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Living In A Box
Living In A Box
jvergho by Julia Vergho March 1st, 2002
If I ever get my hands on the person who said 'Bedsits are so bohemian', there's going to be dead people. Or at least one of them. For bedsits are the second lowest form of value accommodation (the lowest form is, of course, living in halls of residence). They're too small, overpriced and get very lonely. The latter isn't helped by the fact you're sharing a house with a bunch of complete strangers either. These people have a habit of remaining strangers (unless there's a fire and the building is evacuated, of course...), but after catching a glimpse of what lives in the room above you, you'll be glad to not know them. On the other hand, in most cases you'll find yourself sharing a toilet with these people. Though you don't know what they actually look like, you'll soon recognise their toilet habits. Yikes. The man upstairs does 'hit and miss' an awful lot, the woman downstairs blocks up the system. Nice.

Coming back to the actual bedsit, having a kitchen, bedroom and bathroom all in one may sound practical at first, but will soon drive you up the walls. There is nowhere to go and not much to do. You want a cup of tea? Turn round and switch the kettle on. You want to watch telly? Turn round and switch the telly on. This applies to pretty much every aspect of everyday life. Better still, there is no way of escaping your own mess. So you either get yourself organised and spend 24 hours a day tidying up after yourself or, like me, you just give up and kick stuff out the way day in day out. Hours of fun.

However, the worst part of living in a bedsit box is the lack of people. When you get home to an empty room everyday, it is hardly surprising that many find themselves ranting at the walls an awful lot. Alternatively, your phone bill will rocket into the orbit, because you're ever so desperate to keep in touch with people.

Flatshares might turn into social minefields occasionally, but at least there's always someone to bicker (or get drunk) with. And there's always room to create a junk pile.


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