--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'd rather be in a tent than in a house." description: "\"I'd rather be in a tent than in a house.\" — Mary Leakey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/mary-leakey-31703_home_i-d-rather-be-in-a-tent-than-in-a-house_2820237.jpg" --- # I'd rather be in a tent than in a house. ![“I'd rather be in a tent than in a house.” quote by Mary Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/mary-leakey-31703_home_i-d-rather-be-in-a-tent-than-in-a-house_2820237.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/mary-leakey-31703_home_i-d-rather-be-in-a-tent-than-in-a-house_2820237.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/mary-leakey-31703_home_i-d-rather-be-in-a-tent-than-in-a-house_2820237.jpg) > “I'd rather be in a tent than in a house.” [Mary Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Living in a tent offers simplicity and connection to nature, preferable to structured house life. **In simple terms:** Tent life feels freer. Key Takeaway Embrace simplicity and nature. Themes simplicity nature freedom minimalism Mood adventurous earthy Type philosophical lifestyle When to use this quote - camping trips - off‑grid living - educational retreats Key Concepts Anthropology environmental psychology alternative living Questions to Reflect On - What does “home” mean to you? - How can you integrate simplicity into daily life? A Different Perspective Weather and safety concerns limit practicality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Tent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tent/) ## Related quotes > [Then I dive into my tent before I do something stupid like cry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/then-i-dive-into-my-tent-before-i-do-something-stupid-like-cry/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“Today, I'm the real me." She lifts her chin toward the large white beer tent. "How about a couple of beers?" "Do you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-logsted/today-i-m-the-real-me-she-lifts-her-chin-toward-the-large-white-beer/) [Greg Logsted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-logsted/) > [And you know, we'd go to church. We were Baptists. And every now and then there'd be a tent would set up, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-tillis/and-you-know-we-d-go-to-church-we-were-baptists-and-every-now-and/) [Mel Tillis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-tillis/) > [Hopefully I won't have to sleep with my feet out of the tent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zdeno-chara/hopefully-i-won-t-have-to-sleep-with-my-feet-out-of-the-tent/) [Zdeno Chara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zdeno-chara/) > [I'd love to go and camp out and live in a tent in the middle of nowhere and see how long I could live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-ora/i-d-love-to-go-and-camp-out-and-live-in-a-tent-in-the-middle-of/) [Rita Ora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-ora/) > [Vijay Singh won a playoff in 2004 at Whistling Straits after a final-round 76, which was the highest last round by the winner of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-jenkins/vijay-singh-won-a-playoff-in-2004-at-whistling-straits-after-a-final/) [Dan Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-jenkins/) > [We ought to be doing that with decent standard housing but if we have people who are absolutely on the streets in this case,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-lowry/we-ought-to-be-doing-that-with-decent-standard-housing-but-if-we-have/) [Mike Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-lowry/) > [Make time for planning: Wars are won in the general's tent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/make-time-for-planning-wars-are-won-in-the-general-s-tent/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [I'm excited that 'The Good Guy' is getting distribution because indie movies they're not - people ran out of money and they're not making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-greenberg/i-m-excited-that-the-good-guy-is-getting-distribution-because-indie/) [Bryan Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-greenberg/) > [“It seemed funny that in the wild we had millions of acres to pitch a tent, but when we reached town there was no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-foskett/it-seemed-funny-that-in-the-wild-we-had-millions-of-acres-to-pitch-a/) [Keith Foskett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-foskett/) > [“...a tent represented adventures and possibilities, giving you the stars every single night. But a house stayed in one place, safe but always the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-atkinson/a-tent-represented-adventures-and-possibilities-giving-you-the-stars/) Elizabeth Atkinson > [I think our big tent is our greatest strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perez/i-think-our-big-tent-is-our-greatest-strength/) [Tom Perez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perez/) > [I am doing what I can to expand the tent and bring up other people and make sure we are telling different kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-bob-waksberg/i-am-doing-what-i-can-to-expand-the-tent-and-bring-up-other-people/) [Raphael Bob-Waksberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-bob-waksberg/) > [When you are producing for ABC, you are producing for a big tent network. So when you are thinking about your story lines and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sweeney/when-you-are-producing-for-abc-you-are-producing-for-a-big-tent/) [Anne Sweeney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sweeney/) > [The thing about me is that I don't judge my audience. I welcome. It is a big tent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willie-geist/the-thing-about-me-is-that-i-don-t-judge-my-audience-i-welcome-it-is/) [Willie Geist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willie-geist/) ## More by Mary Leakey > [I go once a year to the Serengeti to see the wildebeest migrations because that means a lot to me, but I avoid Olduvai…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/i-go-once-a-year-to-the-serengeti-to-see-the-wildebeest-migrations/) [Mary Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/) > [The first money I ever earned was for drawing stone tools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/the-first-money-i-ever-earned-was-for-drawing-stone-tools/) [Mary Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/) > [I never felt interpretation was my job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/i-never-felt-interpretation-was-my-job/) [Mary Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/) > [Basically, I have been compelled by curiosity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/basically-i-have-been-compelled-by-curiosity/) [Mary Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/) > [You only find what you are looking for, really, if the truth be known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/you-only-find-what-you-are-looking-for-really-if-the-truth-be-known/) [Mary Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/) > [Theories come and go, but fundamental data always remain the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/theories-come-and-go-but-fundamental-data-always-remain-the-same/) [Mary Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/) > [Theories come and go, but fundamental data always remains.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/theories-come-and-go-but-fundamental-data-always-remains/) [Mary Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/) > [Now this really is something to put on the mantelpiece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/now-this-really-is-something-to-put-on-the-mantelpiece/) [Mary Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/) > [I had never passed a single school exam, and clearly never would.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/i-had-never-passed-a-single-school-exam-and-clearly-never-would/) [Mary Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/) > [I got too old to live in the bush. You really need to be youngish and healthy, so it seemed stupid to keep going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/i-got-too-old-to-live-in-the-bush-you-really-need-to-be-youngish-and/) [Mary Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/) > [I dug things up. I was curious. I liked to draw what I found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/i-dug-things-up-i-was-curious-i-liked-to-draw-what-i-found/) [Mary Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/) > [She stops, pauses, turns to the left to glance at some possible threat or irregularity, and then continues to the north. This motion, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/she-stops-pauses-turns-to-the-left-to-glance-at-some-possible-threat/) [Mary Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/) > [No amounts of stone and bone could yield the kinds of information that the paintings gave so freely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/no-amounts-of-stone-and-bone-could-yield-the-kinds-of-information/) [Mary Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/) > [There were details like clothing, hair styles and the fragile objects that hardly ever survive for the archaeologist-musical instruments, bows and arrows, and body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/there-were-details-like-clothing-hair-styles-and-the-fragile-objects/) [Mary Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/) > [I quite liked having a baby - I think I won't put it more strongly than that. But I had no intention of allowing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/i-quite-liked-having-a-baby-i-think-i-won-t-put-it-more-strongly-than/) [Mary Leakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/) [Explore all 16 Mary Leakey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/) ## More Home quotes > [Sentiment is the mightiest force in civilization; not sentimentality, but sentiment. Women will bring this into politics. Home, sweet home, is as powerful on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-ellen-foster/sentiment-is-the-mightiest-force-in-civilization-not-sentimentality/) [Judith Ellen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-ellen-foster/) > [I don't like being away from home. That's one reason why I don't work as much as I used to \[when I started my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-powell/i-don-t-like-being-away-from-home-that-s-one-reason-why-i-don-t-work/) [Jane Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-powell/) > [“It is not the force of the wind, but the depth of the roots.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/it-is-not-the-force-of-the-wind-but-the-depth-of-the-roots/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [If your life's at a juncture and you need to think about things, there's nowhere better than home. However old you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/if-your-life-s-at-a-juncture-and-you-need-to-think-about-things-there/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [Most days, I go home and I feel rejuvenated. I feel ebullient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/most-days-i-go-home-and-i-feel-rejuvenated-i-feel-ebullient/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [A home is not a museum. It doesn't have to be furnished with Picasso paintings, or Sheraton suites, or Oriental rugs, or Chinese pottery.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-m-cain/a-home-is-not-a-museum-it-doesn-t-have-to-be-furnished-with-picasso/) [James M. Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-m-cain/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [Everything comes home, my mother used to say; every word spoken, every shadow cast, every footprint in the sand. It can't be helped; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanne-harris/everything-comes-home-my-mother-used-to-say-every-word-spoken-every/) [Joanne Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanne-harris/) > [When you're in the middle of a pennant race, you can't go up there thinking about home runs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammy-sosa/when-you-re-in-the-middle-of-a-pennant-race-you-can-t-go-up-there/) [Sammy Sosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammy-sosa/) > [I write about presidents. That means I write about guys - so far. I'm interested in the people closest to them, the people they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-kearns-goodwin/i-write-about-presidents-that-means-i-write-about-guys-so-far-i-m/) [Doris Kearns Goodwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-kearns-goodwin/) > [You play a part, and as soon as a movie is over and the camera stops, you go home and you're not really responsible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nastassja-kinski/you-play-a-part-and-as-soon-as-a-movie-is-over-and-the-camera-stops/) [Nastassja Kinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nastassja-kinski/) [Browse all 25,855 Home quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'd rather be in a tent than in a house.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Leakey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/i-d-rather-be-in-a-tent-than-in-a-house/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Home" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/i-d-rather-be-in-a-tent-than-in-a-house/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/mary-leakey-31703_home_i-d-rather-be-in-a-tent-than-in-a-house_2820237.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/mary-leakey-31703_home_i-d-rather-be-in-a-tent-than-in-a-house_2820237.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/17c/mary-leakey-31703_home_i-d-rather-be-in-a-tent-than-in-a-house_2820237.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'd rather be in a tent than in a house.” — Mary Leakey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mary Leakey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-leakey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'd rather be in a tent...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/i-d-rather-be-in-a-tent-than-in-a-house/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-leakey/i-d-rather-be-in-a-tent-than-in-a-house/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```