DC getting micro apartments

[karinothing]

www.washingtonpost.com/realestate/micro-units-coming-to-desirable-locations-in-the-district/2014/07/17/07e0a33e-f63c-11e3-8aa9-dad2ec039789_story.html

I know some folks love small spaces here so I thought I would share! Not my cup of tea at all.

[Deleted]

400 sq ft still counts as micro???

[delawarejen]

D.C. has a lot of people who live elsewhere but need a place to crash locally. I could see this being popular among the crowd that commutes home on the weekends.

[Deleted]

Jul 23, 2014 9:30:50 GMT -5 v said:

400 sq ft still counts as micro???

I've never been a city dweller, but I thought the same thing.

According to the article, DC has a minimum of 220 sf of living space. Do bathrooms, hallways, etc. count towards that?

[chia]

I spent the summer in a 400 sq ft apartment once... it was laid out really well, and actually the perfect size for just one person.

[karinothing]

Jul 23, 2014 9:30:50 GMT -5 v said:

400 sq ft still counts as micro???

I guess if the traditional DC studio is 450 sq feet, this is under that.

[Deleted]

Jul 23, 2014 10:02:42 GMT -5 chia said:

I spent the summer in a 400 sq ft apartment once... it was laid out really well, and actually the perfect size for just one person.

When I was in law school, I lived for a year in a 360 sq foot 2 br apartment.  The kitchen was super tiny and there was no living room, but it worked.  The 1 br version of that apartment -- also 360 sq ft but made for one person or a couple -- was positively palatial in comparison (it had a living room).

As one person, I'd have no issue living in a well laid out 400 sq ft apartment. 

[Deleted]

I could live in a well laid out tiny apartment--at least when I was single.

My apartment by myself was abou 540 with a big living room and huge closet. I definitely could have gotten by with less than that. And that was a normal apartment.

[CloudBee]

Awesome. But those aren't as "micro" as I would have expected.

[lime]

I would love to do this again if I was single. Being married, no way.

[raangoli]

But does it have a separate entrance to separate the poor millennials?

[thebulldog]

I could probably manage in that size alone but paying $2500 for is just so crazy to me. Everytime i think we could afford to move back to the city, i see stuff like this and my head explodes.

i be typing from me phone. typos and grammer dont count.

[Raggedeannie]

Jul 23, 2014 11:06:32 GMT -5 thebulldog said:

I could probably manage in that size alone but paying $2500 for is just so crazy to me. Everytime i think we could afford to move back to the city, i see stuff like this and my head explodes.

i be typing from me phone. typos and grammer dont count.

Yeah, this.  Is 14th St really that desirable that people are willing to pay $2500 for 400 sq feet???  I don't get it.

[ssmjlm]

If I was single and still working downtown, I would be all about these.

Sigh, DH is not a city person though. And he definitely wouldn't live in DC.

[karinothing]

Jul 23, 2014 11:11:38 GMT -5 Raggedeannie said:

Jul 23, 2014 11:06:32 GMT -5 thebulldog said:

I could probably manage in that size alone but paying $2500 for is just so crazy to me. Everytime i think we could afford to move back to the city, i see stuff like this and my head explodes.

i be typing from me phone. typos and grammer dont count.

Yeah, this.  Is 14th St really that desirable that people are willing to pay $2500 for 400 sq feet???  I don't get it.

I guess 14th street is really popular now, but I am surprised. When I moved out of DC I could get a 2 bedroom in a less desirable area for like $2700. That kind of seemed to be normal (well $2700 - 3300) for 2 bedrooms like 700 sq feet. I guess things have changed!

[lasagnasshole]

Jul 23, 2014 11:11:38 GMT -5 Raggedeannie said:

Jul 23, 2014 11:06:32 GMT -5 thebulldog said:

I could probably manage in that size alone but paying $2500 for is just so crazy to me. Everytime i think we could afford to move back to the city, i see stuff like this and my head explodes.

i be typing from me phone. typos and grammer dont count.

Yeah, this.  Is 14th St really that desirable that people are willing to pay $2500 for 400 sq feet???  I don't get it.

Yes. It's nuts.

We pay $2450 for our 1200-sf 2-bedroom, and after having perused Craigslist some in the past month, I have decided I am NEVER MOVING.

ETA: But not on 14th Street. I actually like our 'hood better than 14th Street because there are too many damn people in the "cool" neighborhoods.

[lillaguma]

We have some friends that live in a 360 sq ft studio, with their cat (in DC.) I think they pay about $1500.

I couldn't do it. She actually seems sort of smug about their small place (and they have laid it out well) - but at the same time she complains a lot about how he's *always* there - or like if he gets off work early and comes home when she isn't expecting it it's a big deal to her.

I just know H and I couldn't do a space that small. We'd go nuts.

[jenn248]

Jul 23, 2014 14:41:41 GMT -5 lillaguma said:

We have some friends that live in a 360 sq ft studio, with their cat (in DC.) I think they pay about $1500.

I couldn't do it. She actually seems sort of smug about their small place (and they have laid it out well) - but at the same time she complains a lot about how he's *always* there - or like if he gets off work early and comes home when she isn't expecting it it's a big deal to her.

I just know H and I couldn't do a space that small. We'd go nuts.

Same here.  That 400 sq ft would have to include enough space to hide a body, because I would murder DH if we lived together in a studio.

[Deleted]

I tried to convince do to build a tiny house in Vermont to retire in. He told me no. I fear I may be the body he hides if this ever happened.

[lauralala]

Jul 23, 2014 14:41:41 GMT -5 lillaguma said:

We have some friends that live in a 360 sq ft studio, with their cat (in DC.) I think they pay about $1500.

I couldn't do it. She actually seems sort of smug about their small place (and they have laid it out well) - but at the same time she complains a lot about how he's *always* there - or like if he gets off work early and comes home when she isn't expecting it it's a big deal to her.

I just know H and I couldn't do a space that small. We'd go nuts.

I had a friend who lived with her husband and cat in a roughly 400 sq ft studio, and they did not move out when they had a child (well, until he was over a year old).  That is definitely more togetherness than I could handle - we are downsizing to under 1000 sq ft and I am not sure where all 3 of us and the cats are going to fit.

[Deleted]

Jul 23, 2014 9:30:53 GMT -5 delawarejen said:

D.C. has a lot of people who live elsewhere but need a place to crash locally. I could see this being popular among the crowd that commutes home on the weekends.

I would love one of these!  I usually work from home but there are stretches where I'm in the office in DC quite a bit and would love to have a local place to lay my head.  My firm puts me up in a hotel, but maybe there's a business case for a micro unit!

i lived in 500 sq ft here in DC when I first moved out, and it was an adorable little studio that I sometimes miss. :/

[shell403b]

From 1998 to 2004, I had a rent-controlled 550sf modified studio for $550 in the heart of Dupont Circle. I'd be scared to find out what that apartment's going for these days.

[hopenotlost]

Jul 23, 2014 11:06:32 GMT -5 thebulldog said:

I could probably manage in that size alone but paying $2500 for is just so crazy to me. Everytime i think we could afford to move back to the city, i see stuff like this and my head explodes.

i be typing from me phone. typos and grammer dont count.

My eyes about popped out of my head at the price.  My $600 rent for our 5 bedroom acreage doesn't sound so bad now!

[thebulldog]

Jul 23, 2014 18:48:19 GMT -5 melmaria said:

Jul 23, 2014 12:17:38 GMT -5 karinothing said:

I guess 14th street is really popular now, but I am surprised. When I moved out of DC I could get a 2 bedroom in a less desirable area for like $2700. That kind of seemed to be normal (well $2700 - 3300) for 2 bedrooms like 700 sq feet. I guess things have changed!

We pay $2600 for a 1050 sq feet 2BR near the red line in NW. Granted, we locked in a sweet deal (similar units in our building go for $3000+) but I cannot imagine paying $2500 for 400 sq feet on 14th street. No way. I understand it's the *it* place now, but jeez.

We lived in a 950 one bed at van ness metro from 2003 to 2007. It was awesome....it think it was $1800 at the time.

i be typing from me phone. typos and grammer dont count.