First Resident Interview: Living in ESCAPE ONE XL Tall Tiny House Tampa Bay Village Florida

Tim was the first resident to move into the ESCAPE Tampa Bay Tiny House Village in Thonotosassa, Florida. In this interview, he shares his experience choosing a unit, the transition from traditional homeownership to tiny house living, and what daily life looks like in a planned tiny house community. Listen to part 2 of this interview here.

Tim’s ESCAPE ONE XL Tall Tiny House

Image via ESCAPE

What Was It Like Being the First Resident at ESCAPE Tampa Bay Village?

Things have been fantastic so far. I have been downsizing since 2018, and have been preparing to move into some sort of tiny dwelling for over a year now, so it was a relatively easy move into my tiny home. Build quality of the unit is great, the insulation + windows have done a fantastic job keeping the heat and humidity out of my unit, especially since our daily “feels like” temperature has been well over 100 degrees over the past few days. A/C unit and fan work very well keeping the interior cool and comfortable.

The community has a beautiful ambiance, like being at a really nice RV campground. I love that each unit has its’ own tiny driveway, deck, and landscaping.

The location itself, while not immediately close to anything but a Winn Dixie and a Subway, sits 20-30 minutes from most everything one would typically need. Immediate access to I-75 and five minutes from I-4 make it easy to get anywhere else when needed.

Image via ESCAPE

Why Did You Choose the ESCAPE ONE XL Tall Model?

I ended up going with Unit 8, the One XL Tall model. Yes it was difficult to pick, I could’ve made any unit work but I was seriously considering 3, 4, 8, 9, and 10.

I ended up going with unit 8 for a few reasons:

• It has solar installed, so given that I get direct sun pretty much all day means my electric bill should be very low.
• The front of my unit faces north, meaning little direct sun will come in through my north-facing windows most of the year. Right now I do have all of my blinds down to block as much sun as possible, but I will open up my big window and door window to let in natural light.
• It had enough space for me to fit my bike rack and two bikes without taking up much floor room. I know from the angle of the picture it looks like it interferes with the stairwell, but you can easily get up and down the stairs without running into the bikes.
• The lot sits on higher ground. Heavy rains should drain easily away from my unit.
• Bedroom on 2nd floor gives space on 1st floor for an awesome built-in bookshelf/entertainment center/living room area.
• It was, surprisingly, in the middle of the pack regarding the unit price. Also, lot rent was on the lower side.
• The floor plan! I have separate areas for living room/office, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and storage/work out combo space. All in 388 square feet, when including the 2nd floor.

Unit 9 is just like mine but has additional upgrades (white cabinets, tile shower, bigger window in living room). Units 4 and 10 are similar in that they have a 2nd floor bedroom and built-in entertainment center and have a really nice semi-private deck off the sliding door. Unit 3 sits in the shade all day long – while it doesn’t have solar, it also never gets direct sunlight, which will help keep it cool.

Image by Tim

What Do You Like Most About Tiny House Living?

Benefits:

1. Takes less than 15 minutes to clean my entire house!
2. Since I have very limited space, everything I do have has a specific purpose (or two+) AND has a specific place it resides. Easy to remember where everything is too.
3. You appreciate what you do have more, since I’ve been downsizing/going ‘minimalist’ for the past two years everything I currently own likely survived multiple rounds of ‘stuff purging’.

Things I like the most:

1. Having my own space again
2. RV-size living with residential, full-size amenities (a REAL toilet AND shower, full-size fridge, microwave, and range/oven, in-unit washer and dryer, a living room, stuff like that)
3. Instant hot water
4. Solar power

What Was Your Previous Living Situation Before Going Tiny?

In 2014 I purchased a traditional 3 bed/2 bath/2 car garage house in a decent little neighborhood in Seffner. The house had a new roof, new hot water heater, and new fence. However, in the four years I owned it, I fixed/upgraded just about everything – painted every room (twice), new A/C unit, new flooring, new windows, complete renovations of both bathrooms, new pool equipment and pool liner, upgraded garage flooring, redid landscaping, and many other things. I grew so tired of putting so much money into the house. I also had my “dream” cars – an older Jeep Wrangler, and a newer Chevy Camaro. Thanks to those two cars I met some incredible people and did some activities I never had done before (off-roading in the Wrangler, drag race at a track in the Camaro, etc…), but… they were absolute mechanical nightmares and money pits.

2018 was a breaking point for me. All of my free time, and a lot of my money, were both going towards the house and the vehicles, which was rather upsetting. Plus, I also lost both of my grandfathers in 2018 about six weeks apart, which made me realize that I was spending my life focused on the wrong things – stuff instead of people and relationships. So, sold both vehicles and got one that has been a perfect fit for me, and put the house on the market. The sale signaled to me the ridiculousness of home values. It got me thinking that there has to be affordable alternatives to housing, so I began my research into better options.

Image by Tim

Why a Tiny House Community Instead of Full-Time RV Living?

The original plan I had settled on was to buy a truck and an Airstream travel trailer and live in it full-time while working my remote job and traveling around the US. I’d still LOVE to do this some day, but a few reasons why I ultimately did not go this route:

1. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down almost all campgrounds across the United States. The most recent numbers show just over a million people live full-time in RVs. Most of them did not have a place to go as campgrounds shut down all over the US. I did not want to be in a future situation where I’d literally have nowhere to safely settle down if and when we have the next pandemic.
2. To mitigate issue #1, I looked into perhaps building a small house with an RV-sized garage here in Florida. But, the cost for decent land in the areas I was looking in were expensive, possible zoning issues, and the cost for building what I wanted. Combine the cost for land, cost for construction of the new house, cost for a truck, and cost of an Airstream spec’d out how I would want it and I’m sitting somewhere between $400-500k in DEBT. I’m sorry, but that is an absolute absurd amount of debt and I would never even consider taking on that amount.
3. Job security concerns during economic uncertainty. Even in my industry (Talent Acquisition software) we took a hit, so I didn’t want to be tied up with massive amounts of debt if I were to lose my job.

I happened upon a news article about ESCAPE Tampa Bay Village and how it had just opened up. I looked it up, saw how well-constructed these tiny homes were built, and reached out to schedule a tour. Fell in love with the property, seriously considered half of the available units, applied and was quickly approved for financing, and got the paperwork squared away.

Working from Home in a Tiny House

Yes, I work from home. I’ve actually been a remote employee for over four years now.

I just built a portable standing desk, with inspiration from Tiny Shiny Home. It’s a tripod, with a mount, mounted to a 12″ x 24″ shelf. I can work solely off my laptop, hook it up to my TV as a 2nd monitor, or use a wireless keyboard & mouse to use the TV as the primary monitor. It gives me a ton of flexibility, I’m rather excited to have a standing desk again!

Image by Tim

Tim’s Philosophy on Living Small

Ultimately, living small for me boils down to the following three things:

1. Living simply – I don’t have much room to store stuff in my tiny home, so the things I do own all serve a purpose. Everything I own means something to me and I’m not burdened by clutter.
2. Living purposefully – It takes mere minutes to clean my entire house. I do not have to worry about tending to the landscaping. I’m not spending time worrying about material objects. Outside of work, I’m actually able to dedicate my free time to family, friends, and riding my bikes. My time is spent on people and experiences, not on things.
3. Living well within my means – My tiny home cost under $100k. I also don’t have to spend money furnishing thousands of square feet of space, cooling thousands of square feet of space (especially here in Florida, where it’s not only the heat but the humidity that keeps the A/C running constantly), nor spend money on lawn equipment. Having a lower portion of my income dedicated to housing costs opens up other avenues for my financial well-being.

Continue the Interview

• Listen to Part 2: Podcast Interview with Tim

Lessons from Tim’s Tiny House Journey

• Preparation Makes Transition Easier: Tim spent two years downsizing and embracing minimalism before moving, which made the transition to 388 square feet relatively smooth
• Site Selection Matters: He chose his specific unit based on practical factors like solar exposure, drainage, lot elevation, and orientation – details that affect daily comfort and utility costs
• Communities Provide Security: Unlike full-time RV living, a permanent tiny house community offers a stable home base that can’t be taken away during emergencies or economic downturns
• Remote Work and Tiny Living Align Well: With creative solutions like a portable standing desk, tiny houses can accommodate home offices without sacrificing living space
• Financial Freedom Follows Downsizing: Moving from a traditional home with constant maintenance costs to a tiny house reduced Tim’s housing burden and freed resources for experiences rather than possessions

Learn More

• ESCAPE Tampa Bay Village – Available Units
• How Tim Built His DIY Standing Desk

Related Stories

• ESCAPE Tampa Bay Tiny House Village Community
• ESCAPE ONE XL Wide Dual Loft Tiny House
• ESCAPE Boho XL Wide First-Floor Bedroom Tiny House
• ESCAPE Tampa Bay Village Tour and Video Walkthrough

Our thanks to Tim for sharing his experience!

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Alex

Alex Pino is the founder of Tiny House Talk, a leading resource on tiny homes and simple living since 2009. He helps readers discover unique homes, connect with builders, and explore alternative living.

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