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SPACE. Where no one can hear you scream… that you wish you had more of it

2010 June 30
tags: , , , ,
by yankeebean

During this post,  I want you to imagine the soundtrack from 2001 A Space Odyssey in your mind.  Here, this should help (music starts around the :20 mark).

yankeebean

As the music starts to build, I’m walking up the stairs in our self-catering holiday home in Canada…

As it continues to swell, I’m opening the door to our bedroom…

As it reaches it’s climax, I’m OPENING THE DOOR TO OUR WALK IN CLOSET!

I swear, I almost fall to my knees – the joy is so pure and true.

SPACE.  LOTS of it.  It’s everywhere.

Two living rooms, a dining room, a kitchen you could ball room dance in, three bedrooms, three bathrooms – FOUR DECKS.  FOUR.  Even I know that might be a bit excessive…

After living in England for almost 6 years, I forget how amazing it is to have space – until I have it again.  To have places to put things, to have more than one closet, to have a shower cubicle that doesn’t keep cold-tile-goose-ing you because it’s too small.

Don’t get me wrong, I love England (which you must know by now).  But when it comes to space, I only make do with what it has to offer.  As soon as I set foot back in North America, I feel like flippin’ Julie Andrews in the Sound of Music.  I find myself flinging my arms out and spinning around in the middle of kitchen just because I can.

I can tell that Mr. Nice Guy is thinking it, too.  Even though he’s the most English man I’ve ever met, I can tell he’s soaking up the wide-open spaces like a gold fish growing to fill his bowl.  ”One day”, we beam to each other silently, “When we make our millions – we’ll have a house in America, too.  A BIG ONE.”

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  • Steve Shawcross

    One thing I admire about you Americans, you do space very well. Sadly England is blighted with having a very high population density, so we have to make do. Hohum

  • http://www.alishasanvicens.com alisha

    Having just moved back to Seattle we’ve been looking for an apartment. We called one landlord who told us the flat would be a bit small, probably too small for two, but we were welcome to check it out. When we entered we had to laugh – the place was huge compared to some of the places we’d lived in the UK! I can fully assure you I am lapping up every square foot of space this land has to offer me.

    Speaking of size, I had to laugh in Trader Joes the other day when these massive muffins were labeled ‘mini-muffins’. I almost took a picture next to my hand for scale.

    Have a great Canadian holiday!

  • Jana

    I like how they describe a tiny room as “cozy” here. I live in a refurbished barn with 3 kids and we don’t have much room. No basement, no laundry room, no garage, no closets – those are a few of my favourite things! (that I miss the most)

  • http://notfromaroundhere.wordpress.com NFAH

    I’m giving up my city-centre flat and 15 minute walk to work for the combined effects of SPACE and MOD-CONS. A flat, 2 BR, twice as big as my 1 BR (amazing, I know) and with such amenities as a SHOWER and a FREEZER. And yes, I’m a pampered American but after 4 years in the UK I feel like I deserve some new digs :-)

  • http://www.iloveyouraccent.com Rochelle Peachey

    I have become a fan of your blog. I look forward to more. Rochelle.

  • http://sun-flowery.blogspot.com/ sunflowery

    Space has been very much on my mind as I’m soon setting out on the expat journey. It’s a recognizable trade-off as I begin to edit my wardrobe (*sniffs*) and belongings. Well worth it on many levels, but I can appreciate your sentiments!

  • Yorkshire Yank

    I don’t the issue is space so much as it is the propensity of the English to divide their homes up into teeny weeny little boxes with doors on them.

    In terms of overall square footage, my New York apartments were smaller than the places in England that I’ve lived in.

    But one American room is the size of two or three English rooms.

  • http://jennifer-austin.blogspot.com/ Jennifer

    Oh how I long for space but it’s amazing what IKEA can do for storage! My husband finds it funny how I can fit so much “stuff” in our 2 bdrm terraced house but I do it!
    the kitchen here is the size of my guest bath in the states and we have no eating area.
    I want a bathroom attached to our bedroom and the washing machine out of the kitchen.
    This will happen soon as we win the lottery ;-)
    Trust me after he spent time in my house in the states and I was moving here he said we need a bigger house. It is on the things to do list.

    I guess you make the most of what you have and I am but I do still complain bits and pieces.

  • http://emilyhoward.wordpress.com/ hoyden

    Hahaha… I love how you worked in the 2001: Space Odyssey theme. While I was reading and listening, the timing was just about perfect. I’ve enjoyed reading this blog for a few months now, but that was quite possibly one of the best posts I’ve ever read on any blog. I literally laughed out loud.

    I can appreciate what you mean about space too as an American living in Japan. I’ll be moving to the UK in October, so I figured it won’t be much of a change for me. However, two weeks at home in California will be a welcomed break and a bit of culture shock for me too, I’m sure…

    Good luck getting your BIG house in America someday. :)

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