With a Grateful Heart for Shelter
With a Grateful Heart (6 of 8)
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Growing up, my family’s first cabin was small. Like 12’x16’ small. My dad built Isbushka on a wooded hillside in the Driftless area of Wisconsin in the Kickapoo Valley. The cabin was quaint and cozy. One dresser, one cupboard. A regular bed and a few cots. One table and chairs. A wood-burning Franklin stove (You get the idea.) I suppose it was then that I learned how to navigate living in a small space with my family of four and our dog. I can romanticize that shelter now - only remembering the warm fires, constant uninterrupted conversations, card games, and candlelight in the evening.
In my married life our homes, yards, and storage grew bigger at first. We had moved several times in the Green Bay metro area -from Ashwaubenon to DePere to Bellevue to the west side of Green Bay - each home more spacious than the last. Strangely, in the year before moving to Korea, we actually sold our largest home on the West Side of Green Bay and rented homes that were each in their turn smaller. (I think we were being prepared for apartment living!)
Shelter isn’t something I would normally even think about. But these days with hurricanes, fires, floods, and a faltering economy, shelter isn’t always guaranteed. On March 3, 2021, just 89 days from repatriating to Wisconsin, I wanted to express gratitude for the flats where we had acclimated to living in smaller spaces. These days, I also continue to marvel at the circumstances that brought our present home into being, so look for that story, too.
March 3, 2021
The last home we owned, our home on Summer Place in Green Bay, was 1600 sq. ft. with a basement, a good size front and back yard and a two car garage. Very typical Midwestern suburban home.
In Korea, our apartment in "Goodmorning Hill" in Dongcheon-dong was 900 sq. ft. with three bedrooms and two baths on the 15th floor of a twenty-five story apartment. No basement. No yard. But there was a multi-leveled underground parking garage.
Our apartment in "Scenic View" in Tai Tam (Hong Kong) now is about 1100 sq. ft. with three bedrooms and 3 baths on the 7th of 8 floors. No basement. No yard. Underground parking garage. Many Hong Kongers live in apartments of only 300 sq. ft. (Thankfully, that is not our story.)
It was probably after living three years in a suburb of Seoul that it hit me why I could simply walk out of my apartment and get to everything I needed - economical use of space. Living in high rise apartments means all the people are stacked on top of one another which means that the surrounding land can be made into businesses right outside of your door. Within about a five minute walk, we had a stationery store, a grocery, clothing shops, dry cleaners, convenience stores, and lots of restaurants.
In Green Bay our home had been a lot bigger but we needed to drive to do anything. The nearest store was Walmart - about five minutes away by car.
Learning to live in an apartment in Seoul took about a year. Our family of four was constantly "on top" of one another. But over time having the family so close to one another became less annoying, and even tolerable. Could we be a "closer" family because of it? Maybe.
Of course the population density of Seoul at nearly 16,000 people/kilometer squared and of Hong Kong at 6300 people/kilometer squared far exceeds that of Green Bay at 884 people/kilometer squared. This explains why, pre-Covid I once stood at Times Square in Hong Kong and counted 100 people walking past me in 50 seconds. It explains why we have gotten used to being bumped into without needing anyone to say "I'm sorry."
Now I believe I think of space differently. I don't mind what some may consider a small apartment. We have successfully hosted parties with 30 - 40 people in our small spaces. I don't mind that we can't accumulate so much "stuff" (somehow we seem to still have accumulated plenty).
However, I certainly love our present home in Green Bay and the extra space it affords. It feels a bit luxurious to have 1100 sq. ft plus a basement, front and back yard, and a large two-car garage again.
And Now
This special house seemed to drop out of the sky and into our laps the summer we came home intending to “begin a search for a permanent place to land.” My husband and I needed to finally clear out our storage units as the business owner was retiring and shutting it down. This precipitated the idea that we should actually buy something sooner than later so we wouldn’t have to store our stuff again (which had already been just sitting around for eight years). A serendipitous conversation with our financial adviser led to the purchase of this home situated close to Lambeau Field and close to our old stomping grounds. The owner, a former classmate of our financial adviser, hadn’t yet put the house on the market but immediately was interested in our cash offer. Before we knew it, we were signing a purchase agreement. Even before we were the actual owners, she kindly let us store our possessions in the garage and basement before we headed back to Hong Kong. By Fall 2017 we were its owners.
As of May 2021 we are now permanently living in the house we purchased then as a summer home. While it may be small compared to homes we used to live in, it suits us perfectly now. At times our two grown children will still come and go or take up a bedroom or basement as needed. But for the most part we only need space for two. The three bedrooms and 1.5 bath, with a two-stall garage, front and back yards feel just right, even spacious. I love not having too much cleaning or home maintenance to do on any given day.
Perhaps there is still much to explore about the value of space. But I am fairly certain I would never have contemplated nor altered my perceptions of space and use of space without living in Asia. How has your need for space in your home changed over the years?
Click HERE for a bonus article: “From the Mud Comes the Lotus,” my second article in the series Reasons for Hope.
Next up: With a Grateful Heart for Family Experience
You can find all of my series in the archives:
Adulting 101 Coupons: A Gift from your Parents
Partnering 101: A Deep Dive into Leaving Kindly
Me-Time: Self-care in the time of Covid
Reasons for Hope
From Fog to Flow
With a Grateful Heart
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Writer. Gong Player. Teacher.
Find more of my writing at GreenBaytoKorea.blogspot.com
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All photos by © Brenda Brayko 2022 unless otherwise credited.