Space in moderation

Throughout my life I’ve found myself in alot of different kinds of environments. I was born in St. Petersburg, Russia and lived there for 9 years before I moved to the States with my mom. I lived in a very old city, along with old museums, buildings, churches, flats ( like a 13 story appartment that you dont pay rent for, instead its a “house” as I may explain later.) The city I lived in was very known for its history. There were historical spots everywhere you went. Compared to the United States-its nothing that anyone that has lived in this country could handle since its so different and most people would only travel to St. Petersburg to go sightseeing but not be comfortbable with its living arrangements. I know a few people that took a trip to my home town(ironically its not a town, and has no characteristics of town) and said it would be hard for them to adjust if they were to say leave their old life behind, with their white picket fence house and a huge back yard, plus the garage. They said that city life in the States is easier to go by then to live the city life in a country they know almost nothing about. From what I remember St. Petersburg wasnt a big fan of cars, public transportation was the way to go. A lot of little adjustments such as public transportation (subways and buses and trolleys are they way to go) have a lot to do with space. Being able to walk around right in the city, you notice how much space is conserved when there are no cookie cutter houses everywhere. The way that the flats are built, in sections, all around the city, there would be no use for a 3 bedroom house. The theory is that because so many people live in cities, the only way to provide enough space for everyone is to build tall buildings so there would be more space on the ground. There would be tall 10 to 17 story buildings that resemble appartments that you would see down here in Detroit. Each family had its own flat. The flats would have several rooms, a kitchen, a dining room, and a bathroom- with the toilet and the shower/bathtub in seperate rooms. Alot of time there would be too much space for two people ( this is a description of my old flat) so my mom rented out one of the rooms to someone else and that was awkward enough. When you walk into the flat there is a hallway that leads to the main dining room. There is a lock on the room similar to what you would find on your front door. Inside the dining room you would see several doors to the other rooms. If you were to go down to the kitchen or the bathroom you would have to walk out of your “living space” and go down the hallway and then make a left to go to the kitchen. It seems big, but it really is not. Each side of the bedrooms also had a balcony that overlooked the other buildings and the schools. You could see alot from the 9th floor and its a strange experience moving out of the city to a “house”. I was so used to living in that building, taking the elevator down everyday and having to walk to the bus stop and then to the subway to get around ANYWHERE, it really struck me hard when I had to move into a house. My mom and I were so used to our old living arangements that we didnt know what to do with the 4 bedroom house with a huge finished basement. It was just too much space. It was too much to clean, so most of the time several rooms were just locked.That was about 6 years ago, before my mom and I moved into our own appartment. I miss living in the city, I miss walking around till 3am and watching the bridges open up and fold to the side so a boat could get through. It was really something to see. There were just so many differences that I will never find in the U.S. ever again. New York and Chicago will never compare to that lifestyle.

Marsha K.