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The article presumed that the rise in the self storage industry is caused by overflow from the American dream and rampant consumerism, when I think it might be

by smadge 9y ago

The article presumed that the rise in the self storage industry is caused by overflow from the American dream and rampant consumerism, when I think it might be more characterized by the death of the American dream. How many people who rent self storage are homeless and storing their stuff away hoping they can retrieve it when they get back on their feet? How many people who rent storage units just can’t afford a house or a larger rental, but don’t want to abandon sentimental possessions like their books, clothes, childhood furniture, etc. A graph in the article shows investment in self storage increasing sharply after the Great Recession. Is this a coincidence, or is it because a new economic reality that requires thriftiness had arrived

DoreenMichele 9y ago
I started a long reply earlier and decided to turn in into a blog post instead. Part of what I touched on is that a lot of homeless people pay for storage and, in recent years, I have talked to a lot of people online whose finances are in the toilet and they are paying for storage, often in another state, while they live with parents or whatever and don't make enough money to support themselves. Years ago, I took a college class on homelessness. It suggested that homeless people pay for storage in order to hold onto hope that they will shortly be back in housing and will need that furniture. But the reality is that it often just eats into their limited funds for covering current living expenses and trying to problem solve. I did not pay for storage while homeless. I put my limited resources into taking care of myself in the present, improving things and building a future. Holding on to stuff like you "might need it someday" is rooted in a poverty mentality. Those mental models help keep people poor. In many cases, you could have handily replaced it for less than you spent to store it for years, especially if you had also sold those items you stuck in storage. Tldr: I generally agree that storage is often about the death of the American dream. The hell of it is that it often serves as an obstacle to personal rebirth.
ams6110 9y ago
I've known of people who not only had all their stuff in self-storage, they also lived in the storage unit themselves.
zjaffee 9y ago
I think there are a lot of factors at play. For one, there is an increasing demographic trend of people moving into cities, for people who grew up in suburbs and are used to storing many things for the long term could be large consumers of this sort of service.

by smadge 9y ago

DoreenMichele 9y ago

I started a long reply earlier and decided to turn in into a blog post instead. Part of what I touched on is that a lot of homeless people pay for storage and, in recent years, I have talked to a lot of people online whose finances are in the toilet and they are paying for storage, often in another state, while they live with parents or whatever and don't make enough money to support themselves. Years ago, I took a college class on homelessness. It suggested that homeless people pay for storage in order to hold onto hope that they will shortly be back in housing and will need that furniture. But the reality is that it often just eats into their limited funds for covering current living expenses and trying to problem solve. I did not pay for storage while homeless. I put my limited resources into taking care of myself in the present, improving things and building a future. Holding on to stuff like you "might need it someday" is rooted in a poverty mentality. Those mental models help keep people poor. In many cases, you could have handily replaced it for less than you spent to store it for years, especially if you had also sold those items you stuck in storage. Tldr: I generally agree that storage is often about the death of the American dream. The hell of it is that it often serves as an obstacle to personal rebirth.

ams6110 9y ago

I've known of people who not only had all their stuff in self-storage, they also lived in the storage unit themselves.

zjaffee 9y ago

I think there are a lot of factors at play. For one, there is an increasing demographic trend of people moving into cities, for people who grew up in suburbs and are used to storing many things for the long term could be large consumers of this sort of service.