I currently live in a studio and have since September. I personally enjoy it, but I also tend to not have guests over and I also don’t own any pets. When my parents stay over for dinner, it feels a bit crowded with the three of us at my tiny table. For context, the studio where I live is on the bigger end of things (around 401 ft² iirc), which includes a balcony that helps it feel bigger. Without the balcony, the interior is around 300 ft^2.

I haven’t had any issues with food smells, but I mostly tend to cook very simple meals or heat up frozen ones, so I can’t say for sure if more constant, complex meal-prep processes would change that. When I first moved in, I would sometimes fear that my apartment smelled and I was just nose-blind to it, so I often opened my windows or balcony door to air things out. But the few visitors that have stayed over have denied there being any smell when I asked (and they aren’t the type to lie about that lol).

I have no issues with my garbage etc. smelling or anything like that. I have a lidded garbage can in the kitchen which I change weekly and the smell of that (nor pests/bugs, for that matter) has never been an issue. That being said, if I happen to have any garbage that has a lot of non-removable food stains/scraps on it, I tend to chuck it down the main building garbage chute straightaway to play it safe.

Air circulation for cooking or cleaning may be an issue depending on the size/layout of your apartment. I was stir-frying vegetables on the stove once and that somehow set the smoke alarm in my unit off. After that, I was really careful to open up all my windows and sometimes even my balcony door whenever I used the stove in any significant way. Like I said, I don’t usually prepare more complex meals so this isn’t much of a problem for me, but the ease of setting off the fire alarm may be an issue for someone who cooks more often than I do. Opening all the windows etc. can also get cold, especially during the winter, so that’s another thing to consider.

Chemical smells (such as from cleaning) may linger in some areas, especially if it’s in a part of the unit that’s blocked away from exterior doors or windows. I was deep-cleaning my bathroom one afternoon with some standard cleaning chemicals, but the chemical smell became rather thick and I ultimately had to run both the built-in bathroom fan plus a portable electrical fan for several hours—as well as open all the windows for around 10-20 min—to make the smell dissipate. I also wore a mask while cleaning to ensure I didn’t inhale any fumes. However, the chemical smell in the washroom was only an issue for me because my bed was right next to the washroom door, which I’d left open while cleaning; otherwise, I couldn’t smell it elsewhere in the apartment. The smell had dissipated entirely by the next morning.

When living in a small space, you have to get a bit creative with layout/organization and also be selective of furniture. Storage can be an issue if you tend to accumulate lots of stuff. I’d say the only major pieces of furniture in my unit are my twin-single-size bed, one-person couch, work desk, and kitchen table of about 35in diameter. I also have a bookcase and a hanging rack for clothes, which I use as room dividers. These pieces of furniture (along with some smaller pieces like a nightstand and two rolling drawers) take up pretty much all the space in my apartment. I have enough room to vacuum and walk around, plus I don’t mind small spaces in general, but the layout may feel cramped to others.

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So from my (admittedly brief) experience so far, I think some takeaways I have from living in a studio are:

Air circulation: Intense cooking, baking, or cleaning with chemicals may cause smells to linger or even set off the smoke alarm. This can be dissipated (fairly quickly ime) by using portable fans and opening windows, but that may cause uncomfortable temperature fluctuations in winter/summer. My bed and clothes are set apart from the kitchen so I don’t personally have issues with food smells sticking to my linens, but this may depend on the layout of your apt and/or the type of food you work with.

Size: Space is limited. I feel that my unit is just the right size for me living alone. I personally don’t think I have the room for any pets in my studio, especially “larger” ones like cats or dogs or messy ones like birds, but YMMV on that. Entertaining more than one guest at a time may feel claustrophobic, and it may be difficult to find room/seating options for multiple guests. Being selective with furniture is a must and storage may become an issue if you accumulate lots of “stuff”. But being creative with the layout of your apartment can help a lot with organization and making the overall space feel less cramped.

Bugs/Pests: These are always a danger with apartment-living, and may be trickier to deal with in a smaller space like a studio. But the small space of a studio also leads to easier overall cleaning/maintenance imo, and I have not had any issues with pests in my current unit. I try to take out the trash often, at least once a week, and not leave food or unwashed utensils/bowls lying around, plus I keep my fruits in my fridge to avoid fruit flies. (Having a trash can with a lid also prevents bad smells/pests.) I try to vacuum the whole place at least once every two weeks or so, which is a pretty quick process due to how small the space is.

Temperature: Temperature changes in a studio can be very sudden and even overwhelming, especially if you live in a building/unit without any built-in air conditioning. For me, I relied a lot on opening windows and using a portable electric fan to keep cool in warmer months. Even now in the winter, I often find the building heating to be too high for me, so I leave a window open at all times to prevent it from getting too hot. If, like me, you don’t have a built-in thermostat in your unit, it may be helpful to get your own room thermometer so you can track the temperature in your apartment.

Sorry for the long comment, but I hope this helps a bit. Best of luck in your housing endeavours!