Small vs. Large

Anyone ever get claustrophobia living in the small spaces over here? I miss the space of things - room in the house (especially the restroom, kitchen and bedroom), space on the road, and of course privacy.

I've always lived in a tiny apartment in San Francisco my whole life before moving here so the small sizes of properties were never an issue. But I'm totally with you on the tiny roads. They really scare me sometimes.

What exactly do you mean by privacy?

I am claustrophobic, but more to do with enclosed/crowded spaces rather than small ones. I haven't noticed the size of rooms affecting me, but I have been fortunate and have had fairly good sized flats so far. One thing that did bother me in a former flat was being too close to the ceiling, and this was before I really developed claustrophobia - it was a loft-style bed where we could just about sit up without bumping our heads on the ceiling. I woke up a few times in the middle of the night with some issues there. But I'm okay with small spaces, provided I can make myself comfortable in them and can still get some fresh air. I find that so long as I can easily leave a room I'm fine.

I've lived in small places in Philadelphia.  Small apartments, small houses.  But I've also lived in bigger apartments and bigger houses (all of them old).  I guess I prefer a bit more room to spread out, but I'm just as happy in a little nest.  I only wish we could afford a place where I could have my very own room (even a small one) for my music stuff and basically as my own chill out room.

I've lived in both small and large houses/apartments in both countries, so I don't think it's really a problem for me. My first UK house was an old cottage with very small rooms, but I loved it. Then we lived with my inlaws for about a year and I was basically trapped in one room which was hell. Now we have a bungalow which isn't big, but the rooms are really large, so it has an open and airy feel. We need more rooms, but one day will extend up into our loft to get an extra 3 bedrooms and another bathroom. No problems with space here! 

The size of the spaces doesn't really bother me.  Like most of the other posters, I've mainly lived in smaller houses or apartments in the U.S., so it's not that out of the ordinary.  Although, my first impression on walking into my fiance's house was 'omg, it's all so little!'  Now it seems normal, though we are going to have to get creative when I move and we have to find space for my stuff.

The one thing that does bother me is the roads, but that's because the vast majority of the roads, even the main arteries, are single-lane with passing places.  It used to really freak me out, but I get used to it pretty quickly while I'm there; it only takes a couple hours behind the wheel before I stop flinching whenever I see another car.   The main problem I have with it is simply that it takes for-freakin'-ever to get anywhere-- at least twice as long as it should.  Part of that is my fault, because I preemptively pull over for other vehicles, instead of trying to 'play chicken' to see if they'll pull over, like most of the locals seem to do.  But, yeah, it'd be nice if they got around to adding a second lane.  In most places, there's no reason they couldn't, other than that they don't see the point in investing in infrastructure.

I do have claustrophobia, which has more to do with feeling trapped and not being able to get out of somewhere.

I've lived in small apartments in New York and never had a problem either there or in the UK.

What makes me panic is being on a bus or a train and having people standing between me and the door or going to the loo on a train where the toilet has an automatic push-button lock.

I'm the opposite - small places make me feel safe and secure. I hate the giant, echoey, white-walled McMansions in the States!

This isn't the biggest flat I've lived in as an adult, but it's far from the smallest.  Personally, the back garden thing throws me a bit.  You feel like it's your own personal space, but then suddenly there's someone standing a foot or so away from you in their personal space.  I don't get the etiquette. 

On one side, my neighbours ignore us when we're out.  I am not sure if I should try to not go outside when they are out there, but they seem to avoid it when I am out there.  They also usually shut their back door if they notice me out.  On the other side we have our upstairs neighbour.  He will strike up conversations, sometimes through his back door.  It will occassionally scare me spitless if I am out gardening and in my "zone".  Our garden is sort of "L" shaped, so we have a third bordering garden, which is perhaps the freakiest of all.  We're a garden apartment and we're slightly below the grade.  As you leave our back door, we have a deck area and climb some steps into the back garden.  The people in the garden on the other side of our upstairs neighbour can see straight into our bedroom.  I didn't realise this until I was napping and the guy in that flat was cutting his grass.  I looked up through the window to see him towering over the fence that borders his and our upstairs neighbour.  For some reason, it's almost like his garden is above even our grade.  Of course, we can't put up anything to block the view, at least on the outside, as this will probably block some sun and air.

But don't get me wrong, I love that we have a garden.  I use mine a lot, probably more than my neighbours combined, and I sometimes wonder if I make it so others feel they would be intruding if they use theirs.  It just seems so weird to have such a massive garden and yet because of how the housing is set up, feel we're right on top of each other.

Our flat is remarkably similar to our last US flat.  I've been living in urban apartments for the past 15 years, so my major frustration is the same on both sides of the atlantic:  STORAGE! 

Location was really important to us, and secondary to that was overall size.  We've got a fairly large flat (for central London) in a great location (as determined by our needs) but it meant that there were compromises: no outdoor space and lower ground.  But back in the US we made similar choices, putting location + space first meant that we ended up in an apartment in a great location and was fairly large, but the kitchen and bath were ancient and completely grim. 

I do know lots of friends who moved to London from large, single family homes and have had much more of an adjustment to size.  But for us, life is largely unchanged. 

My apt back in Brooklyn was massive, and I do miss it, but there were also 3 of us living there.  And it was at the end of a subway line, so the commute was longer.  More bang for your buck when you live further out!

My flat here is smaller, but it's on par with what the space would be like if I were living in NYC in terms a shorter commute and the location.    Our bathroom and kitchen are definitely tiny, though. 

Our house in the UK is definitely too large -- fine when you've got kids and all their friends running in and out. But for two people, no. I accept that it's time to downsize but the trouble is that you have to "downsize" your worldly goods as well, else you won't have room to breathe.
I think I would prefer to have more smallish rooms than fewer humongous rooms. All those high ceilings just waste heat anyway.

You might like a small place when winter comes and you have to heat the place .

I'm not saying small rooms or flats are bad. My perspective is bad as I'm living in a tiny room at my in-laws, so there is no privacy and I can't really make this place my own. It's a horrible feeling. It makes me feel more enclosed and like I have no space to be me. I do miss the spacious rooms in the US and am spoiled with the idea of having a nice open space. We shall see how I survive.

I'm not saying small rooms or flats are bad. My perspective is bad as I'm living in a tiny room at my in-laws, so there is no privacy and I can't really make this place my own. It's a horrible feeling. It makes me feel more enclosed and like I have no space to be me. I do miss the spacious rooms in the US and am spoiled with the idea of having a nice open space. We shall see how I survive.

That does sound pretty tough. It's more about the lack of privacy than the size, I would imagine.