Are you kidding me? I live in Manhattan. The shed's bigger than what I live in now.
And in grad school, I lived for a while in a bedroom that measured 81 sq ft.
Bachelors (especially) need almost zero space to actually operate. Hacker-bachelors (hackelors?) just need power, network, and a project (+ atop the standard amenities) to keep themselves pretty satisfied.
That's generalizing a bit. As a "hackelor" myself, I can tell you I don't function well at all in small spaces and can't productively live anywhere that lacks copious empty space. I live in a three-bedroom apartment with one other person, expressly because we couldn't find a two-bedroom place with enough open space.
Yes, empty space is important. One personal trick I've found for doing with less actual space is to sit next to a window so that almost half my peripheral vision is into a much larger area. This is especially helpful if that window also has long lines of sight available.
There's a difference between the bare necessities we need and space we need to be happy and satisfied.
Sure, I could live in a closet, but I'd be pretty damn miserable most of the time.
(This is, of course, considering bachelor hackers. If you're living in a car, your priorities have to be rearranged and your happiness might have to be deferred for awhile.)
And in grad school, I lived for a while in a bedroom that measured 81 sq ft.
Bachelors (especially) need almost zero space to actually operate. Hacker-bachelors (hackelors?) just need power, network, and a project (+ atop the standard amenities) to keep themselves pretty satisfied.