Personal Space, How much space is enough?

[melodramocracy]

The older I get, the fewer folks I enjoy close to me. But there are varying levels depending on situation, as stated above.

[Sylvandoh]

At the VERY LEAST an arm's length, if not 2.

[Jonnusthegreat]

One time on a bus with only 1 person on it I sat in the seat next to them and read a book. Didn't say a word. Was fun.

Personal space is subjective. If the bus was full, the person wouldn't care. Since it was empty, they cared.

[Doctor Amadeus]

I like this much. I don't know how many feet that is, we use normal measurements.

I like this HAHAHA I think at times I feel my personal space would be the size of Montana.

[Raeph]

[*snip*

My job entails quite a bit of one on one, in person, customer service and I've gotten to the point where I would say 3-4 feet is ideal.

I want to be able to speak to someone in a normal conversational volume and I don't want to have to make an awkward reach for you, short or long reach, if I offer to shake your hand at the end of a successful encounter.

Beyond that, I want to be spittle-flight distance away from anyone else.

[Zuben]

Arm's length is fine. Several arms if the other person looks unsavoury.

[Pony Soldier]

I'd say arm's length is good enough. If you're close enough that I can smell your coffee breath, you're too close.

[Stormdash]

It's both cultural and contextual. Americans usually want about a foot more than Europeans; probably a function of population density in general.

What matters is what proximity is necessary under the circumstances. I can't give you two feet on a crowded subway, but I should give as much as I can.

[Ghostpanther]

Depends on the circumstances and who the person is. I wouldn't mind Halley Berry up close.