I lived for a while overseas for a while in a "micro" smaller than these. Bed, closet, small desk, almost room for a chair if it was a folding chair and I kept it folded up most of the time. Restrooms and kitchens were all common areas. I think the entire room was under 60 sq ft (under 5.5 m^2. I know some people put a bunk bed in their rooms and split the rent -- it worked better when the roomates worked different shifts.
When people talk about what you "need" as living space, it can't get too much smaller than this, but it's not a great existence.
I was working long days so I didn't really have time for much more, but it wasn't what I'd call a "great" living experience even then. You had to really be ultra-disciplined about editing stuff into the trash and keeping organized. Even if you were absolutely exhausted, you still had to go through certain "rituals" to keep the place livable on an item-by-item issue. I found it pretty stressful.
I had a chance to buy some great stuff at incredible discounts, but I didn't even have space to stash it before shipping it back to the U.S. so I lost out on all those opportunities. Not having space for a computer or TV meant I started losing track of current events and down-time was spent away from my place, only to come there to crash/sleep or change clothes. It wasn't really a place you could come back to and relax or unwind.
I remember it being really hard to clean because there simply wasn't anywhere to move things out of the way to clean under and around...where things were was where they were going to be. I didn't have place to even store an extra set of bedding, so I had to plan around taking my stuff to the laundry and making sure it got back to me and on the bed by night. Small things like that add up.
I'd say it was a little bit like a dorm room experience, but smaller.
If somebody really enjoyed the life they lived in their college dorm or in a prison cell (that you could leave when you wanted), I can guess this would appeal to them. Personally it got old pretty quick and I'd rather not live like that again.
These are positively spacious by comparison.
I have a friend in Seoul who lives in a place not much bigger than the 313sq ft one shown in the article. I've spent weeks there sleeping on the floor. It's much more reasonable by comparison. There's some oddities in the cramped bathroom, shared fixtures and the like, and the kitchen it a little cramped, but it's not a bad existence for a single person.
When people talk about what you "need" as living space, it can't get too much smaller than this, but it's not a great existence.
I was working long days so I didn't really have time for much more, but it wasn't what I'd call a "great" living experience even then. You had to really be ultra-disciplined about editing stuff into the trash and keeping organized. Even if you were absolutely exhausted, you still had to go through certain "rituals" to keep the place livable on an item-by-item issue. I found it pretty stressful.
I had a chance to buy some great stuff at incredible discounts, but I didn't even have space to stash it before shipping it back to the U.S. so I lost out on all those opportunities. Not having space for a computer or TV meant I started losing track of current events and down-time was spent away from my place, only to come there to crash/sleep or change clothes. It wasn't really a place you could come back to and relax or unwind.
I remember it being really hard to clean because there simply wasn't anywhere to move things out of the way to clean under and around...where things were was where they were going to be. I didn't have place to even store an extra set of bedding, so I had to plan around taking my stuff to the laundry and making sure it got back to me and on the bed by night. Small things like that add up.
I'd say it was a little bit like a dorm room experience, but smaller.
If somebody really enjoyed the life they lived in their college dorm or in a prison cell (that you could leave when you wanted), I can guess this would appeal to them. Personally it got old pretty quick and I'd rather not live like that again.
These are positively spacious by comparison.
I have a friend in Seoul who lives in a place not much bigger than the 313sq ft one shown in the article. I've spent weeks there sleeping on the floor. It's much more reasonable by comparison. There's some oddities in the cramped bathroom, shared fixtures and the like, and the kitchen it a little cramped, but it's not a bad existence for a single person.