Student ditches dorms for 145-square-foot tiny home to graduate debt-free

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College Student Opts For Tiny House Rather Than Traditional Dorm Room
College Student Opts For Tiny House Rather Than Traditional Dorm Room

A Texas college student who was interested in neither the dorm life or the life of a post-college debtor made an interesting choice when deciding where to live during his studies: a tiny house.

Joel Weber, a student at the University of Texas in Austin, was preparing to enroll in the school's design program when he realized he'd be spending more than $1,000 per month to live in the dorms and even more to live in off-campus housing.

Instead, he decided to build his own home that he could put anywhere he wanted.

Take a peek inside:

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Weber created his own floor plan and, for around $20,000, he built his 145-square-foot home atop an 18-foot flatbed trailer.

"I wanted something that I could invest in, having the satisfaction and motivation of knowing the improvements I make would last for me or whoever came after me," 25-year-old Weber told INSIDE EDITION. "I don't see the majority of students learning that in a dorm or apartment."

Weber said he's not much of a partier and doesn't think he's missing too much by living in the tiny home, which some family friends allow him to park on their property.

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"The space is a cozy, inspiring, healing, fun, sustainable, efficient, ecological and nurturing," Weber said.

Though he clearly loves his tiny house, Weber said he's gotten multiple offers for the home and may one day sell it--possibly to live in an even stranger abode.

"As my budget allows, I may invest in a different living space that could have an actual foundation or have more square footage or even up in a tree," he said. "Most importantly are all the things that I have learned from the building process and from being in a smaller space. I will carry those with me for a lifetime."

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