I'm a New Yorker who spent 4 days staying in tiny homes in the mountains. Here are 11 things that surprised me most.

Paige DiFioreMay 18, 2023, 21:44 IST

I was out of my comfort zone staying in tiny spaces in the wilderness, but I made it work and enjoyed it more than I thought I would.Paige DiFiore

I'm from New York City. Recently, I stayed in tiny homes at Charmed Resort in the Canadian Rockies.
The tiny homes are a quarter of the size of my apartment but they didn't feel very small inside.

I was born and raised in New York City and recently went out of my comfort zone by booking a four-day stay at Charmed Resorts, a collection of tiny homes in Crowsnest Pass, Canada.

Located 2 1/2 hours from the Calgary International Airport in the Canadian Rockies, the resort has about a dozen tiny homes with fairy-tale themes. I stayed in Rapunzel's Cottage, The Lost Boy's Treehouse, Belle's Cottage, and the Elvyn Cottage.

I'm not very big on nature and am far from a minimalist — every closet and drawer in my apartment is overflowing or stuffed to the brim — so I was curious how I'd do staying in a small space in the Rockies.

Here's what surprised me most about my first tiny-home experience in the woods.

Insider paid a media rate of $400 for four tiny-home stays. The full rate was about $1,000.

The tiny homes felt a lot bigger on the inside than they looked on the outside, mostly due to the high ceilings.

The ceilings in Belle's Cottage were incredible.Paige DiFiore

Staying in these small spaces made me feel like a kid again, but the resort had plenty of activities for adults, too.

I'm pretty short, so I enjoyed feeling tall in some of these spaces.Paige DiFiore

I was so impressed by the number of outlets in each home.

Tiny homes vary, but a small size doesn't mean you won't have modern perks and amenities.Paige DiFiore

Not everything in the tiny home felt small — we had a queen-size bed, a full-size fridge, and a luxurious shower.

The showers and toilets in every home felt about the same size you'd find in a typical home.Paige DiFiore

I didn't realize how cluttered a small space could get in just one night.

At some points, we found creative ways to store our belongings.Paige DiFiore

Even so, we found some creative ways to utilize the small spaces.

We used our surroundings to make more storage and adapt to the small space.Paige DiFiore

I didn't think I was big on nature, but I never got bored on the property and I hardly reached for my phone.

Setting up the hot tub and then draining it took up a decent amount of our time.Paige DiFiore

Much to my surprise, I didn't miss watching TV.

I'm not even sure where a TV would fit in these homes.Paige DiFiore

The tiny homes were surprisingly quiet, and I found the near silence a bit unsettling at night.

I'm not used to such crisp silence.Paige DiFiore

I felt safe the entire time, but sleeping in a bed surrounded by ground-floor windows at night spooked me.

Being able to touch a window while lying in bed unsettled me.Paige DiFiore

By the end of the trip, I realized that city living might not be for me anymore.

Turns out, I like nature a lot more than I thought I did.Paige DiFiore

A couple living on a 59-foot narrowboat they say cost $47,000 gave viewers a tour of their bohemian 'sanctuary.' Take a look inside.

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