funny, I had a similar conversation with my sis the other day.
while looking for a new shed for the backyard, I thought, why not buy a shipping container?
Hanjin? Maersk?

also reminds me of this

OP, the Crown doesnt appreciate people trying to cut corners in the rat race, so I doubt its legal or easily doable... also the whole getting the toxic stuff off safely and disposing it is a real turn off for me personally.

You should be able to get around the laws if you put the container on a trailer though... checkout this tiny home doc.
We The Tiny House People (Documentary): Small Homes, Tiny Flats & Wee Shelters I recommend you build and find out if these following CNC machine cut houses can be made on a plot of land... some are structurally approved and they have spacing for insulation, ect... and it's more like a house then a steel box.
WikiHouse
WikiHouse / Open Source Construction Set

An example of a guy building a large house from CNC'd plywood.( w video)
Computerized Milling of a House in 4 Weeks

Myself Im planning to live in a mobile home for my first house. Im almost finished building a 4x4 foot CNC (which can be made for under $500 using my design) and with that I'll one day make the green house in my pictures below, which would be expandable too.
http://i.imgur.com/1JJTP.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/GBV4J.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/2L5kf.png
Anyone interested in brainstorming for future projects, message me.

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Anyone know her name? i tried searching but can't find it. She is very tough =) raising 4 kids is heck of a responsibility + $$. I'm gonna donate some money to her, need to locate where she is ~~

Funny was just thinking about this and if it would work along the train tracks in kerrisdale where they have the public farm spots..would be like an affordable housing option in a higher end neighbourhood. Although city council would never approve as it would disrupt the look of the neighbourhood.

nice concept but not very feasible in the lower mainland (at least in the dense neighbourhoods I think)

the reason people build these is they tend to be cheap in 3rd world countries like Belize, the Philippines etc, where the costs to convert them are pretty negligible. Here you'd still have to buy the land and then spend essentially what amounts to not quite, but fairly close to the same money to build and get one up to code that a mobile home would cost. They're great if you have land on a lake or something and want to make something like a 1 room cabin, and there's tons of websites and such that do it. I saw a place in Cebu (in the philippines) that had a trio of them, guy rented the land for something like 20 years (expats can't own land, their wives can though), and build a house using 2 of them welded together and put up on cement pylons, and a seperate one for e garage/workshop and another for a pool. the pool? those toxins people in the rest of the thread are talking about, essentially killed that plan, he dumped topsoil on it and turned it into a sand garden.

This tent can support tonnes of weight.

lol @ all the people who failed the OP.

OP, your idea might not work out well, it may not be very feasable, hell it may be down right stupid, but I like the fact that you're exploring alternate forms of living rather than being blindly forced into a half a mill mortgage because society tells you so.

Even though you end up doing the latter anyways, I still have much respect and enjoy your adventurous thinking. Fail or succeed, I would love to see that youTube channel.

I remember reading about a street dweller dieing in a shipping container that he lived in. I guess he left his hot plate on and it caught fire. I think I could live in one, but only if I built a window or a skylight. Would be too hard. Find a free window off craigslist, cut a hole in your container, put the window on with supports and such. Culk the shit out of it so it doesn't leak. Enjoy your containers view. not a good idea if you don't own the container though.

I want one full of guns and passports like the dude in Lord of War. Not to live in...just as some sort of evil genius vault.

Anyone know her name? i tried searching but can't find it. She is very tough =) raising 4 kids is heck of a responsibility + $$. I'm gonna donate some money to her, need to locate where she is ~~[/QUOTE]

This is totally impressive. That house actually looks quite comfy. I could live in that...as long as I have electricity and Wi-Fi but otherwise, she's got everything else.

Maybe she doesn't want money and handouts? Maybe she takes pride in being self sufficient and is happy the way she is. I mean, it sure sounds like it from the video. Not like you would ever follow through anyway.

Give your money to an orphanage, or people who do social work locally.