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Co-living? Pods? Modern-day flophouses?

I could have easily done this in my twenties but I would need my own room now. It sounds like fun, like living at the Y in the old days.

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by Anonymousreply 70October 24, 2018 8:08 PM

It sounds like a nightmare of other people's noise and aromas. Imagine all those TVs going at once!

At least the classic pod hotel gives you the ability to shut the door on other people.

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by Anonymousreply 1October 22, 2018 1:33 AM

They describe two very different scenarios.

The first, the one in the photo at OP, is like living in a youth hostel--you get a bed in a dorm-like room, with zero privacy and the sense that you're in a cross between an airplane and an army barracks.

All for $1400/month.

In the second, priced at $2200/month you get your own private bedroom, but share common areas with other residents.

I think I'd rather be homeless than deal with the first option (that, or share a studio apt with a single roommate) but if I was 23 and new to LA, the second option could be fun, provided the bathrooms were like showering in an upscale gym locker room (e.g. cleaned constantly) and there were lots of WeWork-ish group activities and group dinners.

It would get old after about 6 months or so, but I could see people doing it.

The first option is like a homeless shelter you're paying a lot of money for.

by Anonymousreply 2October 22, 2018 1:42 AM

I'd shoot myself in the head on the first night, I'm sure.

by Anonymousreply 3October 22, 2018 1:45 AM

I just cant believe that anyone,of any age,find these to be viable options. At least in a scumbag weekly motel you get your own room and bathroom. Talk about the hive mentality . Are people really this easily led ? To think living on a fancy shelf is acceptable ?

by Anonymousreply 4October 22, 2018 1:48 AM

Communal Living in Ubud, Bali

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by Anonymousreply 5October 22, 2018 1:50 AM

Some people can just flop down anywhere and sleep. Probably the same people who can fall asleep on a plane. The pods would be too confining for me. But, if people are willing to stay in these places and someone is making good money from it, let the good times roll.

by Anonymousreply 6October 22, 2018 1:55 AM

[quote] But, if people are willing to

**economically forced to***

[quote] stay in these places and someone is making good money

***you bet your ass someone is, or it wouldn't be happening**

[quote] from it, let the good times roll.

by Anonymousreply 7October 22, 2018 1:57 AM

This will end in tears.

by Anonymousreply 8October 22, 2018 2:06 AM

The picture at OP doesn’t look too bad until you imagine those beds with people in them. It might be okay for a night or two, maybe even a week or two if you’re desperate, but I can’t imagine living there. Wonder if there is a lights out time and everybody calls out, “Night Ted, night Bob, night John.......” (Waltons style)? Wonder how they deal with rule breakers and people who have “issues”? I’d probably sleep with my wallet and a knife under my pillow.

by Anonymousreply 9October 22, 2018 2:07 AM

This must be for people who don’t have the credit to get a lease right? If a studio is around $2,000 then a 2 bedroom is probably near $3500. I live in nyc and even in manhattan you can get a 3 bedroom for $4500. So why not have your own bedroom and share with roommates?

by Anonymousreply 10October 22, 2018 2:20 AM

Unless someone is kept on hand 24/7 to clean up after the residents, I don't think much of this.

by Anonymousreply 11October 22, 2018 2:23 AM

They are upscale versions of SROs and turn of the century tenement houses, when people had to share bathrooms. Fuck transplants for making this a "thing" here in NYC; developers are tearing down townhouses and converting brownstones for this bullshit.

by Anonymousreply 12October 22, 2018 2:25 AM

R12 there are tenement housing structures in NYC that have been updated and still have shared bathrooms. They go for about 1600 a month on the LES and Chelsea. But still better than a hostel style bunk bed situation.

I just don’t see why anyone would pay that much for this

by Anonymousreply 13October 22, 2018 2:31 AM

They want us used to having less. Tiny houses are part of this scheme.

by Anonymousreply 14October 22, 2018 2:32 AM

I could do either for a few nights. They definitely have their place. I don't like canned spaghetti but lots of people think it's great ...

by Anonymousreply 15October 22, 2018 2:34 AM

R14, that was the big comment on Twitter about this and I don’t get it. I thought the whole point of the downsize movement was to consume less and don’t understand the viewpoint that this is part of a plan to inch the public into serfdom.

by Anonymousreply 16October 22, 2018 3:06 AM

So basically, most of these "co-living" spaces are like boarding houses where you do your own cooking? Or giant apartments you share with roommates you haven't picked yourself.

But the OP's space sounds like a real hellhole, it's basically like an upscale homeless shelter where you get a bed, no privacy, and a cabinet you can lock. And for $1400 a month, they don't even feed you!

by Anonymousreply 17October 22, 2018 3:13 AM

[quote]They want us used to having less. Tiny houses are part of this scheme.

Of course. Since the dawn of history, tiny spaces have gone hand in hand with impoverishment and cramped living conditions; spaces like this is how they live in favelas and shanytowns all over the globe. Neoliberal Ayn Randian scum are trying to gaslight the ever shrinking middle and working class into seeing this type of existence as "chic" and desirable so they can start selling other aspects of impoverishment as also "chic."

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by Anonymousreply 18October 22, 2018 3:27 AM

Just imagine the fleas and bedbugs. Is there maid service in these places?

by Anonymousreply 19October 22, 2018 3:35 AM

[quote]But the OP's space sounds like a real hellhole, it's basically like an upscale homeless shelter where you get a bed, no privacy, and a cabinet you can lock. And for $1400 a month, they don't even feed you!

Exactamundo. I read someone complain in one Yelp review that owners will freely walk in and out of bedrooms showing potential clients around without warning, and that locks on doors aren't allowed.

And you nailed everything else, too. These co-living spaces sound like a cross between an SRO, boarding house, halfway house and dormitory where you--a grown adult in your twenties--move into a bedroom that's already been furnished and share the kitchen and living room with other strangers. As if you're not being infantilized enough, there are "community events" (movie nights, for example) and all the basics are fully replenished on a regular basis if you can't handle the rigors of buying your own toilet paper, shampoo and soap.

by Anonymousreply 20October 22, 2018 3:40 AM

R5, that place is an overpriced con job.

by Anonymousreply 21October 22, 2018 3:45 AM

Most prisons in Europe are nicer than what is pictured in the OP.

by Anonymousreply 22October 22, 2018 3:46 AM

Sounds perfect for the Aspie techies who just work/game/sleep.

by Anonymousreply 23October 22, 2018 3:48 AM

They have started building this kind of shit in Portland. 200 square feet with a shared kitchen/bathroom for 1200 sounds like a bargain now.

by Anonymousreply 24October 22, 2018 3:54 AM

R10- I don't understand the reasoning either. If they're quoting a studio at $2,000, then just get a roommate and split the cost- $1000 each. I'd rather pay $1000 and find a good roommate and have some semblance of privacy - and some room to put my stuff- than pay $1,400 for a pod with a bunch of other people.

by Anonymousreply 25October 22, 2018 3:58 AM

I cannot even imagine paying $1400 for that first pic. It really does look like a prison.

by Anonymousreply 26October 22, 2018 4:01 AM

What happened to the quaint boarding houses run by nice old ladies? They'd give you a decent room and you share the house with a maximum of 3 or 4 other people but the house would be large enough that you wouldn't mind it. You'd get a free breakfast thrown in.

I'd take that over a pod and a locker.

by Anonymousreply 27October 22, 2018 4:02 AM

I pay $1400 for a studio that I don't have to share. It's absurd to pay that kind of money for basically a bed that you lock up.

by Anonymousreply 28October 22, 2018 4:03 AM

It looks like an upscale hostel, like you'd see in Sweden. Swedish hostels were double or triple the price of hostels in other countries.

by Anonymousreply 29October 22, 2018 4:04 AM

How could you possibly fit all of those people in an iPod?

by Anonymousreply 30October 22, 2018 4:07 AM

My dream is someday to own a tiny house of my very own. And a kitten to love, and will love me back!

by Anonymousreply 31October 22, 2018 4:11 AM

Big deal, we do this now in much less fancy surroundings

by Anonymousreply 32October 22, 2018 1:35 PM

This is some fucked up, dystopian shit.

It should not be so goddamned expensive to have a place to sleep.

by Anonymousreply 33October 22, 2018 1:53 PM

Jesus...that original article made me so sad for humanity. There's the dumb chick who lives there because "Oh my Gosh!" studios are $2000 nearby. She'd never be able to afford living in this neighborhood. So she pays $1400 to live in a dorm. Then there's the smarmy asshole from San Francisco with his startup who talks about "housing affordability" while building $2400 shared bathroom suites and $3500 one bedrooms.

Ummm...OK. I guess living in a glorified hostel is appealing for some folks who don't want to grow up and need to believe they live in a neighborhood they can't afford. I'm sure it's these same assholes who are always talking about public transportation in LA and how you don't need a car. LOL. These people are so fucking stupid and tedious. Just get a used Honda or Toyota. Get a roommate. Get your broke ass to the Valley.

by Anonymousreply 34October 22, 2018 1:54 PM

I think this is what heaven must look like.

by Anonymousreply 35October 22, 2018 2:18 PM

Snoring or non-snoring?

by Anonymousreply 36October 22, 2018 2:23 PM

If you had your own room I don’t see how this is any different from assistanced-living communities that older people live in. I’d love some of the amenities in those communities and if it’s good enough for the elderly, why not younger people?

by Anonymousreply 37October 22, 2018 6:02 PM

@ R14 at least a tiny house is your own self-contained place, not a rack of people sleeping next to you...snoring. farting and sharing the breathing air. Ugh. Where the tiny house is placed will determine additional privacy, space between neighbors. My apartment is < 450 sq feet (been here 13 years) and I could happily live in this amount of space till I am dead. It would be perfect if I could have a house this size (reconfigured) on a bit of land near the sea. (I don't want a rolling trailer thing.) People in the US insist on more space than necessary.

by Anonymousreply 38October 22, 2018 7:19 PM

[quote]Without PodShare, Hewitt says she'd never be able to afford this area. "Oh my gosh," she said, "I've looked at studio apartments in this area, in Hollywood, downtown. I mean, we're looking at almost $2,000 a month."

What are the utilities on top of the $1400?

Of course she could find a studio for $1400, but she would have to live in (gasp) Culver City.

And of course she could afford a studio, but she would have to give up her $5 iced latte and picking something to eat at Gjusta every day.

by Anonymousreply 39October 22, 2018 7:30 PM

R39, $1400 is inclusive of all utilities and includes cleaning, basic toiletries, etc. You’ve got to guess all of that other stuff has a value of around $500 a month. I question if you can do laundry there or have to send it out.

by Anonymousreply 40October 22, 2018 9:27 PM

All u need is one dirty mf'er and their foul body odor, and the situation becomes unbearable.

by Anonymousreply 41October 22, 2018 9:30 PM

For $1400 a month, what they're actually paying for is keeping the riff-raff out.

by Anonymousreply 42October 22, 2018 9:38 PM

I couldn't even share a room like that on vacation. No fucking way would I want to come home to that every day.

by Anonymousreply 43October 22, 2018 9:52 PM

You really do need the old ymca 8’x10’ cells (fire traps) for this to work. One exhaust fan per cell and you wouldn’t notice how long a neighbor has been dead. That can be a good thing.

I still want all of you to eat cafeteria style; it’s unbelievably cheap and good for the environment.

I also want you to view international travel as a yearly innoculation against becoming an old cunt like me.

by Anonymousreply 44October 22, 2018 10:04 PM

I traveled across the US for a month once and stayed in dorm-like hostel rooms with bunk beds almost every night. I found it surprisingly okay - turns out I'm far more adaptable than I thought. But I knew it was only for a short amount of time, there's no way I could actually live like this as an adult - I need my privacy.

by Anonymousreply 45October 22, 2018 10:08 PM

There's another "Podshare" I came across, run by some crazy Russian-American troll bitch. I know "bitch" is a strong word but looking at the video below, you can see why I called her that. The "pods" are crudely slapped together pieces of wood that look exactly like concentration camp/POW bunk beds, complete with wire facing that even looks like barbed wire. So they don't even have aesthetics or a genuine attempt at creating a novel "space age" experience like in Japan. The beds are built to gulag/POW/concentration camp standards.

And the gaslighting is second to none. She actually sells the shocking lack of privacy as a "plus", in that it'll discourage people from having sex or doing drugs. She calls this "self-policing."

And we're letting these Russian peasants into our country...why again?

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by Anonymousreply 46October 22, 2018 11:30 PM

Think of all the "crazy roomate" stories that you've either heard or lived through in your lifetime. And now throw in some "freaks that you work with" stories.

No. Fucking. Way.

by Anonymousreply 47October 22, 2018 11:34 PM

Is sex permitted? If so, wouldn't it be kind of awful for everyone else to have to hear/watch/smell fucking going on right next to them? If not, where and when do people fuck and masturbate? Are these bunks co-ed or same sex? Is rape a concern?

by Anonymousreply 48October 23, 2018 12:19 AM

I was thinking they need something like dorms for all those basement dwellers. Campuses of Dorms with a cafeteria - with no obligation to attend college. Just dorms you live in with internet for all the failure to launch types. Make it co-op style so you have to rotate through the cafeteria and other jobs around the facility to keep it livable.

by Anonymousreply 49October 23, 2018 12:33 AM

Separated by biological sex, or gender identity?

by Anonymousreply 50October 23, 2018 12:46 AM

[quote] If so, wouldn't it be kind of awful for everyone else to have to hear/watch/smell fucking going on right next to them?

Any poor soul inhabiting this kind of dwelling would be too demoralized to have a sex drive.

by Anonymousreply 51October 23, 2018 12:52 AM

Here is another one of these shitty co-living spaces for adult babies. The company, WeWork, has a dormitory for its workers. The guy in the video sounds like something out of a doomsday cult. Oh, and he's a fan of "Ayn Rand." (Shocker!)

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by Anonymousreply 52October 23, 2018 12:55 AM

I'd rather buy myself a van and live in it.

by Anonymousreply 53October 23, 2018 4:34 AM

I'd rather live in a cardboard box.

Can you imagine the cesspool of germs this would create when one person comes in with a virulent flu? Do the pods come with an unlimited supply of Purell?

by Anonymousreply 54October 23, 2018 4:58 AM

Jesus Christ, I think I'd rather live in a private room at a fucking BATHHOUSE than live like OP's photo. At least at the bathhouse, the room has a door & I could have casual sex within minutes of getting in the mood.

Hell, if it were possible, even a 5x10x7-foot storage unit would be preferable (which is precisely why modern storage facilities go to so much trouble to make it nearly impossible to get away with for any length of time... if they didn't, they'd quickly become adhoc tenement apartment buildings).

by Anonymousreply 55October 23, 2018 6:15 AM

The dorm bunk bed thing, fine for when you're young and travelling. You 're constantly moving on.

For living/working, no. But a very tiny room would be doable for a while at least. I stayed in a hotel recently that had very narrow rooms, wide enough for a twin and a half (wider than a twin, narrower than a double) with space to walk past it to the tiny bathroom. But the whole room was incredibly well-designed, all white and chrome and mirrors and glass so it didnt seem cramped. For one person it was great. Built in storage, tv mounted on wall. The wall to the bathroom was all glass and beyond that was the window for the room. The only thing I would change is make the bed a pullman berth so it converts to a sofa during the day. Communal cafeteria, lounge area, laundry and you're all set. If you're just out of college, why not?

by Anonymousreply 56October 23, 2018 1:16 PM

R46 Alessandra in Pod 2 could EASILY be Christine Baranski's daughter bases on voice and poise.!.

by Anonymousreply 57October 23, 2018 1:26 PM

I love all this innovation and these solution-based ideas. I'm approaching elder gay status , but understand the need for new living paradigms , esp. in large cities. Very clever.

by Anonymousreply 58October 23, 2018 1:55 PM

[quote]I love all this innovation and these solution-based ideas. I'm approaching elder gay status , but understand the need for new living paradigms , esp. in large cities. Very clever.

You think there's something new about tenement housing, halfway houses, communes, flophouses and SROs? The same housing that cities spent decades trying to eliminate?

But wait, you might be right about one thing when you talk about "innovation." What's innovative about any of this is that somehow developers have been able to convince middle class adults to pay a premium to live like a Bowery Bum of the 1930s or a someone in a favela. So, yes, I suppose that's a new paradigm shift.

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by Anonymousreply 59October 23, 2018 3:04 PM

I was especially intrigued with Podshares, a communal ,hostel-membership based arrangement, not necessarily for long term stay. Pretty sharp gal running things

by Anonymousreply 60October 23, 2018 3:12 PM

Just imagine the foot odor wafting through the corridors.

by Anonymousreply 61October 23, 2018 4:05 PM

The rooms with bare plywood bunks and dividers look like death traps if a fire were to break out.

by Anonymousreply 62October 23, 2018 4:07 PM

I can't imagine any sane person paying $1400 a month to actually live there, but I suppose a place like that could earn bucks as a crash pad for techies.

"Too tired to face your two-hour commute back to the place you can afford? Crash here! You'll get a bed, wifi, and a shower, for a reasonable sum! Cheaper than a hotel, and we screen out the undesirables who don't have steady tech jobs! No, the only body odor you'll inhale here is from highly paid programmers who think that personal grooming is illogical!".

There's got to be a market for that, in places like LA and SF.

by Anonymousreply 63October 23, 2018 4:09 PM

[quote]The rooms with bare plywood bunks and dividers look like death traps if a fire were to break out.

That's because they are. All that wood that is one of the reasons why the Oakland warehouse fire was so devastating. There was wood everywhere you turned.

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by Anonymousreply 64October 23, 2018 4:16 PM

And doesn’t plywood offgas toxic shit like formaldehyde? Does the $1400 rent include coverage for chemical induced migraines and a life insurance policy for your family if you are cremated inside your bunk when the co-living space burns to the ground because your neighbor’s incense burner toppled over during her yoga session?

by Anonymousreply 65October 23, 2018 4:44 PM

Presumably the plywood bunk place is built to code and has sprinkler systems in case of fire.

by Anonymousreply 66October 23, 2018 5:13 PM

At least one of the “pod” hotels in Manhattan has tiny rooms with shared hallway bathrooms. I was a bit surprised when I saw that online. But at least you can close the door to your room.

Bet there’s not a lot of “au natural” sleepers in that place in the OP.

by Anonymousreply 67October 23, 2018 8:35 PM

Do you get a locker for your stuff, like in Japanese pod hotels?

by Anonymousreply 68October 23, 2018 10:30 PM

If this catches on, maybe some of the big tech companies like Apple and Google will make a crash pad dorm like this for employees who don't want to face the commute home. If you've got billions to play with, why not make beds, showers, and maybe clean scrub-style clothing available to those who just want to rest for a while before getting back to work?

You can get that many more hours out of your employees that way! Feed them AND house them, and some of these nerds will literally never leave work!

by Anonymousreply 69October 24, 2018 3:22 AM

[quote]If this catches on, maybe some of the big tech companies like Apple and Google will make a crash pad dorm like this for employees who don't want to face the commute home.

I agree! This is a great idea!

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by Anonymousreply 70October 24, 2018 8:08 PM
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