I'm a New Yorker who spent 4 days staying in tiny homes in the mountains. Here are 11 things that surprised me most.

The tiny homes ranged from 200 square feet to 240 square feet, meaning each one was about a quarter of the size of my 800-square-foot apartment. However, I could've sworn they weren't much smaller than my space in the city.

I think the homes' layouts and designs really helped them feel roomier. Each one I stayed in used vertical space to give the illusion that its rooms are much bigger than they actually are.

They utilized stairs and/or ladders to give the space multiple levels and had super-high ceilings that reminded me more of a cathedral than a cabin.

There's something about staying in a tiny home that made me feel like a kid camping out in a very fancy playhouse. To be fair, these houses are fairy-tale themed, and the couple behind Charmed Resorts used to build whimsical playhouses for celebrities.

I could easily touch the top of nearly every window I encountered, and I climbed a ladder to go to bed for the first time in years.

Even though many of these homes were designed with kids in mind, I rarely felt too big or old for anything. For example, the designers hung Rapunzel's swing high enough for adults to use it too, and I could easily fit in the corkscrew slide at the Lost Boys' Treehouse.

Most of our neighbors on the property were families, but I didn't feel out of place with my fiancé. The secluded campgrounds felt incredibly romantic, and there were many things for adults to do on the property, like chopping firewood and soaking in the wood-fired hot tub.

Because of the resort's small spaces and remote location, I was under the impression we'd be roughing it a little more than we did.

I expected each house to have one or two outlets, so I brought three portable chargers and an extra-long charging cord for my phone just in case.

But each home I stayed in had outlets beside every bed, if not on both sides of them. It was a huge relief because I'm someone who scours hotel rooms and Airbnbs for outlets and chooses my sleeping spot based on their locations.

Although some of the tiny homes' outlets didn't work for me, most did and made it easy to charge my phone regardless of where I was situated.

I was wrong when I thought staying in a tiny home meant the space would be bare-bones and without perks. Tiny-home experiences can obviously vary, but I now know that staying in a small space doesn't always mean you're getting the bare minimum.

Though tiny homes vary, the ones I stayed in had many regular amenities. In fact, each home had a large fridge and at least one queen-size bed.

The bathrooms were really impressive and ended up being some of the most spacious parts of the homes. They were about the same size as the bathrooms I've seen in most hotel rooms.

The showers had strong water pressure and plenty of hot water, so showering felt as luxurious as it would've in a hotel.

My partner and I each packed only one carry-on and one backpack for the trip. We were at Charmed Resorts for four days but stayed in a different cottage each night, so we moved around quite a bit.

We quickly learned that even the smallest amounts of clutter can seem so much worse in a tight space.

When I checked into the Lost Boys' Treehouse, I dumped my backpack in the kitchenette area and left our carry-ons just inside the doorway.

I plopped our big paper bag of snacks down as soon as we walked in. And since the bathrooms had no counter space, I shoved my toiletry bag on the sink's only empty corner.

We did the same thing in each home. And within seconds of putting our stuff down, the beautiful houses always felt a bit messy.

We quickly adapted to the limited storage spaces by figuring out ways to make the most of them.

My fiancé, who is taller than me, stored his toiletries on top of the fridge in some houses, and we used the ladder in each home as a makeshift clothing rack. We also ended up hanging our wet swimsuits on the bathroom pipes.

In Rapunzel's Cottage, we used extra beds to lay out and store our clothes as we picked our outfits. I used the extra lofted bed space as my getting-ready area, where I could lay out all of my makeup and look into a mirror that I propped up on the windowsill.

At one point, we flipped over the recycling bin and used it as a stand for the tiny fan that came with our cottage.

At home, it's common for me to spend a night watching TV while simultaneously scrolling through TikTok or Instagram.

But Charmed Resort's campground doesn't have Wi-Fi, and the tiny homes don't have TVs. So I prepared by downloading six movies and two seasons of a TV series. I also packed four books and downloaded three more on my phone.

By the end of the trip, we hadn't watched a single thing, and I read only one book.

Even though I could still use my unlimited data to access social media, I seldom felt the desire to pick up my phone. When I got bored, I'd go outside for a walk or start a fire.

I also kept wondering whether my social-media habits would be healthier if I lived outside of the city in a place where I was surrounded by trees.

I grew up in a house where the TV was constantly on. My family wasn't always watching it, but we used it as comforting background noise. So whenever I check into a hotel, one of the first things I do is turn on the TV.

None of the Charmed cottages have TVs. I've never stayed in an Airbnb or hotel room without one, and I thought I'd miss it. But I never even thought about it.

I didn't feel the need to catch up on "Succession," nor did I miss the drone of TLC reality shows playing as I got ready. In fact, the lack of TVs made each cottage feel even more aligned with the fairy-tale theme.

On our last night, the Storybook Square campground was filled with families starting fires and kids running around.

But as soon as I stepped into Elvyn's Cottage, my tiny home for the night, I couldn't hear a thing. I was super impressed by how soundproof the space seemed to be.

Maybe I should've expected the lack of noise since we were surrounded by trees in a mountainous region, but everything was quieter than I expected. At night, the only audible sounds around us came from mine trains passing in the distance, neighbors chopping wood, and birds chirping. I felt like I could hear myself breathe.

The near silence was peaceful at first, but it eventually started to freak me out. In my city apartment, I'm used to hearing cars honk or people chatting on their way home from a night at the bar. I ended up opening a window and turning on a fan to try to fill the silence.

In the Lost Boys' Treehouse, the biggest bed is surrounded by multiple huge windows with views of trees and the grounds. It was beautiful during the day, but at night, I kept picturing a bear or a stranger pressing against the glass and standing inches from my sleeping body.

Closing the curtains didn't help.

I avoided sleeping on the first floor in the majority of the tiny homes so I wouldn't feel so exposed and ended up on a smaller bed on the third floor.

Funnily enough, I live in a first-floor apartment in the city and never thought twice about it. I know my city apartment probably comes with more dangers than this small resort in the Rockies does, but I wasn't quite in my element here.

In the city, I can blend into the background of the hustle and bustle. There are also so many streetlights that I can usually see what's going on at night. In the wilderness, there was almost complete darkness outside unless we put on our house's exterior lights.

I never felt unsafe on the property, but it was hard for me to get comfortable sleeping in a space where I could reach out and touch a window.

Even though I've spent my entire life in metropolitan areas, thinking about living in a city a year from now feels more suffocating than it ever has.

I love the walkability that comes with being in a city, especially because driving gives me a lot of anxiety. Plus, I don't own a car. I also love that New York seems to have everything. Most of the musicians I love stop in New York City on their tours, and there aren't many other places where I can order a good bagel at midnight.

I never imagined I'd live in a big city forever, but this trip made me realize I want to head out sooner rather than later.

I think it'd be nice to look outside of my window and see wildlife instead of construction and more identical-looking apartment buildings. I'd also like to be able to drive just a few minutes to get to a park that doesn't have tons of concrete and more big buildings on its perimeter.

I won't be selling everything and moving to a tiny home in remote Canada anytime soon, but this trip definitely made me more open to the idea of a house in the suburbs.