I've spent a number of weeks "camping" in the Yurts along the Oregon Coast (specifically Beverly Beach, just north of Newport). The Yurts there are around 20-25 feet in diameter, erected on a plywood platform and with a fire ring and picnic area adjacent. No facilities in the Yurt, but community bathroom/showers nearby. The Yurt is in my opinion far superior to tent camping, and nominally better than a trailer or RV, with some exceptions. Those being a matter of policy of the campground wherein no cooking, no refrigeration, and no closets space inside the Yurt. There was electricity, ergo a heat source, and their was a sun roof of sorts at the apex.

I've looked into owning a Yurt; putting it on a piece of property out in the hills somewhere, and Pacific Yurts is the way to go imho. They provided all the Yurts along the PNW coast, and they know what they are doing. Having said that, I do have some issues with Yurts, namely their security. Most all Yurts are assembled using wood lathe and 2 x 6 lumber, with canvas draped over and cordage used to secure it. I find that it would be extremely easy to breech a Yurt and enter at will. However, this is not much worse than most stick built homes. The illusion that a house made of wood and gypsum is somehow going to be secure from entry even if you put steel doors and barred windows in is not much better than what you have with a Yurt itself. I find that I can penetrate most houses almost as quickly as tearing through the canvas covered wall of a Yurt. The difference is Yurts, being built of cloth, seem almost inviting for thieves to bypass the entryway, however secure, in favor of making their own passage. Were I to actually live in one on a regular basis, you can surely bet I would equip it with other means of security, but then I do that with my stick built home anyways.

All in all, a Yurt is a cost effective means of building a quick form of housing, more permanent than temporary given the framing and minimal foundation construction required. Modern Yurts differ considerably in this aspect from the traditional Mongolian nomad domeciles from which they were modeled. Yurt construction is easily expanded, and I've seen versions with outrigged vestibules and cells connected by canvas covered passageways that seemed pretty nifty. They have application so long as you are aware of their limitations.