Ever Yearn To Live Like A Hobbit ?

[Judge]

Saw this article on various underground homes. Some of them look pretty neat.

Incredible underground homes you'll want to see inside

 

[Mattymatt]

I know I have definitely yearned for a life in the woods and completely away from people. I would be happy having a cabin in the mountains but I would first need to learn some serious mountain man skills. Your post reminded me of the NatGeo show about people who live off grid. There is one guy that actually lives in a series of caves and he's as happy as a clam.

 

[Progster]

I don't think I'd like to live in an underground home, mainly because there's be little natural sunlight and I wouldn't like to have to use artificial lighting in the daytime, it might be damp and prone to flooding, and I would feel vulnerable and claustrophobic, especially if there were taller buildings or other structures all around me. I would prefer a log cabin up in the mountains, with a good view of the surrounding countryside.

 

[Judge]

I don't think I'd like to live in an underground home, mainly because there's be little natural sunlight and I wouldn't like to have to use artificial lighting in the daytime, it might be damp and prone to flooding, and I would feel vulnerable and claustrophobic, especially if there were taller buildings or other structures all around me. I would prefer a log cabin up in the mountains, with a good view of the surrounding countryside.

Point taken. With minimal windows perhaps only on a single side I hope these places face either east or west to make the most of minimal sunlight exposure.

 

[kay]

Underground makes a lot of sense if you are in an area with frequent tornadoes. And there are lots of options for getting the natural light in so that doesn't have to be a problem with careful design. Get a good architect if you are going to build an underground house and you can avoid the problems that could go with one of these type of houses. I see so many advantages though to living underground: cozy, can be as dark as needed, safe, quieter, garden space on top, more stable temperature.

 

[WittyAspie]

Point taken. With minimal windows perhaps only on a single side I hope these places face either east or west to make the most of minimal sunlight exposure.

Facing south in the Northern hemisphere makes the most sense. That would provide the most sunlight in every season.

 

[Nervous Rex]

Facing south in the Northern hemisphere makes the most sense. That would provide the most sunlight in every season.

I've seen houses with eaves designed to block the sunlight when it's in the high summer arc, but let it in it's in the low winter arc. That seems ideal to me - you get more warmth in the winter, but block some extra heat in the summer.

 

[Judge]

Facing south in the Northern hemisphere makes the most sense. That would provide the most sunlight in every season.

Interesting. I've faced north for years in different locations with very different results. Adequate sunlight, but no more than that. In one place it was like Dracula's crypt. In another, most of the time it's pleasing.

Though any physical obstacles adjacent to one's home can certainly skew it all.

 

[the_tortoise]

I would love to live in a hobbit house in the side of a hill.

 

[Judge]

I'd settle for just a bedroom without any windows at all.

 

[onlything]

I did. Very often. Easy, peaceful life, without many people, without many worries. Would be nice.

 

[Gritches]

I always wanted to live in an underground bunker like a super-villain. If I did I'd wear the cape and everything, I'd be sooo happy.

 

[Joel's Hear]

I am a hobbit and I feel so exposed outside of my hole! (Autocorrect saved me from hibbit and expised).

 

[SusanLR]

I was just thinking about Hobbit houses last night!
For some reason when watching How the Grinch Stole Christmas, it just came into my mind how I would like to be away from it all in something like a Hobbit house.

I think they could get very creative and have more than one window but still be cozy.

I was feeling very depressed and wanted to somehow be in a simple place with a simple life.

 

[Butterfly88]

Cool, but if I was going to live alone I think I'd prefer to live above the ground. Being underground can't be good for vitamin D levels plus I think a lack of light would be depressing, though some of the houses shown seemed better lit than I expected.

 

[WereBear]

I nicknamed our new apartment Shirehouse.

• positioned in the back, on the lowest floor, so the bulk of the 3 stories is behind and above
• in front of it is a small parking area carved out of a hillside and lined with trees and rocks
• on the east is a tall set of windows which brings in lots of light during the day
• this same room has a fireplace
• we are insulated from the road and other houses for the most part
• when the shades are drawn on the lower set of windows, the upper set shows only sky and trees
• we live with elves (our 4 cats)

Pretty darn close!

 

[Judge]

Cool, but if I was going to live alone I think I'd prefer to live above the ground. Being underground can't be good for vitamin D levels plus I think a lack of light would be depressing, though some of the houses shown seemed better lit than I expected.

Good point. I'm inclined to believe I do in fact suffer a bit from seasonal affective disorder, having once lived in an apartment that simply had insufficient sunlight 24/7.

It would make it necessary for whatever above-ground sunlight there is to be somehow optimized if possible. Though I recall one of the examples in Britain was intriguing given sunlight on the top floor seemed to spread downwards given how open the bottom floor seemed.

 

[Butterfly88]

Good point. I'm inclined to believe I do in fact suffer a bit from seasonal affective disorder, having once lived in an apartment that simply had insufficient sunlight 24/7.

It would make it necessary for whatever above-ground sunlight there is to be somehow optimized if possible. Though I recall one of the examples in Britain was intriguing given sunlight on the top floor seemed to spread downwards given how open the bottom floor seemed.

You could try a sun lamp, maybe that would be helpful.

 

[Judge]

You could try a sun lamp, maybe that would be helpful.

I'm afraid that might be challenging for me as well. I have no explanation for this, but somewhere along the development of more sophisticated light sources I've become preferential to color temperature. The higher on the Kelvin scale, the more I like it.

Or simply put, I can't stand yellow, "jaundiced" light of any kind. I go for "daylight" bulbs at a minimum of 5000K. I suppose I could look though...wondering if they do make sun lamps with these temperature considerations. Hmmmm.

Of course it would all be irrelevant unless I actually lived in a place that was subterranean in nature. Something that can't happen living in earthquake country.

 

[Butterfly88]

Interesting @Judge, I hope if you are depressed you find something that works for you.