copy machine, essential for publishing his zine “Moonlight Chronicles” which he started in 1992.
In his meadow paradise, Price now also has an underground “hobbit hole” style home, as well as, a composting toilet, a propane-powered shower (using river water), and a pinewood propane sauna. He’s not hooked up to city water (he discovered a spring on the property), but he’s hooked up to the grid and it’s been approved by the county and city.
You can watch the video at www.youtube.com
Glad at least someone has the balls to tell the local building and zoning board to kick rocks or pound sand!!!! We need more people like him choosing to ditch the system!
Nothing against mansions, but for some people, luxury really isn’t tethered to fancy materialistic things, but tethered to freedom and low stress living instead. In many ways, liberty and not being in a black hole of debt are the ultimate luxuries! It just goes to show that not everyone wants what’s often touted as the ‘American Dream’ (which for many people is more akin to a nightmare than a dream) to include a house in the suburbs, 3 gas guzzling expensive vehicles, all the trinkets to fill entire museums, etc. What’s really the point of the standard “American Dream” if you have hardly any time or energy to actually enjoy it after spending 8 to 10 hours at work and 2 more driving to and from your place of work?
The fact that Dan Price is allowed to keep his Hobbit hideaway is the result of many court battles with the municipal government. The city wanted to condemn this subterranean sanctuary as against building and zoning codes.