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Housing in Tokyo is cheaper and more spacious than people think

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Re: Housing in Tokyo is cheaper and more spacious than people think

#231

Post by WeylandYutani »

franciscop wrote: post #35

The housing space metrics seem very far off from my experience, looking at numbers it seems "Tokyo" means "Tokyo Metropolis", which includes the countryside, mountains, etc. So it's not really comparing the city. If we look at the numbers for Tokyo 23 wards[1] (what would traditionally be called "the city"), we can see they are virtually half than those from Paris or London: 16.5-19.7sqm/person is the range that fall…

It is the price one has to pay for living in the city and being fashionable.

I see this in Amsterdam: rich expats who barely grasp that there is a country outside the city.

Re: Housing in Tokyo is cheaper and more spacious than people think

#232

Post by WeylandYutani »

bluefirebrand wrote: post #230
jbverschoor wrote: post #216

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thing is that you’re not living in your apt. You live in the city with all the buzz. In the suburbs you’ll have to get that buzz in your house somehow

Generally you move to the suburbs to get away from the buzz.

In my experience if you hate people the city is actually the best place to live. Yes you're surrounded by a million people but they all ignore you. In rural areas nobody has a personal bubble and you're supposed to do small talk and give a shit. Folks gossip. They know you. The horror...

Re: Housing in Tokyo is cheaper and more spacious than people think

#233

Post by bluefirebrand »

WeylandYutani wrote: post #232
bluefirebrand wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Generally you move to the suburbs to get away from the buzz.

In my experience if you hate people the city is actually the best place to live. Yes you're surrounded by a million people but they all ignore you. In rural areas nobody has a personal bubble and you're supposed to do small talk and give a shit. Folks gossip. They know you. The horror...

Who said anything about hating people?

Cities are busy and noisy, suburbs are slower and quieter, and rural areas even slower and even quieter.

Re: Housing in Tokyo is cheaper and more spacious than people think

#234

Post by midoridensha »

bluefirebrand wrote: post #233
WeylandYutani wrote: post #232

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience if you hate people the city is actually the best place to live. Yes you're surrounded by a million people but they all ignore you. In rural areas nobody has a personal bubble and you're supposed to do small talk and give a shit. Folks gossip. They know you. The horror...

Who said anything about hating people? Cities are busy and noisy, suburbs are slower and quieter, and rural areas even slower and even quieter.

You have to interact with people at some point, even if it's just when you get groceries. In rural areas, everyone knows everyone: you can't stay anonymous. In a big city, you probably don't even know your neighbors, and you choose your own friends.

Re: Housing in Tokyo is cheaper and more spacious than people think

#235

Post by midoridensha »

ErneX wrote: post #140
rippercushions wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Pick a random spot in any suburb of Tokyo in Google Maps Street View and start exploring. Here's one: 亀戸中央通り商店街 https://maps.app.goo.gl/9yY4Ncb5oM3hXqLY6 It's not particularly hideous by Tokyo (or world) standards, it's just exactly what was described earlier, a random mishmash of houses and shops in various states of repair.

I’ve been to Tokyo and other cities in Japan, and I would gladly trade what you consider ugly for their cleanliness. I live in Barcelona and not even Gaudi’s architecture can distract you from the amount of dog feces and piss that are rampant in this city, plus a considerably lack of cleaning in recent years for some reason.

>I live in Barcelona and not even Gaudi’s architecture can distract you from the amount of dog feces and piss that are rampant in this city

That's become extremely common in American cities too, in the past 2 years or so.

Here in Tokyo, I never see dog feces on the ground. Dogs are always on a leash, and their owners always clean up after them. I guess it's a cultural difference: dog owners outside Japan (and maybe Germany) think they're entitled to let their dogs run wild and crap wherever they want.

Re: Housing in Tokyo is cheaper and more spacious than people think

#236

Post by namdnay »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #179
namdnay wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what do you mean by inefficient? japanese houses are remarkably energy-efficient for their climate. they are very breezy, which cuts down on AC use in the summer, and in winter you heat specific objects instead of the entire house

That really isn't true. A lot of older housing in Japan has really bad insulation, you are basically stuck with a kotatsu in the winter not by choice.

That’s on purpose, to avoid mold in the summer. And heating a kotatsu and a bed instead of an entire house is way more energy efficient

Re: Housing in Tokyo is cheaper and more spacious than people think

#237

Post by quesera »

xboxnolifes wrote: post #218
quesera wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> A single person living in a 25m^2 appartment would be quite cramped. > A family with two young kids living in 100m^2 is pretty spacious. I would argue very much the opposite! - 1 person in 25m² (270 ft²) is comfortable enough in a city, and if your hobbies are small - 4 people in 100m² (1076 ft²) can definitely be cramped

The 4 person example has a lot more usable space though, since you're sharing common space. You're not adding 3 more kitchens. Or 3 more laundry areas. Or 3 more bathrooms (maybe 1). Or 3 more living rooms. The 270 ft² space might have 100 ft² usable area, but the 1076 ft² could have 700 ft² usable.

This make sense numerically -- but having lived in both, I'll argue that that is not the determining measure.

It seems to depend on how common the common space, and the people occupying it, are.

Flatmates (and offspring) can have a low quotient of space utilization compatibility.

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