# Earthships - a viable alternative?



## Samuel (Jan 30, 2013)

I've been thinking alot about Earthships lately. As I'm living in one of the most expensive countries (Norway) where I will have to either buy myself into a prison of mortgage, or hire apartments/houses my entire life, I'm enjoying the thought that it's possible to build a home out of recycled materials at a fraction of the costs.

However, home-regulations in Norway is a bitch - and these homes do not fit into our regulations. Pretty much I'm allowed to build it, but not to live in it. Shucks...

What are your thoughts about this?


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## Veil of reality (Jan 31, 2013)

Garbage Warrior was a great flick! but it also shows what a hassle it is to do anything outside the norm here in the US too. I bought some land in Arizona and was hoping to just plop a cheap manufactured home on it but the county regulations wouldn't allow it. Property taxes are also suspect because even if you're free and clear they can raise your "rent" whenever they want if they are short on cash...kinda like they are now. So I'm playing ball for now because I can but in the future it seems like staying mobile is the way to go.

I'm not a boat person but that can be a cool option depending on your location.

I'm thinking a modified van or box truck is the best option for me because if anyone fucks with me I've lots of places to go to avoid the BS. In the US it's considered "stealthy" hence illegal to sleep in your vehicle. Is it like that in Norway? For us, parking quietly somewhere overnight on a public street or in front of a hardware store it's like you got away with something. Like: Hello officer!...yes I've just opted to live in my vehicle because things are going really well for me right now and I'm just parking here to be a nuisance. 

I plan on spending my time in the national forests but even those are policed enough to where I'm going to get hassled.

I have family outside this country who came to the land of the free. They came, they saw, they went back home. 

Tell us more about Norway. I know there is no crime (probably because it's too cold to even wanna commit crimes) and you guys can drive race cars like a boss. 

What else?


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## Permafrost (Jan 31, 2013)

Veil of reality said:


> In the US it's considered "stealthy" hence illegal to sleep in your vehicle. Is it like that in Norway?


 
No. It's almost exactly the opposite.


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## happyearthhomes (Jan 31, 2013)

Building codes in your country may disallow you from building and living in a full on earthhship using earthbags and rammed earth techniques. But you can use recycled masonry products. Cinder blocks are something that can be purchased and you can still achieve similar results as rammed earth walls by filling them with sand and be able to meet building codes. I ran into a issue in my home state, where I could build an earthship but could not inhabit it because our laws consider it experimental housing. They wanted $70k in permits and I had to run the utilities in the home for two years with out residing there. Than I could take my collected data to our zoning and building commission for an attempt at getting a residential housing permit with the help of an attorney who wanted $10k up front to take the case. The total estimated cost of building an earth ship was $450k so I moved and now I am hoping to complete my earthship in the next year for just under $35k. I didn't take the recycled masonry into consideration when I was researching the costs in illinois if I had I would have avoided all issues with the local building codes. Using cinder blocks would have been completely allowable


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## Samuel (Jan 31, 2013)

Veil of reality said:


> In the US it's considered "stealthy" hence illegal to sleep in your vehicle. Is it like that in Norway?
> ...
> Tell us more about Norway. I know there is no crime (probably because it's too cold to even wanna commit crimes) and you guys can drive race cars like a boss.
> 
> What else?


Well, Norway has it's problems with crimes as well, but not by far in the same range as the US. With the weapon-regulations we have, so there's very few gun-related issues here (if you don't take the mass-murder in 2011 into account).

Basically Norway is a super-socialistic country where we pay most of our money in taxes and other public costs, but then again get most of the REALLY necessary things (education, health, infrastructure) for free, but everything we have to buy costs an "insane" amount of money. Our wages are high, but so are our expenses - so we aren't a rich country within our own borders - but let me take my money to almost ANY other country and I'm well set.

What I love about Norway is the clean air, the awesome mountains and rivers, and the amazing scenery that comes with it. We also have a legal right to camp ANYWHERE in the wild in Norway at one spot for 2-3 days, and we can park our car anywhere and sleep in it. Actually we are encouraged to sleep in our car, as it's better to sleep in a stationary car than to fall asleep in a moving car. Truck-drivers also has a bed in their "box" - this must be true in the US as well? As I don't know what you really want to know, I'll leave it with that. And oh, sorry to tell you this, but we don't have ice-bears walking down the streets 

Living in a boat is actually an option that me and my girl is considering together, but because of the temperature in the winter we will need to invest quite a bit in a boat where we will actually survive the winters.



happyearthhomes said:


> Building codes in your country may disallow you from building and living in a full on earthhship using earthbags and rammed earth techniques. But you can use recycled masonry products.


You've met quite some problems, wow. I hope you'll be able to get it done. Thank you for your tips, that might be a viable option for my fellow Earth-ship builders! I'll pass it on.


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