The Definition of Modern Living in Rome

The architectural style is different here in Italy
than in the United States. One example of an interior
 difference is the ceiling height. This is good news for
Steve, who is 6'7".

Even though Rome is a city in the modern world, not all parts of the city are as modern as other countries like the United States. On the drive from the airport, I didn't see any of the skyscrapers that Americans typically associate with cities. One of the other people on the trip, Morgan, mentioned that she hadn't seen any houses in Rome yet. Running with that thought, I'm pretty sure that everyone in the city lives in apartments.

Living in a Roman apartment is different from living in one in America. The apartment looks different, first of all. The ceilings are way higher than what I've seen in the United States. This also makes taking the stairs more of a challenge since you need to go up more stairs to go up one level. The elevator in our building is one of the older ones where you can actually see the cable, so for the most part, I still take the stairs.

I mean, come on, this old elevator would seem a little
sketchy to anyone used to closed, metal elevators that
hold more than two people at a time.

The people in my apartment today figured out how taking out the garbage works in Rome. There are public trash disposals everywhere, and people bring their garbage and recycling there. The trash disposal basically looks like a kind of dumpster with a bar you step on to raise the lid to put your trash bag in. This is part of why I think that there are only apartments in the city, so that garbage collectors only need to stop at least public spots. Also, the traffic and streets are way too chaotic for people to put trash cans out on the street.

Doing laundry is also different in Rome. Our apartment has a small washer, and our dryer is the clothesline out on the balcony outside of one of the bathrooms. The washer itself seems like it takes longer to run a load of laundry than an American washer, and the dry time is certainly longer.

Waiting longer for the clothes to dry means I definitely have to plan
ahead when doing my laundry here so I don't end up wearing damp clothes.

From what I've seen so far, living inside a city like Rome is in several aspects way different than living in the United States.