Dan Price’s underground home, art & philosophy on $5,000/year
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdLAM-wChxY
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 caretaking 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 stad 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.