A lot of parents dream of hitting the road in an RV with their kids, but not many families would choose to live that way full time. Well, that’s not the case with today’s featured Tiny House story! Meet are the Longneckers, a family of SIX that have been living full time in an RV for the last 5 years! They started out by downsizing into a fifth wheel trailer, but after a few years on the road, they realized it was too big. Parking their giant trailer was difficult, and they weren’t able to go off-the-beaten track as much as they would have liked. So they downsized once again! This time into a renovated vintage airstream.
TAKE A TOUR OF THIS FAMILY’S INCREDIBLE RENOVATED VINTAGE AIRSTREAM :
COST TO PURCHASE & RENOVATE AN AIRSTREAM
- The Longneckers were able to find a vintage airstream for just $13,000. That’s a steal when you consider the new airstream of the same size could retail for up to $96,000!
- Renovation costs were somewhere around $35,000
- So the total cost is estimated to be $48,000
FOLLOW TINY SHINY HOME ON INSTAGRAM
FEATURES OF THIS RENOVATED VINTAGE AIRSTREAM:
- Large kitchen
- Solar Power – 400 amp hour batteries
- Bathroom with shower & nature’s head compost toilet
- Desk/Office area so that Jonathan can work on the road
BUT…. WHERE DO THEY ALL SLEEP?
With very limited space in their renovated vintage airstream (only 220 square feet) the Longneckers had to get creative with their interior design. The four children share a sleeping space, with two parallel bunk beds in the middle of the trailer. The parents sleep at the end of the trailer, and every night they have to make their bed by folding down the dining table and re-arranging the couch cushions into a mattress. This process might seem like a pain to some, but sometimes creature comforts have to be sacrificed if you want to live tiny.
WHY LIVE IN AN AIRSTREAM WITH YOUR FAMILY?
The Longneckers have had some amazing experiences over the last five years. They hike and camp in some of the United States’s most beautiful locations, and they home school on the road. As a family, they are closer than most. The kids have formed strong bonds with each other. Everyone is happy, living together on the road, and isn’t that what we all want for our family?
WOULD YOU LIVE IN A TINY HOUSE OR AIRSTREAM WITH YOUR KIDS?
Meet Nyakim Gatwec, A Model That Was Dubbed ‘Queen Of The Dark’
The woman was shocked when her Uber driver uninvitedly offered advise on how to take care of her beautiful skin.
The “Queen of the Dark,” as the fashion diva was affectionately called, laughed off his comments and embraced her breathtaking beauty.
Continue reading to find out what this Uber driver said her and how she utilized it as a teaching moment!
Nyakim Gatwech, who spent her early years in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, thought that living in America would “be like heaven.”
But when Gatwech moved to Buffalo at the age of 14, she stayed by herself a lot, crying over comments made about her very dark skin tone.
“You don’t wash your hair. Because of this, your skin is filthy.Or, “Nyakim, smile so we can see you. You are invisible to us. You have dirty skin as a result. Or grin for us to see you, Nyakim. We cannot see you.
In class, for example, the instructor might ask a question and say, “Oh, Nyakim, can you answer that?””How about a toddler asking, “Who are you talking to?”? We cannot see her. She’s not here. The now 31-year-old woman says, “I would just cry, and the whole class would start laughing,” as reported by Cosmopolitan.
The innocent young girl just wanted to fit in, but it was difficult when random people were speculating about whether or not she was indeed that dark-skinned and whether or not she was wearing leggings.
I did think about [bleaching my skin] at one time. I was 14 years old when I fled an African refugee camp and moved to Buffalo, New York. The beauty admits, “After being teased [about my skin], I would cry myself to sleep.””So many stunning Sudanese women with dark skin tones bleach their skin.”
The model continued by saying that her own sister was one of the Sudanese ladies who had bleached her skin.”It was my own sister.” However, after a few months of living in America, I told her that I wanted to, and she said no. I will not allow my kid, you, or anyone else to do it.
Dark Queen
The woman, who has encountered prejudice from makeup artists, designers, and other models, is now referred to as the Queen of the Dark and feels strong since she has triumphed over the criticism.
Additionally, Gatwech’s 962,000 dedicated Instagram fans encourage her self-assurance and amazing fondness for her deep chocolate skin tone.
“My chocolate is sophisticated. Thus, I stand for this. A country of fighters,” she writes in one of her posts.
And the incredibly beautiful woman’s admirers can’t get enough of her.
One fan writes, “Omgggggg I love your skin and melanin,” while another exclaims, “I love your beautiful skin tone so much!” God creates exquisite things like you to serve as a constant reminder of His majesty.
In response to the tremendous outpouring of love, Gatwech adds, “I learned to love myself.I’m not troubled by the negative anymore. I love and embrace my skin, and I no longer feel insecure about it. I no longer believe I’m ugly. I am confident in who I am.
“The silliest queries”
Speaking about her odd skin, Gatwech recounts about meeting an Uber driver a few years ago who asked if she would ever consider whitening it.
“Oh, you’re dark,” he remarked.Gatwech describes her chat with the driver to Cosmopolitan.”I merely chuckled. I was curious as to why he felt that I ought to. He said that because it would make my life simpler. If I were lighter, I could get into a relationship more easily and guys would be more drawn to me. I’m lighter, so if I went to a job interview, I would receive the opportunity. I just responded, “I’d rather take the [hard] road, even if] being lighter would make my life easier.”
The woman goes on, “I’m used to people asking the stupidest questions ever [about my skin].”
Gatwech then shared the story on Instagram along with a stunning picture of herself with three other stunning dark-skinned Sudanese women.
“A country with people so dark you won’t believe your eyes,” the author writes. Teeth so brilliant, skin so rich. Oh, how I cherish my nation, my people, and all that it entails.
“[SIC] I was asking my Uber driver the other day, and he said, don’t take this personally, but would you bleach your skin for ten thousand dollars?” she says, going on to describe her interaction with the driver. I couldn’t even respond because I was laughing so much.He then responded, “So that’s a no,” to which I replied, “Hell to the f*king yeah, that’s a no, why would I ever bleach this gorgeous melanin that God bless with me?””So you see it as a blessing,” he continued.
Her backers applauded Gatwech right away and raced to her defense.
“I suppose he missed the memo.”Black is gorgeous,” an admirer writes.
Another person says, “I cherish you for cherishing me.”A third wonders, “Why would we ever want to mess up something so beautiful?”
Asking Yahoo Beauty for guidance, she said, “You are beautiful, you are unique, and there are people who love you just the way you are” to young black girls suffering comparable struggles. It’s said that the juice of a cherry is sweeter the darker it is. Accept your gloom!
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