Free So, You Want to Live in a Yurt? by Erin Kelly

SO, WHAT IS A YURT?
    yurtFAQs.com
AKA - one of those “things” (our building inspector when we first spoke with him), a “circus tent” (by our family members)… and so on.
    The original yurt was found in Mongolia, used by people who needed an easily moveable structure as they travelled with their herds of animals across the plains. It was a much more basic version of what you can buy from Pacific Yurts or similar modern yurt companies. What we’re currently living in is certainly more moveable than a house, but after the work of building the deck, installing plumbing/electric and an interior closed bathroom with stick built walls and ceiling ….this yurt isn’t going anywhere anytime soon! So when people describe yurts as “easy to move”, “cheap” or similar - take it with a grain of salt, and remember, the yurt itself might be those things, but the components that make it the best home we’ve ever lived in, are not so “easy to move” or “cheap”. But we’ll cover that further in later chapters.
    But, what IS a yurt? A yurt is essentially a round building, with a lattice support system for the walls, and canvas type fabric covering the whole shebang. Most, if not all, yurts also have a plexiglass dome topping the dome shaped structure that brings in light and air. Depending on the yurt manufacturer, the individual components might vary slightly, but that’s a yurt in a nutshell. Usually when you purchase a yurt, you’re getting the shell of your home, and it’s up to you how you’ll construct the deck, the floor, interior walls (if any), whether you’ll include indoor plumbing and electric, and so on. The less you do, the less you’ll have to deal with a building inspector or contractor. The more you can do yourself, the less it’ll cost you, but you might end up pulling out your hair dealing with your county inspector, especially if it’s one of the first yurts in the area.
    Living in a yurt is often described as “living in the round”, and many people say they feel instantly peaceful when they step foot in one, and sleep like a baby in their yurt.
    One common explanation for that sense of peace, is that circles are more natural, and thus we naturally feel more at home in a circular space. There are no hidden corners, air flow is better, sunlight fills a yurt with a warm glow, and so on.
    Without getting all hocus pocus-y on you, I will say this. We DO sleep better in our yurt, I love having our home office in it and everyone that has stepped foot in here, from the Lowes delivery guys to local hunters who happened by, are entranced and often completely enamored with our yurt.
    Our contractors loved working here, and genuinely seemed sad to leave “their yurt”. They went from being enthusiastically curious when beginning the project, to enthusiastically proud when showing it off to the many visitors that just stopped by.
    You can’t capture the yurt “feel” with pictures, or even video. To understand, you have to visit a yurt and preferably, spend some time in one. If you’re thinking of buying a yurt, I highly recommend visiting one of the many B&B yurts that are popping up, a rustic camping yurt found in many state parks and/or contact various yurt companies for suggested yurt rentals.
    I will say, we stayed in a rustic yurt in PA a few years ago, and it convinced us a yurt wasn’t our thing. It was just a litttttle too intense. But looking back, that had to do more with outside circumstances (hurricane force winds, no plumbing, bare bones camp furniture, etc) than the yurt itself. Even as huge branches went flying over the dome, we were impressed how warm it kept us with just one small space heater, and we liked the way it looked inside, but it was just SO rustic.
    A key factor of yurts, and one that you really should keep in mind, is that you WILL be more in touch with nature. If you’re thinking of putting a yurt in a loud, urban environment - look elsewhere. These structures