I am in the process of moving from a 2200sqf house to a 500 sqf apt. (we have been there almost 2 months but are going west-back to the house- to get rid of most of what we own in 3 weeks) I love LOVE love it! 
:
:
post #21 of 36
12/10/08 at 10:18pm
:
I often think about this. And I think about why it's a struggle for our family of 4 to live in 1000 sf. One is more stuff obviously. Another issue, though, is that culturally we really value privacy and personal space and many of us grew up sleeping alone in a room for years. I find it frustrating that dh cannot cope with a family bedroom because it's so practical to just cram us all into one bedroom, leaving other rooms available for other purposes. But he has "sleep issues" and I wonder if people from other cultures just learn to sleep with the sleeping sounds of others? Also, the typical North American man wants to retreat into his "cave" as part of his self-care. We don't have room for a "cave", and I sometimes wonder if that add to the strain in our household. Yet obviously people who grow up living in higher densities must not have that need. Another thing to keep in mind is that people who live in higher density countries may not use our homes in the same way that we do. Many people do not cook at all but almost exclusively eat inexpensive "street food" or in cafeteria-style restaurants. Some people live in climates and places where it's realistic to do a lot of living outdoors. I do think it's hard for people to adjust to living in ways other than how they themselves were raised, even knowing that it's possible.
: Probably for the better then and I'll take it as a sign to keep my mouth shut. 
Follow Mothering