Tiny House!
Here’s an interesting update on the micro apartments we talked about in a previous post: leasing has begun at New York City’s first micro-unit development, a nine-story building on East 27th street with 55 studio apartments ranging from 260 to 360 square feet. Fourteen of the units are designated as “affordable”, meaning they will rent for about $950 a month – 60,000 people have applied for those 14 apartments. (Check out this article in The New York Times.)
The idea behind these micro apartments is to provide an option for the many single people living in New York City who long for some privacy and no longer wish to squeeze two or three roommates into a small apartment in order to be able to afford it.
There are other advantages to a small living space. Many people these days long for a simpler, de-cluttered lifestyle, and choose to live in a small space to reduce their carbon footprint. If you are considering some drastic down-sizing, inspired either by affordability or simplicity, here are some things to think about.
If you are a young, single person, struggling to jumpstart your career and get a foothold in today’s economy, it makes a lot of sense to go with the smallest living quarters available in order to save money for the future and stay focused on your goals. It might also make sense to rent a small storage unit to extend the viability of your small living quarters (at a smaller cost per square foot) and save a few things that you will want later when you upsize your life and your home. After all, most single people don’t stay single forever. (It’s also a great way to store recreation equipment, like skis.)
Or perhaps you already have someone in your life, and the two of you are committed to a simple, uncluttered lifestyle. You want to build your own “tiny house” on a small piece of land you have purchased. Before you get rid of everything, think about giving yourself a safety net by renting a storage unit for the furniture that won’t fit in your new digs. If, after six months, you are both incredibly claustrophobic in your tiny house, and running outside once an hour to take deep breaths, you will have the option to furnish a slightly more spacious abode.
If you live in Southern California and are considering trying the urban micro-apartment lifestyle, Dollar Self Storage has facilities in Corona, Irvine, Santa Fe Springs, and Jurupa (opening Spring 2016).