Living Life in 427 Square Feet!

I just want to start off by saying that I am extremely grateful and blessed to be living in Los Angeles with Dan. I am appreciative to have a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in at night. In saying that, there are some challenges that come with living in a studio apartment in LA, especially when it comes to living with your significant other.

Let's start with the most prominent issue... you guessed it! SPACE! Our apartment is so incredibly tiny that we had to compromise on a lot of things. For example, we had to choose between getting a couch for our friends to sit on when they come visit or a desk for us to have a place to work and study at. Not having a lot of space creates tests that you have to work through to figure out what the best options are for you both.

When it comes to cooking, our kitchen allows for one person to be in it comfortably. This makes it near impossible for Dan and I to cook dinners together. It also just makes cooking in general a bit more difficult. You pretty much NEED to clean as you go so you have the room to put the food down once it's ready. The limited counter space also makes it hard to keep many appliances out.

Being a fashion lover, the limited closet space is a huge issue for me. I feel like I'm constantly trying to squeeze more and more clothes into my closet (I'm sure I'm not the only girl struggling with this at the moment!). Although I have to say, I am the lucky one. Dan was nice enough to let me have the larger closet. Shout out to my boo for that! He, on the other hand is stuck with a smaller closet. He is the real hero here for being able to manage his closet. We actually ended up having to buy a clothing rack because we just needed more storage space for clothes, whoops!

Now getting to a personal level, how does living in this small studio apartment affect our relationship? It's definitely challenging at times. Living with your significant other can be testing in general, let alone living with them in a 427 square foot room. Talk about needing space, only to not have anywhere to go to get it. Our kitchen is our living room. Our living room is our bedroom. It's everything all in one and it is not always easy. For instance, at times when Dan gets up early to study and I'm trying to sleep in, he turns the lights on and I have to pull the covers over my head. Conversely, when I want to stay up late and Dan wants to go to bed early, he has to go to sleep with the sound of the TV still on. There are times that Dan gets frustrated with me or vice versa, and these are the hardest times when it comes to living in a studio. Sometimes you just need some time and SPACE to get away and think about things with a clear head. This is hard to do when you don't have any space to get away or even a bedroom to lock yourself in. Of course, all of this comes with compromise and figuring out what works best for both of us.

Now don't get me wrong, it's definitely not all bad! Living in a studio apartment is definitely worth it for multiple reasons. The shorter commute is the first thing that comes to mind! It's also closer to the beach, which is a happy place for me. We never need to worry about not having something to do. There are so many restaurants and bars here that if you wanted to go somewhere new every night, you could. And we definitely can't complain about the weather or beautiful sunsets we get to experience.

There are so many other reasons as to why living in this studio apartment is so worth it, but I'll end it on these last few. Dan and I did a year of long distance and I would choose living in this small studio apartment over living a million miles away from him any day! I am seriously so happy we made the move out here. LA is one of a kind and I am so grateful to be living in this small studio apartment with the love of my life making new memories together every day.

Xx,

Krystal