I grew up in a landed house with back and front yards, and I'd always thought I'd be having the same thing when I was old enough to own a house.
Well, I'm 32 now and I'm still renting. Not a house, mind you, but a room. I don't know exactly how big my room is, but I think it's about 6x5m including an attached bathroom. The room comes with two small built-in cabinets and there's a bathtub in the bathroom, which is a rarity nowadays. I'm sharing the room with my girlfriend and we have live-in landlord - an old couple, and a couple other people as flatmates.
It took a while to love my living situation and stop being angry about the fact that I was not a homeowner by the time I was in my mid-20s, something that I thought I was going to be. But now, at 32 years old, I am actually in no rush to buy a house and loving the fact that I live small and the freedom that comes with it.
Even with limited space, I am constantly astounded by how many junk I have when it comes time to do spring cleaning. They just accumulate! Even after doing a considerable amount of cleaning I still feel like I have too much things. Thankfully, I think I'm getting better now. I constantly remind myself to buy something only when I need it, and that's rule #1 when you live small. And when I want to feel the rush of purchasing something (this is such a first world problem), I'll order some food, go to the movies, travel, or enroll myself in a course. Basically, these are the things that will enrich your life but won't take up your precious space.
Of course, I would love to have my own house and a dog someday but property is crazy high where I live and since I'm an expat with no families here, having a live-in landlord is great as they take care of the maintenance of the apartment. All I need to worry about is to work and pay rent on time.
From time to time, I would lament the fact that I would love to have a dog and my own kitchen (we're sharing the kitchen now and it doesn't have some equipment like an oven) but with the way my girlfriend and I live now, the dog would be left alone most of the time and there would be no one to take care of the house and the dog, which we don't think is ideal.
Since I resigned to take some time off to focus on losing weight, I've been able to stay at home and take care of the house while still have a part time job. The money is much less, of course, but I feel much happier. I feel like the house is in order, junk don't pile up, I'm more active, and I ensure my girlfriend comes home to a smile, a hug, a cup of coffee, and some delicious munches.
I feel like I'm getting a glimpse of the kind of life that suits me and that I should be striving for in the future, and it doesn't involve a big house or a car. It involves a small apartment, a dog, and a whole lot of freedom.
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