studio apartments

[swordpath]

Are they just as good as a single bedroom apartment for a bachelor? They run cheaper... If I live alone I can't see why it's really necessary to spend the extra money to have a bedroom.

Who has/had a studio apartment? Did you like it?

 

[BerberElla]

My first place was a studio flat, I found it a bit cramped to start off with, plus it wasn't my ideal (damn idealism lol) but I made it cosy and it was mine, my own space.

It was affordable (£50 week) and in a very nice area.

I sometimes find myself missing that flat in my Si moments.

 

[jenocyde]

Studios are fine if you don't do a lot of entertaining. I have a real issue with someone sitting on my bed in their street clothes (ick!!). But other than that, it's fine. I've dated plenty of guys who had studios and it never bothered me (although I personally couldn't live in just one room - I'd go bat shit insane...)

 

[Valiant]

I'm a student, and I have a studio apartment. Around 140 square feet. It's not big, but it's in an OK neighborhood, my major appliances are at least from 2005 and onwards and the walls are next-to soundproof (although, people can hear me if I scream at the top of my lungs through the ventilation). Besides that, 100 megabit internet is paid through the rent, and I don't have to pay rent in June and July because i'm a student. Pretty fair deal.

Basically, I have it furnished in a somewhat utilitarian fashion. I've managed to squeeze in more stuff than in my previous two-roomer, and it still feels like the layout is very open.

As long as you're single, I can recommend it.

 

[EffEmDoubleyou]

I'd be perfectly happy in a studio apartment except for the lack of a kitchen. I'm not bothered by having my bedroom/living room being the same, but I could not do without cooking. Besides, the money saved on rent would probably go toward all my meals being eaten out.

 

[swordpath]

Isn't there usually a kitchen that just opens up into the rest of the apartment?

 

[matmos]

Studio flats have a tolerance level of about 18 months, after which they'll drive you batshit, IMHO.

If you rent, chances are it in a block of similar properties. Check it out late at night, to get a feel for the neighbours. Keep in mind there is a large turnover in such properties - your chance of living next to a nutter is pretty high. (Unless you're the nutter )

Buying is problematic at the moment - you'll get fed up well before they sell at a decent profit. Quite possibly you'll incur a loss.

Studios rent out ok, if the price is right (if you can undercut the going rate by a few quid), so buying one, living in it for a year or so, then renting it out is a serious possibility if you're strugggling to afford something bigger at the moment.

Avoid like the plague any part-ownership schemes.

Try for a 5 year mortgage fix (min 3); the low rates are not going to last...

Obviously location is the key.

 

[kelric]

Are they just as good as a single bedroom apartment for a bachelor? They run cheaper... If I live alone I can't see why it's really necessary to spend the extra money to have a bedroom.

Who has/had a studio apartment? Did you like it?

I lived in a studio apartment for a year, and I think I'd have liked it just fine, if it hadn't been a total hellhole. Run-down, no A/C and horribly poor heating, noisy (scary-type drug-using/selling) neighbors, no outdoor lighting, with the most *obnoxious* neighbor-dog right under the window who woke me up with a bark-fest every day at 5am.

Having said that, if had it been a nice place, like YLJ's, I think I've had liked it - cheap, simple, and self-contained. Although like FMW says, the typically tiny cubby-kitchens are sort of a pain. If you ever watched the old Highlander TV series though, the flat-studio that McCloud had up above the dojo, with the "real" kitchen in it looked like a nice place .