I mean, yes, housing and land is cheaper in the midwest US, but you mostly have to get at least an hour away from a major city before it becomes what I consider

I mean, yes, housing and land is cheaper in the midwest US, but you mostly have to get at least an hour away from a major city before it becomes what I consider "cheap." (Otherwise you're still looking at more desirable suburban or bedroom community housing prices.) But to defend Jeff, the pictures in the article show like a 4x4 corner of a room, even if we extrapolate to say, 8x8x8, that amount of space can usually be found in even a 1-bedroom apartment. I have seen many pictures of amazingly complete electronics/hacking workbenches from around the world that easily fit into much smaller spaces.