Within 30 seconds of my post, Jake, 27, of Astoria, NY, writes:

“Absolutely not! I can get an apartment here in Astoria that is five times as big at that price. I am only three stops from Midtown so I have the best of both worlds.”

Others agreed. Dave, 26, of Brooklyn, NY, said that living in a Manhattan micro-unit may have some pluses, but overall, it's not what it's cracked up to be.

“I think if they're going to offer small apartments in Manhattan at an ‘affordable’ price they should actually be affordable,” he said. “If it was, say, $600-700, I think a lot more students / younger professionals would jump at the opportunity. Living in Manhattan proper has its benefits but they don't outweigh affording rent, when the outer-boroughs are still loads cheaper.”

Overall, while the majority of my poll respondents voted in favor of living in bigger spaces for less rent money in the outer-boroughs, Michelle, 26, had a different perspective. After living on the Upper East Side in a “micro”-style unit with a roommate before moving to Queens, she said the apartment was a good “stepping stone” for where she is now.

“When you're used to living in one room, as I did in the dorms at college or with a roommate (our apartments never had living rooms) then the transition wasn't that bad. I don't entertain much and I didn't really own any furniture so it didn't bother me that much,” she said. “My cat was decidedly less happy in a small studio than she is in a large Astoria one-bedroom! It's not for everyone, and now that I'm older and have lived in a larger space I wouldn't go back down to something like that. But I don't think it's a bad option for people fresh out of school who want the chance to live in Manhattan where, honestly, it's hard to even find a roommate share for $1000 apiece.”

So after doing my fun little unscientific poll and learning more from real estate sources in the business, I’ve determined that the micro-unit plan – while a bit extreme-sounding at first – offers a creative solution for those looking for a “stepping stone” in life and an affordable, functional space close to work. From a planning perspective, it is also a good way to increase density while utilizing land efficiently (because we have so little of it.)

After all, when you live in a city as big as New York, you must sacrifice personal space for the benefit of the bigger urban fabric (like museums! parks! shopping! trains at 3 a.m., etc). And I, personally, would consider leaving my two-bedroom 1,000-square-foot apartment in Jersey City for a piece of that.