I've lived in plenty of 1-bedroom apartments. They were usually around 600-800 square feet. I lived for a summer above the bathroom of a quanset hut. Including the bathroom, I had 130 square feet. I gotta tell ya - there's a real difference. You can have someone over to drink a beer when you've got 600 square feet. When you've got 130? Not so much. As far as your edit, you're essentially capitulating on the fact that this "apartment" would not, in fact, be a home - it would be a dwelling. Might as well live in a van. At least that way your stuff is always where you need it. Hell, I had a number of friends who lived in school buses - that's an easy 30x10, or nearly half again as big as these apartments (and they didn't have bathrooms or kitchenettes).