My spouse and I live in a 399-square-foot tiny home on wheels. Our lifestyle hasn't been as cheap and glamorous as it looks.

• I love living in a tiny home with my partner and our dog, but it has come with challenges.
• Buying, moving, and insuring a tiny home can be expensive and challenging.

Tiny living has become pretty popular, but it requires a lot of careful consideration of multiple factors.

In 2016, I relocated from New York City to Texas where I met my current spouse, Brianna. After two years of dating, we got our first apartment together, but our rent steadily increased, soaring from $740 to $1,400 in just four years.

Soon tired of high rental prices, we began to consider purchasing a home. However, as a young millennial couple who enjoys traveling and exploring new cities, we weren't interested in spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to put down roots in a single location.

Instead, we explored alternatives such as vans, RVs, and container homes. We ultimately fell in love with the concept of a tiny house on wheels.

Although we now love everything about living in a tiny home with our dog, the journey to get here was not easy.

Getting started takes a lot of research, time, and money

When beginning your tiny-home research, it's important to consider three factors: finances, parking, and the home itself.

Purchasing a home on wheels differs from a stationary one because while sorting out your finances you must also search for a suitable parking spot for your home.

Finding parking is hard and requires thorough research. There are many regulations and laws when it comes to tiny homes that can vary by state, city, and county. Even if you own land, you might not be allowed to have a tiny home on your property.

Parking a tiny home on wheels in an RV park is an option but the house must have certain certifications and, in some cases, be built in the last 10 years. Joining a tiny-house community is an option also but that could mean living in more remote areas or sitting on a years-long waitlist.

And, again, additional certifications are often required for entry into these communities.

Tiny houses aren't cheap just because they're small — plus, moving them can be expensive and risky

We bought a pre-owned 399-square-foot tiny home on wheels for $90,000, but we'll probably pay a little closer to $100,000 for it depending on how long we take to pay off our loan. This price doesn't include how much we pay to rent the land we park on, utilities, and maintenance.

I also don't feel like enough people talk about how expensive it can be to move a tiny home from state to state.

Our tiny home is 30 feet long (technically 34 feet with the hitch), 8 1/2 ft wide, and 13 1/2 ft tall — and moving it is not cheap. Movers usually estimate the price of gas per mile so we paid over $2,000 to move our home from Los Angeles to Portland. Our next move will likely cost us over $8,000 to go from Portland to Texas.

Moving an entire home also comes with risks. When we moved our house the first time, we opened the door to find our fridge on the counter, our porcelain sink cracked, and our sliding door off the hinges.

Part of the reason we wanted a home on wheels was that we wanted to travel and move from place to place. Now, moving isn't something we plan on doing as often as we thought.

It's also difficult to find special tiny-home insurance and contractors willing to work on our small space

In our experience, finding tiny-home insurance is not easy and it's pretty expensive. It's hard to find an insurance company that understands a tiny home isn't an RV nor is it a house with a mortgage. Even still, we've gotten quotes as high as $175 per month.

We've also had issues with finding contractors who will help with maintenance on our home.

Tiny homes are often constructed using conventional methods, which entail standard wiring and plumbing systems. However, we've found contractors can be nervous to undertake any work on these homes for fear of causing damage.

Recently, we faced some bathroom troubles after relocating, and we were unable to find anyone willing to demolish our shower. We recognize that not everyone possesses expertise in repairing tiny homes, but this often prolongs issues and raises the cost of addressing household problems. Oftentimes, we have to DIY.

Living in less than 400 square feet with another human being plus a dog isn't always easy

During a few months when my wife and I both worked from home, we struggled with having simultaneous morning meetings. Despite using noise-canceling headphones, our limited space made it challenging to focus.

Fortunately, our home has a living room, office, and bedroom where we can work separately. However, it's still common for us to talk over each other during our respective meetings.

We try to be mindful of each other as a married couple with a similar schedule, though, especially when I work late while my wife is sleeping nearby and vice versa.

Going tiny is especially difficult when the community lacks representation

At times, it seems we're a minority as a young, queer couple of color who live in a tiny home.

We have spent countless hours watching YouTube videos and speaking with families who have embraced tiny living, and it's been challenging to find many who resemble us or come from similar economic backgrounds.

In order to help promote greater diversity in this space, we have agreed to participate in interviews and features for tiny-home YouTube channels, podcasts, and other media outlets. It's important to us to help break down the barriers that may discourage others from exploring this lifestyle due to a lack of representation.