To think a one bed flat is too small for a couple?

[Egaman]

I live in a one bed flat with dp. It’s a cute flat but small. The front door off a corridor opens straight into the living room, so you hear people walking right past your sofa. The only toilet is the en-suite. No outdoor space.

AIBU to think this too small? Especially for people on a reasonably good salary

DH and I lived in a one bed flat for a couple of years, as did my sister and BIL.

It was fine (but might not have been if both of us had worked from home).

I don’t personally like front doors that open directly into the living room, but that has nothing to do with the number of bedrooms really. Room size can be an issue, but again, that’s not directly related to number of bedrooms.

If your flat feels too small and you want to move, I wouldn’t automatically rule out other 1 bed places. They can come in all shapes and sizes.

I’d have chosen one bedroom and big rooms every time when it was just DH and me at home, rather than pay a premium for a spare room.

Your front room sounds rubbish and would make me feel more claustrophobic. We have an inside hallway.

It's absolutely fine if that's all you can afford

Iy would have been fine for us. DH and I rented a room in a shared house until we got married and bought our own place. It was fine. If we'd spent more on renting a bigger place, we'd never have been able to save a decent deposit to allow us to buy in a nice central location.

It's not "too" small, if that's what you can afford, that's what you can afford and it would be fine, but I agree if you can afford more space I'd want it.

Unless this is a rented place and staying helps save to buy somewhere.

Around my way the local information web sites are full with pleas from couples with one or more children wanting to rent a double room . They must dream of a one bedroom flat for a couple.

What’s the issue? If you, think it’s too small for you, then you should move.

What everyone else thinks is irrelevant; many others would think differently.

Sounds very small to me and yes I personally would want a lot more room, you don't say what the location is like, maybe it's in a stunning location and that's the trade off?

If I lived somewhere that small and had the money to size up I would.

Lots of single people/couples live in a one-bed flat.

If you don’t like it, move. If you can’t afford to move: don’t.

Are you trying to persuade your partner to move and he doesn’t want to?

I live in a one bed flat with dp. It’s a cute flat but small. The front door off a corridor opens straight into the living room, so you hear people walking right past your sofa. The only toilet is the en-suite. No outdoor space.

This description is absolutely meaningless.

We need a floor map with dimensions, pur-lease.

Well if it’s too small then buy or rent somewhere bigger? If it’s a council property then tough?

My one bed flat was 60s build, it had almost the same square footage as my now three bed Victorian terrace. It entirely depends on the flat.

I think the futher question is, too small for what?

You have a budget for life and only you can decide how you spend/save it. Your priorities won't be the same as the next person. A one bed flat would be perfect for a couple who work away a lot, and travel at every opportunity. No garden, lock up and leave it, great.

For someone who was a real homebody, hates travel and loves gardening, and works from home, maybe not so ideal but if that's what their budget allowed then you suck it up. It's not really a question anyone else can answer for you, with no perspective provided.

Pretty much everyone would have a bigger place if it didn't mean sacrificing something else. So what are you willing to sacrifice to get a bigger place?

So for example if you're currently renting, getting a bigger place more will cost you more so will mean less to save towards a place of your own.

Or maybe you're happy to move to a less nice area or further from a town/city centre, if that means you can get a larger place without spending more.

Or is the issue here that you're willing to sacrifice something for a bigger place, but your partner isn't willing to sacrifice the same thing? If so, details!

I'd be fine with it if DP didn't snore like a chainsaw.

We lived and worked in one, even pre Covid. It was fine for us.

My DH lived in a 1 bed flat for a few years and we loved it. The mortgage was £400 between us and we lived like kings!!

We reminisce all the time about how great and free it was. We had loads of money, no kids, the flat took 30 mins to clean.

Just thinking about it makes me smile.

The only loo off the bedroom would put me off. If you can afford it then move.

Having one bedroom wouldn’t bother me, but the front door opening into the living room and the only bathroom being an en suite would, unless I never had visitors.

It sounds like you think it's too small, your DP doesn't and you think because you can afford to move to a larger place, that you should.

You are not unreasonable to think it's too small, though you must know that objectively if you fit in it then it is not.

If you're both comfortable then there is no need to move just because you earn enough to do so.

I have happy memories of me and my then boyfriend living in our first one bed flat. Cosy and loved up and no need for the personal space I need now!

My husband and I are in a (small) 1 bed flat with our 3 year old. It's not exactly roomy but we don't generally feel cramped. There's enough room for everything we need at the moment.

I'd have thought that one bed flats were pretty standard for young couples without kids (I'm guessing that's what applies to you, though I might be wrong). That said, if you feel cramped and can afford to move, you'd hardly be unreasonable to do so.

I couldn't deal with that, i have had to in the past but it made me so claustrophobic and i could never truly relax. We're a couple in a 3 bed semi now, big drive and nice garden. We pay a premium for it but it's so nice and relaxing to be in. Space!

We go camping a lot, i can't cope with the claustrophobic smaller tents so ours is an 8XL person tent. apparently i like physical space around me for my head to chill! 😂

I'd like a balcony or some access to outside space. The other things you describe wouldn't be a deal breaker for me. But as others have said, it's about weighing up priorities.

It would be too small for us. We have a lot of stuff, I work from home a lot, and we both like to spend a lot of time at home. If we were minimalists who worked long hours outside the home and could afford to eat out all the time I would think a 1 bed near work would be ok though - I imagine that's what all those poky expensive flats in central London are for.

It's about what's most important to you - we don't have off road parking for example which for some people would be a deal-breaker, for us it's a compromise we were willing to make because this place ticked most of our other boxes.