Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

How old were you though?

That was similar in a lot of post-war Europe, e.g. for my grandparents in the UK.

The Americans have always lived in abundance and luxury in comparison.




This was late USSR, all the way up to its dissolution and privatization of housing in 1991. I was a small kid at the time, but I don't recall the standard being different depending on age.

The allotment of living space (counted as bedroom area per person) varied depending on the city, and sometimes there was a difference between the nominal and the actual number. In Moscow and Leningrad the designated minimum was around 7 m^2 per person, but in practice applying for a new apartment would be unlikely to succeed if you had more than 5 m^2. In some of the provinces, it could go as low as 3 m^2 per person.

And keep in mind that this is the minimum that entitled you to apply for a new apartment. Which means that you'd be put in a line to wait your turn to actually get one when one is available, say, 10 years later.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: