{"id":293030,"date":"2020-12-23T11:39:44","date_gmt":"2020-12-23T16:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=293030"},"modified":"2020-12-23T12:40:20","modified_gmt":"2020-12-23T17:40:20","slug":"what-is-the-ideal-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2020\/12\/23\/what-is-the-ideal-home\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the Ideal Home?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What is the ideal living domicile?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some thoughts on the ideal home:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

First of all, I have experimented living in many different lifestyles and living scenarios and here are just some of my basic thoughts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. More space is worse.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"iPhone
iPhone Pro: tiny apartment ultra wide angle photo<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Contrary to popular belief, I believe having MORE space and MORE square feet is bad. Why? More stuff to maintain, more furniture you gotta buy to decorate\/fill make the home feel cozy (more stuff which needs to be Windex’d), etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus the simple thought:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less space is better.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Or in other words:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As little space as possible, but no less.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For example, between me and Cindy living in around 300 square feet was more than ideal. If anything, we had *too much* storage space for stuff. I think I could have done with less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However let us say you have a kid (or more than one kid), you probably need *some* more space. But you don’t need *HUGE* amounts of space. So perhaps if you have 1 kid, maybe around 400-500 square feet would be good. And expand that to around 500-700 square feet if a family has two kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Space is tricky; you want *just enough* space, but not *TOO MUCH* space. For example, I have zero interest in owning a 2-seater ‘Smart Car’, but I would like owning a Chevy Spark Car<\/a> (very small and compact, yet still seats 5 people).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Via negativa stuff<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another thought:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ideal home and domicile is mostly ‘via negativa’ which means<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What you decide to *NOT* have in an ideal home is more essential than what you decide *to* have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a) Hygiene is essential<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For example, one of my worst experiences via AirBnb was regarding this ‘designer’ home in the middle of Roma Norte in Mexico City. Looked super good on paper, great location (literally a 30 second walk to the best local cafe\/bakery), in the best neighborhood (Roma Norte), and the price was reasonable. However it was the most horrible experience of my life… because the place had insane amounts of mold, dust, and other allergens which literally had me and Cindy sneezing and coughing 24\/7, to the point we couldn’t sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus when it comes to the ideal home the via negativa is this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

*DOESN’T* have mold, allergens, dust, or dirtiness.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The lesson was this: hygiene<\/a><\/strong> is essential when it comes to a home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

b) The less street noise, the better.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another realization:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The best home is the *LEAST* noisy, with the *LEAST* amount of street noise.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Even when I put in ear plugs, and put on noise cancelling headphones, etc, this is what I learned:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When your home is next to a busy intersection or street … even the *VIBRATIONS* of the car, exhaust, etc cause your home to rumble, and perhaps causes some sort of bad vibrations within our bodies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

So in some sense, having *MORE* sound deadening in a home is ideal, or even more ideal … for a home to be totally silent and quiet (no street noise). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. MORE LIGHT!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n