So, I was reading this article about some guy's housing solution for the increasing number of elderly folks. (http://bit.ly/9gumJO). A commenter posted something about a 200 sq ft construct not requiring a permit, and that might make constructing these mini-apartments quite feasible if you could get it down to that size.

I found myself imagining about how big a 200 sq ft living space was, and figured it was about the size of a dorm. I wondered if i would be able to live in a dorm-size dwelling for a long period of time (especially if it were just me). I found myself avoiding small apartments (< 800 sq ft) when looking for a place, but I don't know now.

Would YOU live in a tiny dorm-sized dwelling, especially if rent were cheap?




Little bit from the article: http://bit.ly/9gumJO

Quote :

"The MEDcottage is a charming modular construction that may be placed on the caregiving family’s property with little site preparation. It maintains an umbilical relationship to the primary dwelling through water and electrical hook-ups….This is no ordinary grandmother’s cottage; it is outfitted with the latest technical advances in the industry, including dynamic smart robotic features. It offers remote monitoring capabilities via Internet for the caregiver through their PC in real time. Some of the areas monitored include security, communication, environmental controls, telemetry, and medication dispensing."

[Edited on May 19, 2010 at 11:15 AM. Reason : add article info]

[Edited on May 19, 2010 at 11:15 AM. Reason : splelling]

5/19/2010 11:14:21 AM

hell yes i'd live there by myself...obviously if i were married or had a kid, it would be out of the question.

but i'm a penny-pinching son of a bitch and i'm always looking for ways to save money

5/19/2010 11:16:44 AM

http://www.japan.com/ourhomesaresmallashell

5/19/2010 11:23:21 AM

i could easily do it i'm pretty sure.

5/19/2010 11:32:47 AM

man, you can get 35 latinos in a 1200 sf apartment

nut to butt, man

5/19/2010 11:37:02 AM

IKEA has little showrooms in their Charlotte store that might be about that size... I don't think I could do that. Way too tight for me.

5/19/2010 11:38:18 AM

I've thought about living in a small apt/condo on the beach, but I don't think I could make it work. It's not the lack of living space that would get me. My house is 2000 sq ft, and it's just me living in it. I have rooms that don't even have anything in them.

The problem for me would be that I'd need a place to keep car(s), a truck, motorcycle(s), jet ski, and maybe a boat.

The other problem would be that the adjoining units probably wouldn't care for my electric guitars and/or stereo.

If it weren't for those 2 issues, I'd probably save my money and live in a 2BR (gotta have a room for my daughter) apartment or condo, or for the same money, live in a bad ass location (i.e., oceanfront). Hell, I could even rent a storage space to use as a garage, but I don't know how to make playing guitar compatible with apartment living.

The best thing for me would be to live in a totally sweet garage with a well furnished loft. The problems with that would be (a) it would be tougher to get laid, and nearly impossible to ever find a wife, and (b) I'd be fucked whenever it came time to sell the place and move.

[Edited on May 19, 2010 at 11:51 AM. Reason : ]

5/19/2010 11:50:36 AM

sounds like the norm in some parts of the world

japan comes to mind

5/19/2010 11:53:24 AM

Quote :

"I don't know how to make playing guitar compatible with apartment living"

The volume knob on your amp is a good start.

5/19/2010 11:56:40 AM

This dude lives in a 96 sqft house

5/19/2010 11:58:07 AM

^^ well yeah, but that sucks. i don't turn it up to 11 all the time or anything, but just routine playing is best done at volumes that would be unacceptable in an apartment.

5/19/2010 12:00:48 PM

There has been a lot of really cool work done with modern pre-fab and also rehabbing shipping containers.


not really as small, but a very good presentation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rboDV_guk50&feature=related

[Edited on May 19, 2010 at 2:13 PM. Reason : ]

[Edited on May 19, 2010 at 2:16 PM. Reason : ]

5/19/2010 2:10:14 PM

i kind of like the idea of it. a lot of times i feel i'm not home enough to justify having this much room and paying so much in rent. i don't think it would work well with my dog though. i also don't think i could handle it as well as i got older.

5/19/2010 5:16:18 PM

I wouldn't mind. In fact, I would love to have something like that in the mountains. Just a small place to stay when I go for the weekend.

But yeah, as I get old and retire, I'll sell most of my stuff off. I don't plan on having children, and I'd like to simplify my life. I would totally do it.

5/19/2010 5:22:44 PM

The Pullen lofts aren't much bigger than those, I got SO claustrophobic when I checked those out.

5/19/2010 5:38:46 PM

I would absolutely love to do this. Something in the 300-400sqft range would perfect. In fact, it baffles me that this sort of housing isn't built around big college campuses already. It seems like such a unit could bring single bedroom apartment rates down to $300-400 easily. Sounds quite lucrative if you ask me...

5/19/2010 6:18:06 PM

5/19/2010 6:38:24 PM

Quote :

"seems like such a unit could bring single bedroom apartment rates down to $300-400 easily"

Lower rental rates isn't the way to sell this to developers when they can rent traditional shitboxes for $600.

5/19/2010 6:48:20 PM

That guy's 100 sq ft "tiny house" was pretty sweet.

5/19/2010 6:58:47 PM

Actually I think I would enjoy the coziness of something like that, and I absolutely could do it, would be really convenient having everything I need within a few steps away

5/19/2010 7:19:50 PM

No way. I need some space.

5/19/2010 7:23:27 PM

My parents and I lived in a place that size or smaller this when i was a kid. It as basically dorm for non-students who could not get an aparmtnet. Most people that lived there were families with kids. Our room had enough space for a bed, two chairs, a desk, and a bookshelf. There was one communal kitchen for 10 families and the toilet was in an outhouse. It was fun in it's own sort of way, since it felt like one large extended family and the kids all played with each other, but there was little privacy as you knew exactly what's going on in everyone's business. Noise levels were pretty high with kids and arguments and basically with lots of people in small square footage, but you get used to it. I believe it taught me to grow up a lot more adaptable than I otherwise would have been.

If i were to live in a small place like that permanently again, it would be an RV.. At least the view out the window is whatever you want to make it. It also fixes theDuke866 dilemma, since you can have your boat and motorcycle with you AND you can play guitar as loud as your amp can handle, just drive off a couple miles from anyone else's residence

Also I guess this is plausible for living in inner-city apartments. I had a friend who lived in a place smaller than that in Paris. There is so much to do outside of home that you don't spend much time there. It makes sense in situations where there residential real estate is at premium (Japan comes to mind as Tchenku noted) and public facilities are abundant. Out in the suburbia and countryside it just doesnt make that much sense

[Edited on May 20, 2010 at 2:32 AM. Reason : IBT wolfpackgrrr]

5/20/2010 2:28:47 AM

i would right now

5/20/2010 6:23:58 AM

That style of construction is very popular here in Japan. occamsrezr and I lived in one for two years. It sucked balls. Probably not as bad if you're single though.

^^

[Edited on May 20, 2010 at 6:52 AM. Reason : r]

5/20/2010 6:49:36 AM

Why do you guys think noone's built anything like that around here (or really anywhere else for that matter). Do you think the people who would choose to live there are such a small minority that they feel the space wouldn't be profitable? I'm just curious. From a developers standpoint, it seems so easy.

5/20/2010 9:05:34 AM

^ ya the Japanese are obsessive about small housing, then again for a lot of them home is just to sleep at, not really do anything at.

Wanna see small? Visit a pod hotel there.

[Edited on May 20, 2010 at 9:07 AM. Reason : 1]

5/20/2010 9:07:13 AM

Urban Japanese are obsessed with small housing. Where I currently live there are huge houses. Some with 5+ bedrooms and urinals in the bathrooms lol. That said, when I was living in the middle of nowhere was when I was living in a 1K. Ridiculous.

I personally love capsule hotels. I would definitely stay in them if they had them in the US.

^^ I think the market is too small and you can make more money off of bigger developments. That said, I know in California they sell houses this small.

[Edited on May 20, 2010 at 9:12 AM. Reason : g]

5/20/2010 9:11:11 AM

I want to.

I never lived in a dorm. So i think im in over my head here.

I dont own much of anything....i guess the king size bed has to go.

5/20/2010 9:23:47 AM

Quote :

"Why do you guys think noone's built anything like that around here (or really anywhere else for that matter). Do you think the people who would choose to live there are such a small minority that they feel the space wouldn't be profitable? I'm just curious. From a developers standpoint, it seems so easy."

It is jsut as easy to build something larger and appeal to a broader audience. Land is cheap and you can go low and wide with very low marginal cost. Check out properties in any urban area, they only get smaller and more expensive.

oh and to refer to the article in the OP, that whole idea is just wrong. Maybe it'd be allright to have a retirement community with bunch of these little pods around a hub like a mini-village so all these retirees coud move around and sociaize easy. But putting your grandma out in a backyard shed insted of having her live in your house? WTF is this world coming to? Good luck with getting any home made pancakes after pulling a number like that.

5/20/2010 10:52:44 AM

Quote :

"But putting your grandma out in a backyard shed insted of having her live in your house? WTF is this world coming to?"

Yeah...that's the part I didn't get. Wtf. Unless she's a crabby old bitch who wasn't much of a mother.

5/20/2010 11:42:34 AM

In that case put her in a hole in the backyard.

5/20/2010 11:52:50 AM

^ haha good one!

5/20/2010 11:53:58 AM

I own a 325 sf condo and love it! The location is great too so I can go out downtown if I want to get out of the place for a stroll.

5/20/2010 11:56:17 AM

that tiny house is awesome. if i could bring myself to throw enough stuff away, i'd love that.

5/20/2010 12:45:10 PM

Quote :

"If i were to live in a small place like that permanently again, it would be an RV.. At least the view out the window is whatever you want to make it. It also fixes theDuke866's dilemma, since you can have your boat and motorcycle with you AND you can play guitar as loud as your amp can handle, just drive off a couple miles from anyone else's residence"

I've thought about that, too, for a short-term solution, but what I'd really like to do sometime is live aboard a nice boat. I thought about doing it when I get back from Iraq last time, but I didn't want to miss a house buying opportunity with the market depressed, especially with the $8k tax credit. I also knew I'd likely have more child custody court hearings when I returned, and I didn't want her to be able to make the argument that "he lives on a boat--it's not a suitable place for a small child". Legal and reasonable or not, I didn't want to take any chances--I bought a 3BR/2.5 bathroom house.

One of these days when housing prices are really high, I want to do it, though.

5/20/2010 12:54:20 PM

i actually enjoyed dorm living when i was there

there are some awesome advantages to living alone in something as small as a dorm room, though as noted above, when you add another person and especially a kid, it because somewhat undesirable (still "possible," but i'm too much of a space-loving american to want to share that same space with multiple humans)

5/20/2010 2:53:25 PM

i did the math in another thread the other day

200 sf is about the equivalent of an A or D room in Sullivan Hall

5/20/2010 2:57:41 PM

By myself it would be ok.
With a wife or live in girlfriend no way.
I just can't imagine not having a spacious and comfortable place in my own home to go when I want to be alone.

5/20/2010 3:24:25 PM

^ amen.

For my 1L year of law school I lived in a 250 square foot "cottage" off of Franklin Street. Once I got used to it, it wasn't too bad. That is until I started dating my gf. Then it became far too small.

[Edited on May 20, 2010 at 4:48 PM. Reason : d]

5/20/2010 4:48:34 PM

my wife's grandmother lives in a 200sqft flat in HK, It's tight but not much to clean... but you can't have a lot of junk either.

5/20/2010 5:46:06 PM

There is no way I could swing that, with a large and small dog, a boyfriend, a dozen bikes, and a dozen chickens.
More importantly, I need space for my various hobbies in the house- yoga, sewing, and a garden.

I definitely like the traditional early 20th century bungalow with a yard .

5/20/2010 5:48:57 PM

This concept reminds me of the small eco houses that have gained some popularity. They're cute small one room cabins. . .some with lofts for sleeping quarters. I think they're an interesting concept for the minimalist.

http://www.tumbleweedhouses.com/

The small dormitory like housing for the elderly is ideal. My husband and I both have grandmothers in their nineties and I frequently compare their living situations. Grandmother P lives in a very small turn of the century house similar to the shotgun houses that are seen in downtown Raleigh. She does very well on her own, even cooking at times. The house is small enough that she can be reasonably mobile without ever having to walk anywhere that she isn't able to hold on to a wall or piece of furniture for stability. She has family that checks in on her, but does not need a great deal of help. Grandmother O lives in a 2,000 square foot ranch home. She uses a walker at all times and has a great deal of difficulty getting along in her home alone because she's at such high risk for falls. She has to pay someone to come in on a daily basis to see to her and the household. Her health is no different than Grandmother P, but her home is so large that it requires a great deal of walking to just get to the bathroom or the kitchen. In her case, the larger home is a liability.

[Edited on May 20, 2010 at 8:11 PM. Reason : haha. Bobby beat me to it with the 96 square foot house.]

5/20/2010 8:05:33 PM

Quote :

" Land is cheap and you can go low and wide with very low marginal cost. Check out properties in any urban area, they only get smaller and more expensive."

This is the problem with america. In the future we will (should) move towards cutting back on overall land use. Green zones will be added and there will be limits to how far out development can extend. This will drive land prices up enough to where we can live in small urban dwellings. We have theatres. We don't need in home theaters for each family. Boats can stay in large marinas and excess vehicles are very wasteful. We have to get out of this "my vehicles show my personality" culture.

5/20/2010 8:34:55 PM

Quote :

"I just can't imagine not having a spacious and comfortable place in my own home to go when I want to be alone."

Yep, that was my biggest complaint. There was nowhere to go when I just wanted to do something alone or I was pissy and didn't want to be around other people And since Japan barely has a concept of urban planning you can forget about there being parks and shit to go to when you really want to get out of the apartment

Family in a 380 sqft house in California:
http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/blogging/mom-dad-and-baby-live-happily-in-380-square-feetla-times-101462

Can't imagine it will last once the kid is in the walking stage.

[Edited on May 20, 2010 at 10:19 PM. Reason : ,]

5/20/2010 10:19:16 PM

I am fat so I think this is a horrible idea.

5/20/2010 10:31:56 PM

Like a cruise ship cabin?

5/21/2010 7:42:05 AM

^^^^

You need to drive across America.

5/21/2010 8:21:31 AM

i could easily live in a rv. all i need the inside for is the kitchen bed and shower.

5/21/2010 9:08:55 AM

i wanna build a huge garage and just live in an apartment in the attic of the thing

5/21/2010 10:03:11 AM

I plan to do the garage/house thing this year/whenever I can get around to selling my current house. I am finding though, that the i want way more garage than house. i'd only need around 1200 sq feet of living space, but want at least double that for the garage area. I cant find any plans that have that... I have been doodling some plans in CAD in my free time.

5/21/2010 10:18:27 AM