So in units the rest of the world actually understands this means apartments between 24 and 34 square meters?
That's supposed to be micro? I would say that this is about the regular size of "1 room apartment" in my area (Munich area, Germany). Which isn't the most densely populate one, no huge high-rises, tower blocks or anything like the public housing in British or American metro-zones. If you're converting an old house into rental flats, that's just what you usually get.
So, yes, I along with many singles, professionals and students lived (and live) in such "micro"-apartments. Kitchens tend to smaller than larger apartments (and definitely smaller than what you usually get in the US). And, well, you've got your bed next to your desk.
But otherwise I never considered this to be that much special. It's no Japanese coffin motel, you don't need complicated tricks to stow away things; no hidden floors, multi-function furniture, murphy or loft beds (the most common bed size here seems to be 1.4m x 2m -- no clue what's that in "royalty").
So around here it's certainly not the wave of the future, it seems to always have been that way. We don't tend to have that many shared apartments as they've got in the US. Once you're done with university, it's really, really rare to share accommodations (which to some would suggest an "alternative lifestyle").
Fully agree. When I read "micro" I was expecting 15 sqm, not expecting it to turn out larger than my first flat (25 sqm) when I was still at the university once I've done the calculation. 25 sqm is fairly typical for student's or young professional's apartments (something like this: http://www.studiomuc.de/apartment_varianten.htm though also a total rip-off). Ikea Germany actually once had a series of tv ads showing furniture solutions for really tiny rooms.
All that being said, 3000 USD/month is ridiculous. How can any public service employee still live in a city like that?
That's supposed to be micro? I would say that this is about the regular size of "1 room apartment" in my area (Munich area, Germany). Which isn't the most densely populate one, no huge high-rises, tower blocks or anything like the public housing in British or American metro-zones. If you're converting an old house into rental flats, that's just what you usually get.
So, yes, I along with many singles, professionals and students lived (and live) in such "micro"-apartments. Kitchens tend to smaller than larger apartments (and definitely smaller than what you usually get in the US). And, well, you've got your bed next to your desk.
But otherwise I never considered this to be that much special. It's no Japanese coffin motel, you don't need complicated tricks to stow away things; no hidden floors, multi-function furniture, murphy or loft beds (the most common bed size here seems to be 1.4m x 2m -- no clue what's that in "royalty").
So around here it's certainly not the wave of the future, it seems to always have been that way. We don't tend to have that many shared apartments as they've got in the US. Once you're done with university, it's really, really rare to share accommodations (which to some would suggest an "alternative lifestyle").