9 ms·

I had the displeasure of touring the building from the article, and can say categorically that place is a modern day shithole, replete with random inner doors i

I had the displeasure of touring the building from the article, and can say categorically that place is a modern day shithole, replete with random inner doors in the property padlocked shut from the "residents". It's basically an office block with as many _tiny_ rooms packed together as humanely possible, with shitty aircon and absolutely no sound insulation between whoever your existential pigeonhole happens to be paired with. The experience left me more concerned for the mental health of the people packed into those spaces than anything else

saagarjha 7y ago
Sounds a bit like your average college residence hall.
- bilbo0s 7y ago
  This. Really, this is what a lot of these co-living places are, they just don't want to use that four letter word: "Dorm".
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
- vkou 7y ago
  Sounds like Stalinist-era barracks to me. I am amused, but not surprised to see us rediscover all the 'greatest' ideas of the USSR. I'm assuming that the next one will be 'papers, please, comrade'...
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - mcguire 7y ago
    Choose your enemies wisely. You become them.
- dcolkitt 7y ago
  That's a great analogy. And what's interesting is that looking back, living in a college dorm was one of the happiest periods of my life. I'm sure many others would express the same sentiment. I think the lesson is that having a sense of community and opportunities for regular socialization far outweigh the impact of things like square footage or granite countertops. In terms of subjective wellbeing, most of us would probably do better to live closer to friends and family, even if it means a step-down to a shittier house.
  - saagarjha 7y ago
    I do have to ask if you would have still been happy had your parents lived in the dorm room next to yours: I feel a lot of the feelings associated with living in a dorm come more from living with friends than living with your family ;)
  - xamuel 7y ago
    A lot of people would express the sentiment that their late teens/early twenties (when they lived in college dorms) were one of the happiest periods of their life. OTOH, take the average 35-year-old and put them in the same dorm, and then see how happy they are there.
    - perl4ever 7y ago
      Living in a college dorm when I was young was definitely not one of the happiest periods of my life, and having roommates at 35 wasn't either. But at least when I had roommates, it was enabling me to live in a major metropolitan area (not SF) for ~$1K/month.
tomatotomato37 7y ago
One of the unfortunate realities about the housing crisis is that you need crappy shitholes if you want complete housing coverage, because for those completely out of their luck a 20 sq. ft. room with unfinished plywood walls and broken fire detectors is still a 1000% better than a torn-up tent in the park. Granted the place in this article is just a gentrified tenement for hipsters working in entry positions paying twice the national average but want to live in places for those making 3x the average, but that doesn't invalidate the need for ultra-barebones housing.
- maxerickson 7y ago
  Housing has like 30-40 year investment horizons. You don't need shitholes to house people, especially not in the wealthiest society in history.
- benologist 7y ago
  This reminds me of a mayor of a Canadian town that trialed giving homeless people houses. At first he was skeptical that they should have nice houses, then later realized it didn't matter. Why should they have granite countertops when I don't? https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-thursday-edition-1.3074402/medicine-hat-becomes-the-first-city-in-canada-to-eliminate-homelessness-1.3074742 https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-thursday-...
  - dougmany 7y ago
    You ended that quote too soon. >"However, I've come around to realize that this makes financial sense." Clugston says that it costs about $20,000 a year to house someone. If they're on the street, it can cost up to $100,000 a year. This one is pretty heart warming too: >He says city staff found housing for one man, but he insisted on leaving to sleep under cars. Day after day, they'd search him out and take him back to his new home. "They did it 75 times, but they had the patience and they didn't give up on him and, eventually, he ended up staying in the house," he says. "Ultimately, people do want a roof over their heads."
    - 7y ago
paggle 7y ago
That might be bad for your mental health but I know several people who enjoy that, and prefer the privacy of having a tiny personal space rather than a larger shared house. It’s important to get the right people into these.
baby 7y ago
I toured starcity in SF and indeed the rooms are tiny and the common space as well. If they had provided bigger rooms, and more common spaces and places to isolate yourself and a canteen, then I would have moved in.
- infecto 7y ago
  Holy smokes, had to take a look. In theory an interesting idea but HOLY smokes, just saw the one in the mission, 3 floors, 21 rooms for people to live in, and just the first floor is common space and seems pretty inadequate...maybe it works for some but wow, starting at $2100k for this... Maybe I am in the minority but I don't find SF to be that compelling to live in the city. In NYC I get it, I don't need much space, there are tons of places for me to hang out in the evening which leaves space less necessary. But in SF I never had that feeling.
emiliobumachar 7y ago
This has the potential to decrease or to slow the increase of commutes. How much are you concerned for the mental health of the people who do 4h+ round trip commutes? Both are terrible choices, I myself think I would prefer living in such a shithole when single, commuting forever when in a family where at least the kids can be spared it. I believe in giving people the choice. If you think it's not a real choice because all their alternatives are worse, well, they'll obviously fall back on these worst alternatives if this arrangement is made illegal.

saagarjha 7y ago

Sounds a bit like your average college residence hall.

bilbo0s 7y ago
This. Really, this is what a lot of these co-living places are, they just don't want to use that four letter word: "Dorm".
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
vkou 7y ago
Sounds like Stalinist-era barracks to me. I am amused, but not surprised to see us rediscover all the 'greatest' ideas of the USSR. I'm assuming that the next one will be 'papers, please, comrade'...
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- mcguire 7y ago
  Choose your enemies wisely. You become them.
dcolkitt 7y ago
That's a great analogy. And what's interesting is that looking back, living in a college dorm was one of the happiest periods of my life. I'm sure many others would express the same sentiment. I think the lesson is that having a sense of community and opportunities for regular socialization far outweigh the impact of things like square footage or granite countertops. In terms of subjective wellbeing, most of us would probably do better to live closer to friends and family, even if it means a step-down to a shittier house.
- saagarjha 7y ago
  I do have to ask if you would have still been happy had your parents lived in the dorm room next to yours: I feel a lot of the feelings associated with living in a dorm come more from living with friends than living with your family ;)
- xamuel 7y ago
  A lot of people would express the sentiment that their late teens/early twenties (when they lived in college dorms) were one of the happiest periods of their life. OTOH, take the average 35-year-old and put them in the same dorm, and then see how happy they are there.
  - perl4ever 7y ago
    Living in a college dorm when I was young was definitely not one of the happiest periods of my life, and having roommates at 35 wasn't either. But at least when I had roommates, it was enabling me to live in a major metropolitan area (not SF) for ~$1K/month.

tomatotomato37 7y ago

One of the unfortunate realities about the housing crisis is that you need crappy shitholes if you want complete housing coverage, because for those completely out of their luck a 20 sq. ft. room with unfinished plywood walls and broken fire detectors is still a 1000% better than a torn-up tent in the park. Granted the place in this article is just a gentrified tenement for hipsters working in entry positions paying twice the national average but want to live in places for those making 3x the average, but that doesn't invalidate the need for ultra-barebones housing.

maxerickson 7y ago
Housing has like 30-40 year investment horizons. You don't need shitholes to house people, especially not in the wealthiest society in history.
benologist 7y ago
This reminds me of a mayor of a Canadian town that trialed giving homeless people houses. At first he was skeptical that they should have nice houses, then later realized it didn't matter. Why should they have granite countertops when I don't? https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-thursday-edition-1.3074402/medicine-hat-becomes-the-first-city-in-canada-to-eliminate-homelessness-1.3074742 https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-thursday-...
- dougmany 7y ago
  You ended that quote too soon. >"However, I've come around to realize that this makes financial sense." Clugston says that it costs about $20,000 a year to house someone. If they're on the street, it can cost up to $100,000 a year. This one is pretty heart warming too: >He says city staff found housing for one man, but he insisted on leaving to sleep under cars. Day after day, they'd search him out and take him back to his new home. "They did it 75 times, but they had the patience and they didn't give up on him and, eventually, he ended up staying in the house," he says. "Ultimately, people do want a roof over their heads."
  - 7y ago

paggle 7y ago

That might be bad for your mental health but I know several people who enjoy that, and prefer the privacy of having a tiny personal space rather than a larger shared house. It’s important to get the right people into these.

baby 7y ago

I toured starcity in SF and indeed the rooms are tiny and the common space as well. If they had provided bigger rooms, and more common spaces and places to isolate yourself and a canteen, then I would have moved in.

infecto 7y ago
Holy smokes, had to take a look. In theory an interesting idea but HOLY smokes, just saw the one in the mission, 3 floors, 21 rooms for people to live in, and just the first floor is common space and seems pretty inadequate...maybe it works for some but wow, starting at $2100k for this... Maybe I am in the minority but I don't find SF to be that compelling to live in the city. In NYC I get it, I don't need much space, there are tons of places for me to hang out in the evening which leaves space less necessary. But in SF I never had that feeling.

emiliobumachar 7y ago

This has the potential to decrease or to slow the increase of commutes. How much are you concerned for the mental health of the people who do 4h+ round trip commutes? Both are terrible choices, I myself think I would prefer living in such a shithole when single, commuting forever when in a family where at least the kids can be spared it. I believe in giving people the choice. If you think it's not a real choice because all their alternatives are worse, well, they'll obviously fall back on these worst alternatives if this arrangement is made illegal.