Apartment

In late 2023, I moved into a cozy 99 square foot SRO (Single Room Occupancy) apartment in Chelsea, Manhattan. The bathroom is shared with the entire floor and is not included in the 99 square feet. There is a mini fridge and no stove in the apartment (but that's fine with me, since I just use the microwave).

After living in a 2 BR apartment with a roommate for 2 years, I was curious about trying out independent living. But the rents in lower Manhattan for a studio were quite high, so I began to seriously consider SROs.

Price was not the only factor. I was genuinely curious about the experience of living and working from a highly compact space. In theory, it seemed efficient. To get anywhere in a small apartment, you just need to walk a few steps. I also consider myself a minimalist, and I was genuinely interested in experimenting with these kinds of tiny living spaces that I had seen making the rounds on social media.

So I took the jump! I've found that the small space forces me to find creative ways to optimize the space, and I'm forced to keep things tidy or I'll immediately suffer the consequences.

It's definitely an interesting space and building with its fair share of quirks, but I like it so far. Sometimes, less is more.

Update (June 2024):

I’m about 8 months into my tiny apartment experiment, and I have to say that I have really enjoyed it so far.

I work from home most of the time, and I spend a lot of time inside my apartment in general. But I truly don’t feel the need for getting a larger apartment. It feels completely fine to me, and I don’t feel cramped at all.

In fact, I had an experience earlier this year in January in which I stayed in an even smaller “hotel” room in Hong Kong. To me, that truly felt cramped, to the point that it was affecting my ability to get basic things done efficiently. But the 99 square feet I occupy currently feels just right for me. I don’t feel the need for more or less space.

Of course, having more space may seem to be obviously better. But I would question that, because having more space means that you would have more space to clean regularly. And simply having more space than is comfortable could give the illusion that space is plentiful and abundant, and this sort of thinking could encourage one to take the space for granted and use it suboptimally.

I was kind of concerned at first about the availability of the bathrooms. However, the toilets and showers are separated, which increases the overall availability, and there are 2 sets of toilets and showers on the floor. Sometimes, there might be a little bit of a wait if both of the toilets or showers are taken. But overall, it hasn’t been an issue so far.

Also, because the showers and toilets are shared, there is a dedicated cleaner that comes by about 3 times a week to clean them, so this is just another thing I don’t need to worry about maintaining.

I’ve found that permanent adhesive wall hooks help a lot. I have 10 or so of them scattered throughout my room for holding up miscellaneous items that I use a lot.

Overall, I just like how efficient the space is. Because it’s so small, it’s quick to heat up in the winter, and quick to cool down in the summer (with the air conditioner). I can get anywhere I need pretty much instantly. And I cannot let trash pile up too much, or it will immediately get in the way.

In a country (and city) where there is a shortage of affordable homes, I truly believe that these sorts of tiny homes and apartments could be a part of the solution. It could also help to reduce carbon emissions by making it more efficient to heat up and cool peoples’ homes, and also requiring fewer construction materials per apartment or home.