Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Nothing in the posted links implies that Bloomberg "wants" people to live in 300 sq' apts.; he just wants more options available for young single people and couples. If you go visit historic sites in NYC like the Tenement Museum, you will realize that 19th- (and 20th- century) immigrants often lived in tenements of about 350 sq' in the LES with families that could have included six to ten people. Laws were passed and put into effect in 1905 that were meant to ease overcrowding and unsanitary conditions in such tenements; modern plumbing, sanitation, electricity, and heating have made such space requirements obsolete. No conspiracy there--if everyone in NY could afford to pay for huge UES apartments, they would, but that's not possible.
I go to NY all the time these days, but while I was an undergraduate in Madison, WI, I rented a 320 sq' apt. for a while which had a teeny bathroom and a combined living, sleeping, and cooking space; it was great to save money on rent and avoid excessive student loans. I'm just posting this to make the point that it is not only big NE cities where there is some demand for small apartments. I had a small love seat that I put up every day and that served as a pull-out bed, and I was able to have two bookshelves against the opposite wall, a kitchenette table that also worked as a desk with my laptop, and I had two extra folding wooden chairs to pull around my table/desk so I could actually have small dinner parties for which I stashed my laptop against one of my bookshelves. My boyfriend at the time helped me make extra shelving everywhere for storing extra bedding, and we even designed a special pull out space for my printer. I used the space between the top of my kitchen cabinets and the ceiling for extra book and paper storage. My love seat/bed looked on to a small TV, and I also had that encased in a storage unit, and on either side of the love seat were two small closets which I absolutely maximized with extra shelving on the one side and an extra closet rod on the other.
All I'm saying is that when one is a young adult, it can be very fun to figure out how to live in a small space. I learned how to cook with literally a foot of counter space, and I am much more efficient in a big kitchen as a result. I am in no way arguing that Madison, WI is a huge metro area, but around the University, space is tight.
I will add to what others have said and say that when you have access to a place like NYC, there are a lot of free or cheap things to do that are within easy walking or public transit distance, so that extends your living space. Why stay home when there is so much to do? You can go to the NY Public Library and do some research or just hang out in Bryant Park, you can go to Central Park, you can go to Riverside Park, The Cloisters, Union Square, Washington Square, Madison Square Park, you can go to museums all over the city, you can people watch anywhere, you can go to the lovely Highline, you can sample food items from food vendors in a lot of areas, you can see free films and concerts in parks, especially in the summer, you can go to a variety of piers and have great views of Brooklyn or NJ, the list goes on and on and on. There is beautiful architecture everywhere and churches everywhere. People in NYC pay their rent in part to have access to wonderful cultural, culinary, and artistic opportunities. It's not all about partying.
It was never fun for me to live in a small space. Not when I was young -- I had a pretty spacious apartment even while in college.
They've done studies on overcrowding of rats and it's terrible for the rats, it certainly cannot be good for people to live so cramped. It's one thing to be in a tent or camping trailer that is small but where one is surrounded by lots of outdoor space, but an apartment is just stacks and stacks and rows and rows of people piled on top of one another. It's terrible for the mind.
Or why not build smaller prison cells for prisoners? Making prisoners living in tiny spaces is considered inhumane.
Fantastic! You have the freedom to choose this. Just like others have the freedom to choose a dinky apartment in NYC. It's a win-win for everyone, but somehow you see this as a bad thing.
When did I ever say it was a bad thing?
If you had read my prior post in this thread you would know that I use to live in a 300 square foot "efficiency" apartment in downtown St. Paul while I attended the University of Minnesota. I could afford to pay the rent from my GI Bill and still have enough left over for food and transportation. Which meant that I did not have to work while I attended college.
It was never fun for me to live in a small space. Not when I was young -- I had a pretty spacious apartment even while in college.
They've done studies on overcrowding of rats and it's terrible for the rats, it certainly cannot be good for people to live so cramped. It's one thing to be in a tent or camping trailer that is small but where one is surrounded by lots of outdoor space, but an apartment is just stacks and stacks and rows and rows of people piled on top of one another. It's terrible for the mind.
Or why not build smaller prison cells for prisoners? Making prisoners living in tiny spaces is considered inhumane.
But people (non-prisoners) should be able decide what works best for themselves, yes?
My little old house is 700sf and one relative keeps calling it 'tiny'. I'm happy. It's got room for everything I need. My old apartment was 300 sf. I have slept SO much better since my desk fit in the living room. As my son visited on weekends I had to have a couch with a hideabed so that was the teeny little living room. You could touch all sides of the kitchen from the middle. I'll take the new one any day.
Some may think thats okay, but its awfully small unless you are never there.
I don't have anything in my bedroom but a bed. I sleep well that way since the brain knows its for SLEEP.
If you had read my prior post in this thread you would know that I use to live in a 300 square foot "efficiency" apartment in downtown St. Paul while I attended the University of Minnesota. I could afford to pay the rent from my GI Bill and still have enough left over for food and transportation. Which meant that I did not have to work while I attended college.
You clearly have me confused with someone else.
I stand corrected.
Out of curiosity, were you able to hunt for your food during that time, or did you have to buy your meat wrapped in cellophane like the rest of the "city critters"?
Out of curiosity, were you able to hunt for your food during that time, or did you have to buy your meat wrapped in cellophane like the rest of the "city critters"?
I was able to supplement my food from hunting, but primarily from fishing. Pan fish are plentiful in Minnesota. I have been hunting since I was 8 years old, and fishing even longer. Unlike city critters, I know how to feed myself without the assistance of any government service.
I was able to supplement my food from hunting, but primarily from fishing. Pan fish are plentiful in Minnesota. I have been hunting since I was 8 years old, and fishing even longer. Unlike city critters, I know how to feed myself without the assistance of any government service.
What government service do you assume helps to feed me?
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
