Gen Zer buys a $200 small plot of land in the middle of a desert: 'A grounding human experience'

Land prices are no less than the worth of gold in today's economy. Owning a piece of land in your name might make you feel like you own at least something in the name of personal property. A Gen Z content creator named PJ Yancey sparked a discussion on this topic when he shared a jaw-dropping video on his TikTok page (@peejstead). Yancey, a Los Angeles resident, showed his viewers how he managed to buy a small portion of land in Joshua Tree, California for a mere $200. 

According to Insider, Yancey's goal was to simply have a personally owned piece of land, no matter how small it was. The 21-year-old's TikTok video where he is showing his chunk of land—which measures up to 1000 square feet—in the deserted region of California went viral in no time with millions of views. Yancey has also constructed a wooden roof and a wooden lean-to, hung a hammock underneath it and lit a campfire on his plot.

He revealed that in addition to the purchase price of the plot, he spent about $1000 on the building materials. However, Yancey isn't the only one who owns postage stamp land in that area. He has some neighbors too who have lights strung up to mark their property line. Others have planted mailboxes and torches as well. “One time, some dude came out here at the same time that I was out here to go visit his plot, and it was like a guy my age, and it was really cool,” PJ said in his TikTok. “We just got to hang out.”

Yancey revealed that he purchased the land from a company called Minute Land. On their website, it is clarified that "this isn’t a real estate purchase but rather it’s a virtual plot of space upon owned properties considered your space." In simpler terms, it means that you can purchase legal access to a little share of the land and all you need to do is be sure to follow local regulations if you’re allowed to camp or build on the land or not. 

“The thing about being in Gen Z is that, generally, we quite literally own nothing. We’re not homeowners; we don’t own a ranch, a vacation home, or any kind of property at all. If we’re living on our own, it’s in someone else’s house or apartment,” Yancey said. “It’s far from a luxury vacation spot, but I feel like, in a way, it accomplishes much more for you than one. My takeaway is that solitary time in a unique environment is a valuable experience, and if people are inspired by my experience and try it. I succeeded.”

Yancey doesn't plan to live permanently on this tiny piece of land and sleep on his hammock forever but he is happy to go camping on his own piece of land every now and then. He also considers buying this land and building a small shelter a "grounding human experience." His audience on TikTok was fascinated by this revelation and many expressed their interest to do something similar for themselves.

@prehistoricturtles joked: "I'm gonna buy the lot directly adjacent to yours and build a bigger hammock with a lawn." @sharkychick07 questioned: "Do you own that land outright now? For $200, I’m about to live in the middle of nowhere and build myself a desert hag shed to grow old in." @stella_caerulea commented: "I’d want to buy several plots so I could build a tiny adobe house and grow some native edible and medicinal plants."

@poky4475 added: "Can’t blame you, man. You are taking the initiative. As the years go by, you could add whatever the heck you want, go for it. Good job!" According to the website of Minute Land, it is mentioned that these landowners do not have to pay any yearly property taxes or fill out any kind of paperwork related to it. The owner can utilize the land in any way that abides by all local, regional and national laws, zoning codes and regulations. One can even sell or trade their virtual assets on their marketplace to another buyer at any time.