I don’t know why I pretended. Turns out Brian from Stan Seth is also a runner-up.
I never imagined we would end up living in the land of beachfront bungalows and sunny ocean coves that I saw on TV. But in 2021, we decided to leave the Bay Area and spend a few months in Brian’s hometown. We both work remotely – me writer He works in technology sales – so why not?
We’ve been here ever since. Today, we live in a 940-square-foot aluminum-sided trailer, across the street from the beach.
Deciding to stay in Laguna Beach wasn’t difficult – I mean it’s beautiful, sunny, relaxing and has a thriving arts scene. But figuring out the long-term living situation in such an expensive area requires us to get creative.
Average home prices in Laguna Beach Hovering around 3 million dollars The average monthly rent is More than $8000. Brian and I were paying $6,200 a month for our short-term rental, which is a steep price we can afford for a few months but not something we can afford.
Fortunately, we discovered a quirky little neighborhood tucked away in a picturesque valley across the street from the most luxurious hotel in the city. It’s full of mobile homes selling for under $150,000.
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Brian and I are no strangers to alternative housing — we previously lived on a 46-foot motor yacht for three years — so the concept of a house on wheels didn’t scare us.
When you purchase a trailer in this mobile home community, the structure is yours but you lease the land it sits on. We decided to look at purchasing a mobile home as a hybrid solution – part-owning and part-renting – all at a lower cost than either traditional option.
After living aboard a 46-foot yacht for three years, Brian says this 940-square-foot home “feels like a palace to us.” “We’ve always liked a funky place.”
Courtesy of Jacqueline Westlake
We paid $212,500 for the trailer using money we saved after negotiating a $5,000 credit from the sellers when the home inspection revealed some necessary repairs.
After living on a boat, we had little more than a TV and a mattress to begin with. In order to rebuild the unstable back deck, fence the yard, re-landscape, renovate the kitchen, and furnish the house, we took out a $150,000 home equity loan for the trailer.
All told, we currently pay about $5,148 per month, including:
- Land rental: $3,424
- Services: $394 (These prices fluctuate a little each month, but this is what we paid in April 2024 for electricity, gas, water, sewer, and internet)
- Repayment of loans: $1,330
We are eager to pay off our home equity loan to further reduce our monthly living costs and hope to do so within the next two years.
Our two-bedroom, two-bathroom home was built in the 1960s. The exterior is original and we love the vintage look.
There’s no garage, just a carport, so we built a storage shed in the side yard for our camping gear and holiday decorations.
Jacqueline and Brian’s old 940-square-foot school trailer has wheels (although they’re not visible) and can be moved. You can see the garage on the right and the storage shed overlooking the fence on the left.
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In our garage you’ll find a golf cart, which is our favorite way to get around the neighborhood, buy groceries, or navigate across the street to the beach. When it’s not practical to use a golf cart, we have a regular car and a truck to transport Brian’s surfboards around town.
We put our own stamp on the kitchen, adding butcher block tables, a tile backsplash, a dishwasher, and a wine refrigerator.
When they bought the trailer, Jacqueline and Brian knew they wanted to update the kitchen. “It was good, but it didn’t have a lot of warmth or personality,” Brian says. Jacqueline adds that she was “very white.”
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There are no safes – not one! – In this house, we’ve had to get creative with storage: my closet is in the living room, our towels are stored on a buffet in my office area, and our pots and pans are in the entertainment center.
It’s unconventional, but we make it work.
Jacqueline and Brian didn’t change anything structurally in the living room and dining area (to the left behind the sofa), but they had to figure out the right design in what they call “the weird space.”
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Although I have a real office, I often write on the couch with our 15-year-old dachshund mix Indy (short for Indiana Jones).
Brian usually works in the second bedroom, which has been turned into an office so he can close the door while making calls. Sometimes he will head abroad.
Jacqueline is a recruiter turned career advice columnist turned novelist, whose first book, Dear Dotty, was released in June. She has a second novel coming out next summer and is currently working on her third, usually at her desk or on the couch.
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We went a little extravagant with our wallpaper (everything tropical!), including in the master bedroom.
There’s something so satisfying about knowing that this place is ours to decorate however we like.
Jacqueline and Brian have a large bed, “which is important when you have a small dog that likes to take up a lot of space,” says Jacqueline. On the other side of the bed is a wardrobe with a TV hidden behind it and up on the elevator when they want to watch.
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The patio is what sold me on this place. It has an outdoor shower and dining area, and gets plenty of sunlight. We added some tropical landscaping, a hot tub, a ping pong table, a pizza oven, and a projection screen.
I love sitting outside and watching the hummingbirds dance around our plants.
Jacqueline and Brian spend much of their time outside in the backyard working, reading, relaxing, and hosting.
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Living in a home on wheels does not spare us from the usual headaches experienced by homeowners. Since moving in, we’ve dealt with an ant infestation, camped out for termites, flushed out a family of mice, and are currently grappling with a gopher problem.
But keeping our monthly housing costs low (for the area) makes addressing these issues less stressful.
We often enjoy our morning coffee on the deck, take a walk on the beach, and relax with a dip in the hot tub in the evening.
The trailer is located across the street from the beach and Jacqueline and Brian usually head out a few days a week.
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We love watching Indy sunbathing on his favorite lounge chair, having friends over for outdoor pizza parties, taking the golf cart into town for dinner or going to the annual event Sawdust Art Festivaland turn on the fire pit while we watch a movie under the stars.
In short, we couldn’t be happier here. We have been in this house for two years and are not planning on moving anytime soon.
Jacqueline Westlake He writes books about funny and flawed women trying to find their way in the world. “Her first novel”Dear Dottieis available wherever books are sold. She’s a recruiter and career advice columnist, and her work has appeared on The Muse, Business Insider, and Inc. You can follow her adventures in writing, living at the beach, and beyond on Instagram. @jaclyn_writing Or at jaclynwestlake.com.
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