Do treehouses only exist in movies??

I’ve never seen one.

We didn't have a big enough tree so my dad built us a house on stilts. It was pretty cool. My friend who did have a large enough tree had a tree house. So to answer you, they do exist in real life.

Treehouses do exist, it's just that, not all kids are lucky enough to have the resources to have them. Heck, I watched a tv show just recently that showed treehouses made for adults to live in! I'll explain what it takes for a kid to have a treehouse:

- they don't live in a family that moves every few years, so they get a chance to really stay in the area long enough
- mom and dad own the house and the land it sits on, so they don't have to answer to a landlord or city ordinance
- there's actually a tree in the backyard that's big and strong enough to have and support a treehouse with people inside it
- mom and dad have the money to buy the wood, nails, and tools, and have time to spend actually building the treehouse for the kid
- kid wants to actually use the treehouse

There's a reason most kids don't have them, mostly due to lacking in the above requirements. For all other kids who can't have a treehouse, here's why:

- they don't live in a house with a yard full of trees (they could live in an apartment, a trailer, or a rental house with no yard at all)
- yard either has no trees, or the trees available are too skinny and weak to hold up a treehouse
- parents aren't available or don't care
- family doesn't have the time or money to spend on a treehouse
- family frequently moves, so even if they had the resources to build a treehouse, they'd end up leaving it behind for someone else
- kid might be a lazy, spoiled, shut-in who plays video games, so even if the parents did build a treehouse, they might not actually use it

I've actually seen alternatives to treehouses for kids who did meet some of the requirements, but they didn't have a good, large, sturdy tree available. I've seen kids build forts on the ground, or their parents were kind enough to build them some playground equipment or a "clubhouse." All 3 are just as good as a treehouse, and much "easier" to make.

Yes they exist. There is one at the back of my property that I built 10 years ago. No one has been in it for years so I took the ladder down.

My brother built one out of discarded lumber in a tree next to an active cargo railroad track. It was awesome. It had a window and it was shady in the summer and sheltered from the wind in the winter.
I wonder if it’s still there.

Funny you say that because they are rare. I've seen a handful in my time though. My cousins in Florida had one and a kid in my neighborhood had one. I think they're in wooded areas where people are into using lumber to heat their homes and build so they may consider a treehouse for their kids.

What I find interesting is that the ones in the movies are nice and elaborate. Furnished with fancy doors and openings.

Do you live in a tree-less environment? It's possible, but I grew up in Southern California which most people don't associate with trees but I had one and my childhood friend down the street had the best one as it was two stories high and had electricity and running water routed into it (totally illegal btw).

I would say that in today's world with kids staying indoors and playing online with Gamer culture dominating everything it probably is less prevalent than it use to be.

I never had one and neither did anyone I know. Though a friend of mine as a kid did have a 2 story fort. Honestly though we often lived in houses by trees as a kid, none of the trees were good for a treehouse.