- Soo Jae Lee and Jeffrey Castro left their NYC studio to live in a tiny house in Portland, Oregon.
- "To our astonishment, we didn't slow down. Mother Nature truly keeps you on your toes," Castro said.
- They sold the tiny house after two years and said they wouldn't live in one full time again.
Soo Jae Lee and Jeffrey Castro started following tiny-house videos on YouTube in 2015.
The couple were living in a 400-square-foot studio apartment in Manhattan at that time, and they were always trying to find ways to make the best use of their limited space. In their apartment, they even built a king-size loft bed to create a tiny living room space beneath it.
"The studio we lived in in Manhattan made us feel like we would be able to adapt to an even smaller space," Castro, 47, told Business Insider. "We already felt as though we had too many things and were ready to live with even less."
The idea of living in a tiny house started to take root. That, along with the desire to be near nature, led the couple to move to the West Coast in 2019.
They started off in an apartment in the Alberta Arts District of Portland, Oregon. Castro was working remotely for an online media company, while Soo Jae left her fashion career to develop the couple's brand, SooJ and Jef, where they sold original artwork — including paintings, textile arts, and punch needle kits — and taught punch needle workshops.
By the end of the year, they'd met with designers to start on the plans for their personalized tiny house. But the pandemic hit — and their build was placed on indefinite hold because of the lockdowns.
They ended up buying a tiny house on wheels from a listing on Facebook Marketplace for about $60,000 and parked it on a lot they leased from farm owners on Sauvie Island — about a 30-minute drive from Portland. Rent was $675 each month and included utilities.
There were four other tiny houses — all occupied — on the farm, in addition to the owners in the main house, Castro said.
"The community was situated on an organic herbal medicine farm that housed animals for homesteading," Castro said. "We seized this opportunity, as it seemed like a rare chance to experience living in a wildlife sanctuary."
Sauvie Island measures about 24,000 acres, making it the largest island along the Columbia River. About 11,643 acres are designated as the Sauvie Island Wildlife Area. According to the Sauvie Island Fire District, there are about 445 households on the island.
The couple knew it wouldn't be easy, but they were eager to embark on a new adventure.
"In retrospect, we realize that we had jumped into the deep end before fully grasping the concept of 'living tiny,'" Castro said.
Tiny living on a farm
When the couple moved into their new tiny house, they made several changes to the interiors.
They moved the existing bed into a fixed lofted position, installed a shower system, and updated the composting toilet. To brighten things up, they also gave their tiny house a fresh coat of paint. All these updates amounted to slightly under $2,000, Castro said.
Being in such a different environment from what they were used to felt new and exciting.
"We had the opportunity to witness nature and wildlife in their most undisturbed state," Castro said. "Every evening, we are treated to the most breathtaking sunsets. The silence at night is equally captivating."
At that time, the couple relied on selling their handmade crafts at local markets to make a living, especially since Castro was laid off from his job when the pandemic hit.
Since they lacked a studio space, their tiny house also served as a makeshift factory, quickly filling up with products and art supplies.
As part of their lease with their landlord, the couple were also required to help out around the farm, Castro said.
But because of their lack of farming skills, their duties were limited to garbage handling, composting, watering, and overseeing the quails on the farm.
To supplement their contributions, the couple also offered to help in other ways, such as painting signs, filming video content for the farm, and photographing products.
The other livestock — such as pigs, goats, and ducks — were primarily cared for by the main family, but since the pens were near their parking spot, observing them became a part of the couple's daily routine.
Having grown up in the suburbs of New Jersey and Long Island, and later in New York City, living with animals was an eye-opening experience for them, Castro said.
"I adored all of them, and their charming and sometimes shocking behaviors surprised me," he said.
Grappling with unexpected challenges
The couple were part of a growing group of people interested in living tiny.
Housing keeps getting more expensive all around the world, which means tiny houses are often seen as a cheaper alternative to buying real estate.
Living tiny is also a way to live simply: Six people living in tiny houses told BI previously that the lifestyle forced them to declutter and cut back on unnecessary spending.
But as much as the couple enjoyed living in their tiny house, they eventually realized that adapting to their new environment was tougher than they'd anticipated.
"I would say it took a few months to really sink in that this living situation was not what I expected," Castro said.
Since Sauvie Island was primarily a wildlife area, their internet connection was often spotty, he said.
"We relied on cellular WiFi, which was unreliable and slow at best," he said, adding that their internet plan cost $110 a month.
They also frequently experienced power outages, especially during fire season when the power was turned off during high wind conditions, he said.
When winter came, frozen pipes became a problem — even with heated hoses, Castro said: "In some cases, we faced water shortages for days."
Their location also left them exposed to the elements. Castro remembers the wildfires that broke out across Oregon in September 2020, when smoke filled the air all around them and created hazardous breathing conditions for weeks.
For him, that — coupled with the then-ongoing pandemic restrictions — felt like a "turning point" on their journey.
"When the wildfire smoke engulfed the island, it kept us locked inside the tiny house because of the high toxicity levels," Castro said. "Stepping out the door required an N90 mask, the air was horrible-smelling, and we saw no sunlight that entire time."
The lockdowns also meant they had nowhere else to go — not even into Portland.
"Our small world had become even smaller and dangerous. This situation felt completely beyond our control, and that was terrifying," Castro said.
The following summer, there was also a massive heat wave in the Portland area, where temperatures soared to 116 degrees Fahrenheit.
"Unfortunately, we lacked a cooling system or ice," he said.
'Unfortunate timing' led to their experience
Compared with the city, life on the farm sometimes felt just as fast and overwhelming.
"To our astonishment, we didn't slow down. Mother Nature truly keeps you on your toes," Castro said. "There was always something to prepare for living on the farm, and all of it felt like a tight deadline."
It also made them realize that they took for granted how living and working in the city had kept them from worrying about preparing food on days they couldn't leave their homes.
Looking back, Castro said that experience helped them realize that they were out of their element.
"I fully understand that some of the challenges we faced are common daily struggles, and I'm not complaining," he said. "Honestly, I didn't enter this journey with a clear sense of self or my capabilities."
In many ways, it was "unfortunate timing" that led them to have the experience they had, he said.
Despite that, Castro is grateful for the chance to experiment with a lifestyle like this, which helped him grow and learn.
"In fact, I'm proud of how Soo Jae and I overcame the obstacles we put ourselves through," he added.
Saying goodbye to tiny living
After two years, they moved into an apartment and decided to list their tiny house for sale.
After weeks, they finally sold their tiny house to a couple in Canada who wanted to use it as a vacation home. They preferred to keep the amount they sold the tiny house for private.
In 2023, the couple moved yet again, this time into a rental house in Portland. But with their lease ending soon, they're now thinking about their next move — which includes leaving Oregon.
While their future plans are still uncertain, they know they won't live in a tiny house on wheels full time again. At most, Castro said, it will be "as a retreat or studio or rental only."
That said, the couple would be happy to move back to a big city.
"New York and New Jersey have always felt like home, so it would be a comfortable transition," Castro said.
Despite the challenges the couple faced, Castro said he didn't want to discourage anyone from pursuing this option.
"True freedom is the ability to experiment and to push beyond your own borders," Castro said. "I am also so grateful to have a partner to take this journey with and stick it through together."
Do you have any housing or relocation regrets? If you have a story to share, contact this reporter at agoh@businessinsider.com.