I don't really know how I got to this point, it all happened really fast. A few months ago I came across a new project near the neighborhood I grew up in, they're building houses in all sorts of price ranges. Most of them really expensive though.. But one project, called 'Loft and Garden' was somewhat affordable. I was still studying back then so I didn't really think about it anymore. It's a studio (so no specific rooms other than the bathroom) and I told myself I'd rather have 2 or 3 rooms.

Fast forward to this past weekend when I heard there were still a few studio's available. Now that I have a job and was looking at houses for orientation, I know kind of what I can spend. I was planning on buying anyway because the interest rates are historically low and renting would be so much more expensive. And basically a waste of money since it never becomes yours. Even though I'm only 22, it just makes sense and I can afford it on my own with my income (which surprised me! I didn't know I was making so much compared to the average income..) My dad was really enthousiastic about the concept of these studios.
- They're shaped like those large hay sheds, at least that's what they look like here.
- It's 4 studios in 1 house and there are 2 houses next to each other. The bottom floors have a large garden, 40 m2. But the top floors have more space and a cool roof, so they were all sold instantly haha!
- The storage sheds have solar panels on top of them so that saves in monthly electricity costs, the house has tripple glass and is overall 'sustainable'.
- It's all new so I get to pick my own kitchen and bathroom. That's the downside at the same time, because it's expensive.
- The other buyers are mostly young/single females in their twenties. The top studios were bought by some young couples. One is a lady around 50 years old. Sounds pretty great to me!
- 'Tiny living' seems to be some kind of trendy thing so there are lots of ideas out there on how to use space in a clever way.

It's a little on the expensive side for the amount of square meters you're getting (€164k for 55 m2) but the garden is a huge asset. The ground is just really expensive, but that's the case everywhere in my region. Some (international) friends were like 'why don't you just wait for a freestanding house with a yard you don't share'. Yeah great idea but that just doesn't exist here, in the most dense area of one of the most dense countries in the world! I lived in a studio before and loved it, and this one is almost twice the size so I'm really confident I can live there on my own (and possibly with someone else in the future) happily for the next 6 years or so. I'm by no means planning on staying here forever because it's just too small for that, but I can always rent it out later or sell it again.

Soooo it's a huge decision and really weird to have a mortgage at 22 but I'm going to go for it! And now for the pictures (/drawings)...

This is the map, my number is 17 so I have the bottom right studio with the garden on the back. They're not building anything else there so my view is just green!


Top/front view of the two houses. So mine will be on the bottom left from this perspective.


And the inside of course! Though nothing is actually there, just that one wall between the kitchen and bedroom and behind the couch. I'm free to place the kitchen differently and stuff.