Volant7, I'm on board with what you are saying...and I find it too depressing to research how long we've been going in circles.

I've decided to change my own life, lead as an example to my family and friends, and let them decide if it is right for them.

Bravalady, I have also considered using the straw bale plan, mainly because I live in farm country and straw is very easily obtained and very inexpensive, plus, as they've shown, it is a great insulator and it can last for decades if done right. I'd much rather place straw bales in the ground for my concrete forms that styrofoam, but there are other issues with burying organic materials.

Bushidobillyclub, the reason I'm looking to move outside of the county where I live is because of real estate taxes...the land outside of city limits is pretty reasonable in terms of cost, but the taxes are still really high. If it weren't for my connection to family and friends, I'd move to Kentucky, where there is plenty of land and the cost as well as taxes are dirt cheap compared to here. I don't know what roots you to Florida, so moving may not be an option for you. Florida presents all sorts of building challenges due to soil conditions and humidity.

What I wanted more than the Con-Ex containers was to find some Quonset huts. Those things have really stood the test of time, and create a lot more open space. I'm sure they could be reinforced, as I've been inside enough ammo bunkers to know they just covered them with concrete, then shoved dirt over the top of them.

Jeanniebean, there are a wide range of insulation products that can be applied to the outside of the containers to maximize indoor space, or, like Bushidobillyclub indicates, you could frame walls on the inside against the container wall to run your electricity, etcetera and insulate those walls. A combination of both would probably be a good idea, and the straw bales could be included on the outside as well.

Look into straw bale houses, JB. Believe it or not. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw-bale_construction

In 1998 Maine (and other parts of the Northeast) had what was referred to at the Great Ice Storm. The place where I was planning to build my house lost power for three WEEKS. So when I started the building a year later, I made sure it was passive solar and had all the gas appliances I could get, including a nonelectric propane heater (most of them require electricity for the pilot light). I considered a propane refrigerator, but they cost 3 or 4 times what an electric one does. I was seriously considering getting a generator, too, but one big enough to run all the appliances I'd need would have cost several thousand dollars, so I let it go. They're also noisy. And I figured that for less than 100-year ice storms, I could get by for a few days fine. Over the 10 years I lived there we did have some power outages that really weren't as bad for me as for my all-electric friends.

Everyone wonders why I didn't have a fireplace or wood-burning stove, but it's just too much work for me. As MD said, it's really hard to control the heat. It's also very drying and dirty--soot gets inside no matter what, and there's always crud from the wood on the floor. The woodpile attracts vermin, so you want it away from your living space if not outside, so then you gotta carry the stuff--the inconvenience is endless. I've done enough of that to last me the rest of eternity.

Most people live in houses that are way too big, in my opinion. My house was 1100 square feet but because of its open plan and huge windows it felt like much more.

Volant7, I'm on board with what you are saying...and I find it too depressing to research how long we've been going in circles.

I've decided to change my own life, lead as an example to my family and friends, and let them decide if it is right for them.

Bravalady, I have also considered using the straw bale plan, mainly because I live in farm country and straw is very easily obtained and very inexpensive, plus, as they've shown, it is a great insulator and it can last for decades if done right. I'd much rather place straw bales in the ground for my concrete forms that styrofoam, but there are other issues with burying organic materials.

Bushidobillyclub, the reason I'm looking to move outside of the county where I live is because of real estate taxes...the land outside of city limits is pretty reasonable in terms of cost, but the taxes are still really high. If it weren't for my connection to family and friends, I'd move to Kentucky, where there is plenty of land and the cost as well as taxes are dirt cheap compared to here. I don't know what roots you to Florida, so moving may not be an option for you. Florida presents all sorts of building challenges due to soil conditions and humidity.

What I wanted more than the Con-Ex containers was to find some Quonset huts. Those things have really stood the test of time, and create a lot more open space. I'm sure they could be reinforced, as I've been inside enough ammo bunkers to know they just covered them with concrete, then shoved dirt over the top of them.

Jeanniebean, there are a wide range of insulation products that can be applied to the outside of the containers to maximize indoor space, or, like Bushidobillyclub indicates, you could frame walls on the inside against the container wall to run your electricity, etcetera and insulate those walls. A combination of both would probably be a good idea, and the straw bales could be included on the outside as well.

I like the idea of the hidden underground home, too, Jeaniebean but I've never considered a teepee!

My fantasy home has slides and tunnels. It would be a grown-up version of all those super neat play lands that you see at fast food restaurants and theme parks, and by grown-up, I mean just larger in size (and maybe fewer water cannons).

I couldn't live underground, I love light. I grew up with 100 watt bulbs in overhead ceiling fixtures in every room. My father tore the house down to the foundations when they bought it and rebuilt it almost completely. He must have liked the light too. Until I went out on my own I had no idea that wasn't the norm.

My house really was my dream house, in the middle of a huge field only steps away from a wild river, out in the middle of nowhere. Big garden, apple trees, pines and oaks and maples and goldenrod. I still wonder if moving was the right decision. But it was very lonely.

I once knew some people who apparently were Native Americans, though I have no idea what tribe(s), and they had a huge tepee in the middle of their field. I think it was for camping or ceremonial use, because they had a really nice traditional house too.

When I get out of this apartment and buy a house here, I want to have slides and tunnels for my cats.