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One advantage of a large house is that you can have specialized spaces. You can have a "cave" or two. You can have a shop. You can have rooms for guests. You ca

One advantage of a large house is that you can have specialized spaces. You can have a "cave" or two. You can have a shop. You can have rooms for guests. You can have greenhouses. You can have a dedicated office to work from home from. You can have pets with far fewer limitations placed upon you. While technically possible in a city, it's going to generally be cost prohibitive - especially for a couple or a family.

edhelas 3y ago
And most of that will not be used 95% of the time. My parents have a large house with 4 bedrooms. They are only filled when we come seeing them. To me it's just wasted space. Multiply that by millions of houses and you have a huge volume of space that is built heated/ACed for basically nothing most of the time. We must rationalized all this, same with office spaces or "4 persons cars" :)
- tivert 3y ago
  > And most of that will not be used 95% of the time. Honestly, urban apartments are pretty wasteful. Why does everyone have a kitchen? A bedroom? To me, it's all just wasted space. It would be far, far less wasteful if everyone lived in barracks and hot-bunked/hot-desked. Meals could be served in a common mess, in shifts. Communal activities could be available for recreation. If we maximize colocation of work and living spaces, we could also significantly cut down on space wasted on transportation in general, not just cars. The shift will be hard, but the efficiency gains will be worth it.
  - edhelas 3y ago
    I'm sure we can find some balance between those two extremes :) The kitchen and bedroom you use them everyday. Same with the "one-seat" in your car.
    - tivert 3y ago
      > I'm sure we can find some balance between those two extremes :) No, if wasted space is a problem, let's get rid of it. No half-measures that just happen to stop when it starts interfering with your preferences. > The kitchen and bedroom you use them everyday. Same with the "one-seat" in your car. Come on. Just used everyday? That's a total waste. They should be in constant use.
    - falcolas 3y ago
      > Same with the "one-seat" in your car. They have those: motorcycles and bicycles. Not family compatible though.
      - frumper 3y ago
        Motorcycles are also more dangerous to ride and bicycles don't go as far. One could also bring up the comfort levels and carrying capacity.
- falcolas 3y ago
  > And most of that will not be used 95% of the time. That's OK. Because the alternative is not having one of those spaces to begin with, or having to change a space to fit the needs (i.e. friction). Specifically, how often would your parents have you over if they had a 2br apartment and had to change the function of the second bedroom (or living room) every time? And honestly, they may be OK with it. But they also may not - they rationalized the additional cost of a 4br house in the first place. > 4 persons cars That space might not be used all the time, but again the friction of having to rent a different car when you do need the space would be pretty significant. Not to mention a 4 seat car is effectively required (assuming suburban or rural US) once you have even one child.
- foogazi 3y ago
  > My parents have a large house with 4 bedrooms. They are only filled when we come seeing them. To me it's just wasted space. I’m sure that’s worth it for them
OO000oo 3y ago
What is a "cave" and why would anybody even want one? You can have all of these things and much more living in a small apartment in a city. The shop will probably be a basement or a garage and the greenhouse will be on your roof or at a community garden, but apartments with multiple rooms are not difficult to p in cities lol.
- afavour 3y ago
  I live in NYC, love it, but roof greenhouse gardens are hard to come by to say the least. Same with garages for that matter. And any shared space has all sorts of considerations with where you store things etc. An example: I want to sand and revarnish a chest of drawers we have. If I do that inside the apartment I'll have dust everywhere and then the stink of varnish will pervade the space. There are also no suitable shared spaces for me to use. It is what it is, I accept it as a price of city life. But it's definitely a downside.
- falcolas 3y ago
  > What is a "cave" and why would anybody even want one? It's basically a space with a door that's dedicated to one of the inhabitants and their interests. Even the closest of couples needs their own space occasionally, and having a "man cave" or "she shed" (yes, sadly they're needlessly gendered) provides that environment. They can also frequently double as a WFH office. > apartments with multiple rooms are not difficult to p in cities lol Sure, but at what cost? How much does a 4 bedroom apartment cost in most cities? $4k a month?
OO000oo 3y ago
What is a "cave" and why would anybody even want one? You can have all of these things and much more living in a small apartment in a city. The shop will probably be a basement or a garage and the greenhouse will be on your roof or at a community garden, but apartments with multiple rooms are not difficult to come by in cities lol.
- tivert 3y ago
  > What is a "cave" and why would anybody even want one? Think "man cave." I understand it to be a personal space dedicated to hobbies/interests/decor not shared by one's spouse, so they can be pursued in a way that won't bother the other.
OO000oo 3y ago
What is a "cave" and why would anybody even want one? You can have all of these things and much more living in a small apartment in a city. The shop will probably be a basement or a garage and the greenhouse will be on your roof or at a community garden, but apartments with multiple rooms are not difficult to findp in cities lol.

edhelas 3y ago

And most of that will not be used 95% of the time. My parents have a large house with 4 bedrooms. They are only filled when we come seeing them. To me it's just wasted space. Multiply that by millions of houses and you have a huge volume of space that is built heated/ACed for basically nothing most of the time. We must rationalized all this, same with office spaces or "4 persons cars" :)

tivert 3y ago
> And most of that will not be used 95% of the time. Honestly, urban apartments are pretty wasteful. Why does everyone have a kitchen? A bedroom? To me, it's all just wasted space. It would be far, far less wasteful if everyone lived in barracks and hot-bunked/hot-desked. Meals could be served in a common mess, in shifts. Communal activities could be available for recreation. If we maximize colocation of work and living spaces, we could also significantly cut down on space wasted on transportation in general, not just cars. The shift will be hard, but the efficiency gains will be worth it.
- edhelas 3y ago
  I'm sure we can find some balance between those two extremes :) The kitchen and bedroom you use them everyday. Same with the "one-seat" in your car.
  - tivert 3y ago
    > I'm sure we can find some balance between those two extremes :) No, if wasted space is a problem, let's get rid of it. No half-measures that just happen to stop when it starts interfering with your preferences. > The kitchen and bedroom you use them everyday. Same with the "one-seat" in your car. Come on. Just used everyday? That's a total waste. They should be in constant use.
  - falcolas 3y ago
    > Same with the "one-seat" in your car. They have those: motorcycles and bicycles. Not family compatible though.
    - frumper 3y ago
      Motorcycles are also more dangerous to ride and bicycles don't go as far. One could also bring up the comfort levels and carrying capacity.
falcolas 3y ago
> And most of that will not be used 95% of the time. That's OK. Because the alternative is not having one of those spaces to begin with, or having to change a space to fit the needs (i.e. friction). Specifically, how often would your parents have you over if they had a 2br apartment and had to change the function of the second bedroom (or living room) every time? And honestly, they may be OK with it. But they also may not - they rationalized the additional cost of a 4br house in the first place. > 4 persons cars That space might not be used all the time, but again the friction of having to rent a different car when you do need the space would be pretty significant. Not to mention a 4 seat car is effectively required (assuming suburban or rural US) once you have even one child.
foogazi 3y ago
> My parents have a large house with 4 bedrooms. They are only filled when we come seeing them. To me it's just wasted space. I’m sure that’s worth it for them

OO000oo 3y ago

What is a "cave" and why would anybody even want one? You can have all of these things and much more living in a small apartment in a city. The shop will probably be a basement or a garage and the greenhouse will be on your roof or at a community garden, but apartments with multiple rooms are not difficult to p in cities lol.

afavour 3y ago
I live in NYC, love it, but roof greenhouse gardens are hard to come by to say the least. Same with garages for that matter. And any shared space has all sorts of considerations with where you store things etc. An example: I want to sand and revarnish a chest of drawers we have. If I do that inside the apartment I'll have dust everywhere and then the stink of varnish will pervade the space. There are also no suitable shared spaces for me to use. It is what it is, I accept it as a price of city life. But it's definitely a downside.
falcolas 3y ago
> What is a "cave" and why would anybody even want one? It's basically a space with a door that's dedicated to one of the inhabitants and their interests. Even the closest of couples needs their own space occasionally, and having a "man cave" or "she shed" (yes, sadly they're needlessly gendered) provides that environment. They can also frequently double as a WFH office. > apartments with multiple rooms are not difficult to p in cities lol Sure, but at what cost? How much does a 4 bedroom apartment cost in most cities? $4k a month?

OO000oo 3y ago

tivert 3y ago
> What is a "cave" and why would anybody even want one? Think "man cave." I understand it to be a personal space dedicated to hobbies/interests/decor not shared by one's spouse, so they can be pursued in a way that won't bother the other.

OO000oo 3y ago