I don’t know why I pretended. It turns out that Brian is also a Stan of Seth and Summer.
I never imagined we would end up living in the land of seaside cottages and sun-drenched ocean coves that I had seen on television. But in 2021, we decided to leave the Bay Area and spend a few months in Brian’s hometown. We both work remotely – I’m a writer and he’s in tech sales – so why not?
We have been here ever since. Today we live in an old-fashioned, 940-square-foot, aluminum-walled trailer across the street from the beach.
Deciding we wanted to stay in Laguna Beach wasn’t difficult – I mean, it’s beautiful, sunny, laid back and with a thriving arts scene. But finding a long-term living situation in such an expensive neighborhood forced us to get creative.
The median home price in Laguna Beach hovers around $3 million, and the median monthly rent exceeds $8,000. Brian and I were paying $6,200 a month for our short-term rental, a steep price that we could afford for a few months but couldn’t afford.
Luckily, we discovered a quirky little neighborhood nestled in a picturesque canyon across from the fanciest hotel in town. It’s full of mobile homes selling for as little as $150,000.
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Brian and I are no strangers to alternative abodes – we previously lived aboard a 46-foot motor yacht for three years – so the concept of a home on wheels didn’t intimidate us.
When you buy a trailer in this mobile home community, you own the structure but you rent the land it sits on. We decided to look at purchasing a mobile home as a hybrid solution – partial ownership, partial rental – all for less than either traditional option would cost.
After living aboard a 46-foot motor yacht for three years, the 940 square feet “feels like a mansion to us,” Brian says. “We always liked unconventional places.”
Courtesy of Jaclyn Westlake
We paid $212,500 for the trailer with money we saved after negotiating a $5,000 credit from the sellers when the home inspection revealed some needed repairs.
After living on a boat, we didn’t have much more than a TV and a mattress to start with. In order to rebuild the unstable back deck, fence in the yard, redo the landscaping, renovate the kitchen and furnish the house, we took out a $150,000 home equity loan for the trailer.
In total, we currently pay around $5,148 per month, including:
- Land lease: $3,424
- Utilities: $394 (these fluctuate a bit each month, but that’s what we paid in April 2024 for electricity, gas, water, sewer and internet)
- Loan repayment: $1,330
We look forward to paying off the home equity loan to further reduce our monthly cost of living and hope to achieve this over 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 is no garage, just a carport, so we built a storage shed in the side yard for camping gear and holiday decorations.
Jaclyn and Brian’s old-fashioned trailer, measuring 940 square feet, has wheels (although they’re not visible) and can be moved. You can see the carport on the right and the storage shed overlooking the fence on the left.
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In our carport you will find a golf cart, which is our favorite way to get around the neighborhood, run errands, or cross the street to the beach. When it is not practical to use the golf cart, we have a regular car and a van to transport Brian’s surfboards into town.
We put our own stamp on the kitchen by adding butcher block countertops, a tiled backsplash, a dishwasher, and a wine refrigerator.
When they bought the trailer, Jaclyn and Brian knew they wanted to upgrade the kitchen. “It was good, but it didn’t have a lot of warmth or character,” Brian says. Jaclyn adds that it was “very white.”
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There are no cupboards – not one! — so in this house we’ve had to get creative with storage: my wardrobe is in the living room, our towels are stored in a buffet in my office area, and the pots and pans go in the entertainment center.
It’s unconventional, but we make it work.
Jaclyn and Brian didn’t change anything structurally in the living room and dining room (to the left behind the sofa), but they had to find the right layout in what they call a “strange space.”
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Even though 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 converted into an office so he can close the door while he’s on a call. Sometimes he goes out.
Jaclyn is a recruiter turned career advice columnist and 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 her couch.
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We went a little crazy with our wallpaper (all tropical!), including in the master bedroom.
There’s something so fun about knowing that this place is ours and we can decorate it however we want.
Jaclyn and Brian have a king-size bed, “which is important when you have a small dog who likes to take up a lot of space,” says Jaclyn. Opposite the bed is a dresser with a television hidden behind it that goes up on a lift when they want to watch.
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It was the court that sold us to this place. It has an outdoor shower and a dining area and enjoys plenty of sunlight. We added tropical landscaping, a hot tub, ping pong table, pizza oven and projector screen.
I love sitting outside and watching the hummingbirds dance around our plants.
Jaclyn and Brian spend a lot of time outside in the garden, working, reading, relaxing and hosting.
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Living in a home on wheels doesn’t exempt us from typical homeowner headaches. Since moving in, we’ve dealt with an ant infestation, set up termite tents, and evicted a family of mice, and we’re currently dealing with a gopher problem.
But keeping our monthly housing costs low (for the area) makes solving these problems less stressful.
We often have our morning coffee on the patio, walk to the beach, and relax with an evening dip in the hot tub.
The caravan is across the street from the beach and Jaclyn and Brian usually spend a few days a week there.
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We love watching Indy sunbathing on his favorite lounge chair, inviting friends over for outdoor pizza parties, taking the golf cart into town for dinner or attending the annual Sawdust Art Festival, and lighting the fire pit while we watch a movie under the sun. stars.
In short, we couldn’t be happier here. We’ve lived in this house for two years now and have no plans to move anytime soon.
Jaclyn Westlake writes books about funny, flawed women trying to find their way in the world. His first novel, “Dear Dotty“, is available wherever books are sold. A recruiter turned career advice columnist, her work has appeared on The Muse, Business Insider, and Inc. You can follow her adventures in writing, beach life, and beyond on Instagram. @jaclyn_writing or to jaclynwestlake.com.
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