My first living arrangements out of college was a studio apartment in a high rise apartment building downtown. I have to admit that it was a step up after college, where I had spent my final two years with three other roommates in a small dorm room. It truly was nice to finally get a space all to myself. I guess, because of the way my expectations had been conditioned, I was really quite grateful to be able to live in that place. It was not even all that bad as far as studio apartments go. The living room and bedroom were one single room with a small kitchen attached as well as a small bathroom in its own separate room. I was king of my castle, no matter how small it was. I still had to work hard to pay that rent though! I guess the price of living has only gone up with time. At least I enjoyed a decent climate control system in my studio apartment. I even had my own thermostat, which was not just a nice touch, it was quite the blessing. We had rather extreme weather in that city, and I needed to adjust the thermostat quite often, accordingly. The climate control system was quite powerful, or perhaps it was simply because my room was so small. I ended up not having to set very high settings in order to be comfortable both in the winter and summer. I will never forget that little studio apartment, nor will I forget how I was able to control my very own thermostat, because now I have to fight with my wife over it!