I'm a 64-year-old retiree who bought a tiny home after my divorce. It gave me a fresh start I could afford.

Margot Hollander bought a tiny home in cash. Samira Kafala for BI 2026-04-11T09:40:01.237Z Share Copy link Email Facebook WhatsApp X LinkedIn Bluesky Threads lighning bolt icon An icon in the shape of a lightning bolt.

Impact Link Save Saved Read in app This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. After her divorce, Margot Hollander bought a tiny home in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. Hollander, 64, bought the house in cash as it was difficult to get a mortgage as a retiree. Hollander said living in a tiny home village is sociable and has given her a fresh start in life. AI-generated summary Summaries are generated by an AI model trained on Business Insider's articles. AI may make mistakes or provide inaccurate/incomplete information. We're unable to load that answer right now. Please try again. What is Minitopia's housing concept? What are the social benefits of tiny home living? What challenges come with tiny home downsizing? How do tiny homes impact retirees' finances? How does one buy a tiny home in the Netherlands? This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Margot Hollander, 64, a retired dance teacher and project manager. She lives in the Dutch tiny home village of Minitopia, Eindhoven. The piece has been edited for length and clarity. Loading audio narration... After my divorce, I had to find somewhere to live. The rental market was tough, and as a retiree, my options for buying were limited without a mortgage.I first came across Eindhoven's Minitopia project in the news a few years back. When I started looking for a home in late 2023, at age 62, I found a tiny house there on a real-estate website. I booked a viewing and quickly made an offer. I paid about $143,000 in cash for the tiny house, which was as much as I could afford. I moved into the Minitopia tiny village in January 2024. I'm very happy to have bought it at this point in my life. Buying a tiny house was a chance to start fresh after my divorce Hollander said her tiny home is spacious enough for her and her dog. Samira Kafala for BI While I was very happy to move into a tiny home, there was a lot of downsizing involved, having moved from a regular-sized house also in Eindhoven. Even now, I'm still getting rid of clothes, shoes, and all the unnecessary things you accumulate over the years. I think it's good for your mind to downsize, and I'm happy to be living with less stuff.It was a model home when I bought it, with the walls and floors finished, and the kitchen and bathroom already fitted. I enjoy interior design and added my own touches, such as shutters and new furniture. I chose not to bring any furnishings from my old house. I wanted a fresh start. I've filled it with artwork that makes it feel like my own. That was important to me. After the divorce, moving here has given me independence. More on Minitopia We're raising toddlers in a tiny home. We work just 3 days a week, and save over half our income. I always wanted to live in Europe, so I bought a tiny home in the Netherlands when my son moved out. Now, I'm leaving. I moved into a tiny home village at age 37 with my son. His childhood is so free that we've stayed for 7 years. My wife and I built a tiny home in our 60s. The downsides are worth it to live mortgage-free. We built our tiny home using ChatGPT with no experience. Here's where AI saved us time and money — and where it didn't. We're a couple in our 30s who dreamed of building a tiny home. My parents had concerns, so we made a pitch deck to convince them. I've found it easy to make friendsIt's easy to get to know people who live in Minitopia. The Eindhoven tiny home village is Minitopia's largest, with space for 100 tiny houses. I meet people every time I take my dog out for a walk, and most are open and chatty. You don't need to make plans to go for a drink here; you can just easily fall into conversation with your neighbors. It's the simple things, like making small talk on the way to the parking lot, that give me such a good feeling about living here.I don't come across too many other retired people like me. Minitopia Eindhoven is a real mix of young and old, single and married, and people with and without children. That diversity is what makes it feel like a proper community. I wouldn't want too many other retirees to move in. I don't want it to become a retirement village.As a retiree, it works well for me financially Hollander's tiny home was fitted out before she bought it. Samira Kafala for BI I used to be a dance teacher and also worked in project management in the housing sector. Once you're retired, it's important to live within your means so you still have money left for other things. The more you spend on housing, the less you have to put toward your hobbies. I like to spend my money on sports.Financially, the tiny house works very well for me. I've found it's much cheaper to run than the regular house I lived in before. I have solar panels, so I'm not paying for electricity at the moment. The ground rent at Minitopia, which is a few hundred euros a month, is far lower than what I'd have paid to rent a larger home. I hope this is my forever homeWhile the house is relatively small, I have more than enough space for my small dog and me. It's not somewhere you can easily host big dinners, but that's what I like about it. I prefer one-on-one contact to large groups.Overall, I see very few inconveniences to living here. I like my tiny house and the community very much. I hope this will be my last home, though I hope I've got plenty of years left in it yet.