# If you were single, which would you live in? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 29, 2020, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683 "2020-05-29T16:52:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![scarface54345](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@scarface54345](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scarface54345)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/1 "2020-05-29T16:52:53Z")
I’m wondering if those who are single would prefer renting a 1-bedroom apartment or a studio apartment. Of course the 1-bedroom apartment is going to be more expensive, but some may think it’s worth the extra cost because it gives a bit more space than a typical studio apartment. Also, some people don’t like to sleep in the same room that they eat in… ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/2 "2020-05-29T17:44:00Z")
Option 3: fear of dying alone and unloved ---
**Author:** ![saucywench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@saucywench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saucywench)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/3 "2020-05-29T17:49:56Z")
Even with the added cost, I personally like the extra space and a designated bedroom. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/4 "2020-05-29T17:52:12Z")
I can afford it…barely…and I have a LOT of gunk. A total muck ton of stuph. Either a 1BR or a storage locker. (And, from observation of many friends, once stuff goes in a storage locker, it pretty much never gets seen again. Might’s well throw it away.) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/5 "2020-05-29T18:23:44Z")
Back when I was single, I lived in both. A studio apartment was stifling, but a 1-bedroom gave me space to do my art work. My last apartment in NYC, I was paying $2500/mo., but it was worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/6 "2020-05-29T18:40:55Z")
When I was single I had both, but usually a studio. I agree a one bedroom is much better, but I didn’t have much money and didn’t really care. I even shared a studio for awhile with a girlfriend, and we made it work. If I were single now, which I guess is technically the OP’s question, I would have a house or a two bedroom condo downtown. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/7 "2020-05-29T19:08:37Z")
When I was single, between army barracks and buying a house, I only lived in Residence Inns (the old kind, that were like apartments) and company-provided apartments, which were always two bedroom. I can’t imagine living in anything with fewer than two bedrooms, or one bedroom plus an office, which is what the second bedrooms have always become. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/8 "2020-05-29T19:13:28Z")
I am single, and have always preferred a one-bedroom apartment, especially when I had a dog. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/9 "2020-05-29T19:36:32Z")
I also am single. I always preferred a 1-bedroom. Now I’ve got a 2 bedroom house. When I was younger I had visions of getting some warehouse space with a big loading door in some run down part of a city. Drive the car into the living space, have some art studio space, workshop, and living space all together. I probably wouldn’t have gotten anything done. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/10 "2020-05-29T19:39:55Z")
Definitely would prefer the extra space in a 1 bedroom. When I was young and single the decision was entirely based on cost and I ended up renting rooms, not apartments or studios, and I would have switched to either had I been able to afford it. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/11 "2020-05-29T19:56:59Z")
If I were single I would seek out some kind of community living situation such as a co-housing, or even a monastery. The actual living space is not anything like as important as who and what is outside it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/12 "2020-05-29T20:05:36Z")
Back when I was single I lived in one-bedroom apartments, but that was 4500 books ago. 3 bedroom house would be my choice, or 2 bedroom apartment at least with room for an office and lots of bookcases. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/13 "2020-05-29T20:05:58Z")
Neither. I don’t want to live in an apartment building. And shutting the two Younger Cats up in even a one-bedroom would lead to havoc. Having said that: when I was, say, 20, and not yet so (mentally) allergic to cities that I couldn’t live in one, and if “single” had included not having a cat, I might have been OK with the studio; on the basis that I wouldn’t have spent all that much time in it then anyway. But what I actually did then was share a four-bedroom house with three or four other people. (Didn’t vote.) ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/14 "2020-05-29T20:14:32Z")
Same amenities and location? I’d take the one-bedroom. But I can totally imagine a studio apartment that I would choose in a heartbeat over a one-bedroom, if the layout was especially appealing or if it was in a better location or it had something special about it (like a balcony or big windows). Also, I hate stairs with a white hot passion. If I had to choose between a third-floor one-bedroom in a walkup or a studio on the ground level, I really don’t know which I’d choose. Studios are not so great if you have overnight guests. Like, my mother is the type of person who has to have the TV on to go to sleep. Plus she snores really bad. She’d drive me nuts if she was staying with me in a place without rooms. ---
**Author:** ![Esprise\_Me](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprise_me/32/2947_2.png) [@Esprise\_Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprise_Me)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/15 "2020-05-29T21:00:43Z")
When I was single, living in Boston, and waiting tables, I couldn’t afford a 1-bedroom in the areas I wanted to live (i.e. walking distance from the subway.) Even a studio cost much more than one is supposed to spend on rent–more than half of what I earned. It was a short-lived victory, too; once the 2008 financial crisis hit, my tips dried up and I had to go back to having roommates. A one-bedroom would’ve been nice, but I didn’t mind the studio. I would’ve absolutely hated sharing it with someone, but for just me, it was lovely. I still think about that apartment and how happy I was there. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21825_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/16 "2020-05-29T21:02:30Z")
My first apartment was a studio with a Murphy bed - back before I owned anything. It was perfect at the time. I also had a 1-bedroom alone and a 2-BR with a roomie. The 1BR was much better! Of course, having lived in a 3BR house on 3 acres, I don’t know if I could live in an apartment again. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/17 "2020-05-29T21:11:22Z")
I voted 1BR, but a 2BR is much better. I like having a guest bedroom, which doubles as a kind of hobby room (it currently contains a bunch of 3D printer equipment). Really I could use even more space, but my current 2BR is comfortable and not too hard to maintain. I’d never go back to having roommates unless I was truly desperate. I guess I’d go for a studio over a 2BR+roommate. ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/18 "2020-05-29T21:12:12Z")
Since everybody else is denying the hypothetical (so to speak) I too will note that I have no intention of ever living in such a dinky space as described by the OP. I have so much stuff my two-bedroom apartment can’t contain it. (Even with a storage unit on the side it’s packed.) I really ought to get into a nice 4-bedroom house. That said, I interpreted the OP as asking, basically, ‘if you _must_ live in a shoebox, would you prefer one with divided subspaces, or which just is one undivided space?’ And if that’s the question I want my subspaces, even if they don’t result in more space overall. Sometimes that mental context switch when you pass into a different space is helpful. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/19 "2020-05-29T21:21:18Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > That said, I interpreted the OP as asking, basically, ‘if you _must_ live in a shoebox, would you prefer one with divided subspaces, or which just is one undivided space?’ That’s not what he said, though: “some may think it’s worth the extra cost because it gives a bit more space than a typical studio”. So it’s not just about divided vs. not, it’s also that 1BR apts typically are larger and more expensive. A typical studio would be pretty uncomfortable if divided further. You could have a bedroom exactly the size of your bed and a main room that’s unpleasantly cramped. A large studio could be interesting, maybe–would feel more open, the way open-plan kitchens are also popular for that reason. But it might be kinda weird for a bedroom. Maybe some room dividers would help while retaining the open feeling, especially with high ceilings. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2020, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683/20 "2020-05-29T21:21:26Z")
I’ve lived in both. DEFINITELY I choose the 1 bedroom. Actually, right now I am living in a 1 bedroom apartment, and I am again single. That said - once I get done down-sizing the pile of crap accumulated by 2 people over 40 years I will be looking for a 2 bedroom apartment. At least. Because I’d like a bit more room. I’m putting up with it because it is really giving me an incentive to unload unneeded/unwanted material things. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-single-which-would-you-live-in/854683.md?page=2)