diff --git a/simapp/app.go b/simapp/app.go
index 5f225ccc65..8180993eeb 100644
--- a/simapp/app.go
+++ b/simapp/app.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package simapp
 import (
 	"io"
 	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
 
 	abci "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/abci/types"
 	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/libs/log"
@@ -82,7 +83,7 @@ const appName = "SimApp"
 
 var (
 	// DefaultNodeHome default home directories for the application daemon
-	DefaultNodeHome = os.ExpandEnv("$HOME/.simapp")
+	DefaultNodeHome string
 
 	// ModuleBasics defines the module BasicManager is in charge of setting up basic,
 	// non-dependant module elements, such as codec registration
@@ -170,6 +171,15 @@ type SimApp struct {
 	sm *module.SimulationManager
 }
 
+func init() {
+	userHomeDir, err := os.UserHomeDir()
+	if err != nil {
+		panic(err)
+	}
+
+	DefaultNodeHome = filepath.Join(userHomeDir, ".simapp")
+}
+
 // NewSimApp returns a reference to an initialized SimApp.
 func NewSimApp(
 	logger log.Logger, db dbm.DB, traceStore io.Writer, loadLatest bool, skipUpgradeHeights map[int64]bool,