Are those the places that are often described as shoeboxes, sometimes not having a dedicated bathroom or kitchen?
They are rooms to rent in a home you’d share with other roomates. So you’d have a shared bedroom and kitchen, and one room in the home to yourself.
Yes you can pay more and obviously get much more space to yourself. But we are talking about affordability, that is a choice your making, and if you can afford it, enjoy. The point is most people get more space than they can afford, and there are much cheaper and very livable options until you improve your career.