How a Tiny Home Brought This Senior Retiree Safety & Peace

Simplify
by Simplify

Sally Sue’s story shows how tiny homes for seniors can be a good solution for retirees seeking to downsize.


Her shipping container tiny home, the SS Freedom, is 160 square feet and features a custom-designed couch that doubles as a Murphy bed, with three storage drawers underneath. The tiny home also has an induction countertop stove and a microwave convection oven.


Many people wonder “Are tiny homes safe?” For Sally Sue, the answer is yes. In her three-bedroom apartment, she’d often worry about intruders; but in her tiny home, she has a full view of everything and can know immediately that there’s nobody else there.


This is especially important to her as a sexual assault survivor; the tiny home security that she feels has given her “pure joy” and allowed her to pursue a new life outside of the trauma.

Sally Sue sees tiny homes for retirees as a good solution to the common worry about maintaining a bigger home and paying large maintenance fees as one grows older. She pays $500 a month in rent. This includes water, electricity, waste disposal, and Internet. 


The backside of her unit has a tankless water heater and a fan for the mini-split air-conditioning and heating unit, which keeps her home cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Because she is hooked up to a tripod, the SS Freedom has a flushing toilet. It also has a pocket door for bathroom privacy.

Tiny homes for retirees can provide safety and security

Sally Sue’s favorite part of her shipping container tiny home is the 6-foot deck off the front. There’s a stairway that leads to the rooftop deck, which adds another 60 feet, with a pool and fountain. It’s the perfect spot for enjoying the sunset, and the roof is also a great place for stargazing at night with a telescope.


Tiny homes for retirees

Sally Sue’s downsizing journey shows how tiny homes for retirees can be the way of the future, providing a space that is cozy, secure, and frugal, all at the same time—the perfect way to start a new chapter.



For more shipping container home stories, take a look at this boomerang-shaped minimalist shipping container house along the Great Ocean Road, or learn how this stacked shipping container house helped a couple recover after tragedy.


To see more videos, check out the  Tiny House Giant Journey YouTube page.

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  • Kathie Kathie on Jul 09, 2022

    Most mobile home communities allow then on a foundation! You do pay a monthly space fee, not sure what it all includes. Check them out! I have in the Phoenix area as well. I was going to go that route, but live with my boys now. I have my own garage parking, living room with kitchenette and bedroom / bathroom. My small closet has a stackable washer dryer. It’s about 400 sq ft, about what I would have had in a tiny home and I couldn’t be happier! ❤️💕❤️ Best of luck to you!

  • Stephanie Stephanie on Sep 03, 2022

    That is so amazing!! I love the name SS. Thank you for sharing your story!! What an inspiration!!

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