In dotcom days, I used to work in SF with a developer from Australia. He liked to stay in youth hostels in SoMa. They were cheap and offered easy commute to dow

In dotcom days, I used to work in SF with a developer from Australia. He liked to stay in youth hostels in SoMa. They were cheap and offered easy commute to downtown. He got to hang out and socialize with traveling expats and save a ton of money. It was inconvenient by conventional standards (had to vacate and rotate rooms every few days) but he enjoyed the lifestyle. In the winter time, he went up to Tahoe and became a ski instructor while still freelancing tech projects. With all the extra money he sent home, he ended up buying a house there while in his 20s. I lost touch but heard through mutual friends he was doing well. You can sniff at pod housing, but when you're young, footloose, and chasing a dream, it's a pretty good deal.