First blog on Hong Kong. Expect more to come, it was an amazing trip.
Question of today, what's your footprint? What space do you occupy, and what space do you need?
Hella more than that, yo. My deck is 8x12 and it's claustrophobic. One damn hammock and there's barely room for conversation, let alone conversation herbs and spices. Now obviously - thee's "need" and need. I lived an entire summer in the 6x8 space above the bathroom of a Quanset hut. Shower at the docks. Eat at the grocery store. But holy fuck when you escape that it's like a cork out of a champagne bottle. I bought a desk that was 4x6 and then another 3x5 just for good measure. We own the Not So Big trilogy. I'm a firm believer in scale. I recognize that most cultures on earth shun the wastefulness with which Americans put roofs over emptiness. But hot damn - buddy of mine shared a 6,000 ft loft with three other guys for a few years and I gotta tell ya, hopping on the skateboard to cut down on the transit time to the bathroom is its own specail form of intoxication. How much space do I need? MOAR.
Despite our resentment for dogs pissing everywhere, we are often just as territorial. Look at my big house, my territory is amazing, you imply as you show friends that 6,000ft loft. Let the halo effect do its magic. While I often dream of riding a gokart around a giant house, I don't think I'd enjoy it more than a week or two.
Insane. Mind if I share your blog on facebook? EDIT: to answer the question, I could easily live in an apodment. All I need is a mattress, a tiny kitchen and my laptop. Books could go in the trunk of my car, clothes hung from the ceiling ... hell I could live in a van no problem if I didn't like to cook so much.While they are a minority -”only” 20% live in houses smaller than 200 sq ft- the footprint each Hong Kong citizen has is suffocatingly small. Half of the citizens live in a home between 30 and 40 square meters (320-430 sqft).
Almost every country in the world except America does this I imagine. I love it. Makes sense spatially and adds tons of interest to apartment buildings in Europe.The weirdest thing I saw were people hanging their washed clothes on a stick out their window
I've occasionally fantasized about living in a very small house, but never in a high density area. As you suggest, the space you need expands beyond your living quarters. Over the years as my living space has gradually expanded, so has my collection of things. We consume to fit our space. I don't feel that I need more, and should my means significantly increase, I hope my space doesn't. It's not a real need. I wonder if these people acclimate perfectly to these 100sqft spaces, or if like caged animals, it stresses them.
I think they often have little choice. Living space is hard to come by and they often have no choice but to live there. It's a different kind of poverty, the one that not only limits your wallet but also your living space. I think a lot of people just live with it - what else can they do. As a student I often come across dorm rooms of friends no larger than those, but at least those are temporary, with more space on the horizon. I can't fathom living in such small spaces for decades.
Physical space?- probably more than a tiny Hong Kong apartment. What's more important to me as a raging introvert is that I can have alone time when I want it (which is every day). Not to say that I don't like being around people, but after a while it overwhelms me.
I have a 2700 sq ft loft, plus a two car garage and a 400 sq ft deck (fuck, my home gym alone is bigger than a lot of these microdwellings). I don't have very much furniture. Frankly, as gluttonous as it sounds to have all that for one man (+two cats), I fuckin love it. It's wide open and not cluttered, about as peaceful as a home can be in my opinion. I don't get claustrophobic on airplanes or in elevators, but I get it bad in a cluttered home. The top floor of my place is a 900 sq ft room that is used as a living room, dining room and kitchen, with floor to ceiling (11 ft ceilings, too!) windows on one end. It's the opposite experience I had growing up, where there were always a bunch of kids, we messed the house up all the time, and the only place I had to myself was a tiny bedroom. The smallest place I lived was a 600 sq ft studio, which wasn't that bad, and was all I could afford on a graduate student stipend. But at this point in my life, I don't think I'd have an easy time adjusting back down.
For the record, I absolutely love your place. It's large and spacious, especially for one guy, but you seem to fill it well. The deck and large windows with trees in the living area gives it a sense of peace and you forget at times that you are in fact in a city. I had an industrial converted loft space in Maine that had huge ceilings - like 20ft ceilings - and it was amazing to have those ceilings. Turned out to be a total expensive bitch to heat though. Like yours, when you were inside you often forgot that you were surrounded by buildings and people and dogshit. Having high ceilings makes a huge difference in terms of claustrophobia. I had two places in NYC, one with 11 foot ceilings and one with 7ft drop ceilings. Even though the second was larger in square footage, the first felt far better to live in.
I just wonder how you fill all that space up. There comes a point when you can't buy any more stuff to fill it with, right? Or spend ages keeping it all tidy. I live in a really small room with a kitchen, and I keep it clean and tidy all the time. It doesn't feel small because of similar high ceilings and the long side is nearly all window. But I really enjoy to live with only the things I need, to not waste space and resources. It feels spacious because it's layout is efficient. Don't you feel like wasting space?I have a 2700 sq ft loft, plus a two car garage and a 400 sq ft deck. [...] I don't get claustrophobic on airplanes or in elevators, but I get it bad in a cluttered home.
I don't. I have not much more furniture than the last place I lived, which was about one third as big. It's easy to vacuum and sweep around nothing, so keeping it clean isn't really an issue. I have a bathroom that I haven't used in god knows how long, so it's a bit silly to have to clean that, as water stains just naturally build up, and I have a shower that I have literally never used once in the 2.5 years I've owned this place. I run the water from time to time to make sure that rust doesn't clog the pipes, but again, it doesn't require much maintenance. I bought the place, because it had just gone into foreclosure, so I got a remarkably good deal. Before that, I never saw myself as the type to have such a large condo. It's fairly easy to get used to, however.I just wonder how you fill all that space up.
How much space do we need? Does space affect our feelings for one another both inside and outside our personal spaces? Do some cultures have no concept of personal space? Alone, I imagine I could live in a relatively small space. I once lived for two months in a tent on the back of an 1963 International Harvester 3/4 ton pickup. With each person sharing that space, the need changes or one's concept of solitude changes. You make an excellent point about access to outdoor spaces. Right now, I have to get rid of stuff, lots of stuff. If you spend your first 50 years collecting stuff, you spend the next 50 trying to get rid of it.If it doesn’t rain, the parks are filled with people sitting, walking or jogging around.
When I have access to outdoor space, everything feels roomier; however cold, dark, and rain will make us feel more crowded. Attitudes about needs and space probably depend on how much roaming space you have inside your mind vs how much external stimulation you need.
Some futurists look at Hong Kong as the future of our living. As we continue to have more and more people, they say, we will soon face the reality of megacities with similar highrise. While that future is probably not going to happen anytime soon with the declining fertility rates becoming the norm, it is interesting to reflect that way of living on ourself. How would America look like if it had densities like HK? Your truck was only temporary, which definitely made it more bearable. I've seen numerous articles here on loneliness and (social) isolation. More and more people living farther away from each other. Destinations further from home, personal space ever-growing. Physical space affects our behaviour, and that in turn changes us. Thanks. One thing I noticed is that in the smaller cities, which have less high-end malls and more markets, that those markets became a place of social gathering. Since the market was comprised of only a couple of streets, and people are outside much more often, you're bound to run into a friend. And people were chatting with the sales people too, as they are probably regulars. Go minimalistic! I know it is bound to happen, but I try to keep the number of items to a minimum. Think about it: what would you miss, if your house were to burn down? Most of what you have is just stuff.How much space do we need? Does space affect our feelings for one another both inside and outside our personal spaces? Do some cultures have no concept of personal space?
You make an excellent point about access to outdoor spaces.
Right now, I have to get rid of stuff, lots of stuff. If you spend your first 50 years collecting stuff, you spend the next 50 trying to get rid of it.