But she left with much more - the skills to build her own tiny home.
The 34-year-old bought the shell of a small house, parked it in a Nelson paddock at the top of the South Island, installed solar panels and added a composting toilet. The dwelling measures 6m x 2.4m and is 4m tall. The space took a bit of getting used to and the outdoor shower is "pretty gnarly in winter", Van Voorthuysen says. But she has learned to be resourceful.
"It's opened up a whole world of barbecue baking. I baked a pretty amazing carrot cake," she says.
Van Voorthuysen is one of a growing number of New Zealanders choosing to downsize their lives with tiny homes - small, fully functional dwellings with a floor area of up to 60 sq metres.
Some cite environmental reasons for living with a smaller footprint, but many have made the shift for affordability reasons. New Zealand has one of the least affordable housing markets in the world. The median house value is still 7.7 times the median household income.
Expensive construction costs, and regulatory red-tape have added to the woes of would-be homeowners looking to build rather than buy. The average house price is NZ$900,000 (£400,000) but tiny homes can cost a fraction of that - between about NZ$50,000 and $200,000.
This story is from the December 27, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the December 27, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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