I had a perfect apartment for me. It was 596 sq ft, but split over 2.5 floors - equally-sized basement (one room/laundry & utility closet) and main floor (kitch

I had a perfect apartment for me. It was 596 sq ft, but split over 2.5 floors - equally-sized basement (one room/laundry & utility closet) and main floor (kitchen/bathroom/living room), plus a 1/4-sized lofted bedroom above it. My partner of a few years moved in with me, and we quickly realized we had to find a new place if we were going to live together. If one person coughed in the basement, the other person could hear it in the bedroom. No amount of putting up sound-reducing barriers helped. It looks romantic from the outside, maybe cute and cozy, but day-to-day it takes a very special kind of patience to deal with. I do have friends who live in about 300 sq ft in New York City, somewhere in the East 60s. Their apartment has that exact "romantic" feel to it, but they only survive because they live in NYC and can spend the majority of their time doing things (together or separately) anywhere but their apartment.