Bay Area Startup Offers $800-a-Month Bunk Bed 'Pods' in Shared Home (sfgate.com) 103
For $800 a month you could live in a tiny bunk bed-style pod with 13 other roommates in the Bay Area. From a report: Eight-month-old startup Brownstone Shared Housing has come under the spotlight this week after an Insider profile on the company revealed what it looks like inside the Palo Alto home with 14 tenants each living in a "pod." While the $800-a-month rent may seem steep for a stacked bunk bed pod, the average rental rate for a studio apartment near Stanford University, where the pod-home sits, is currently around $2,400. Co-founder Christina Lennox has lived in a pod herself for the past year. "The wood kind of allows for relaxation, rather than like going inside of this futuristic-looking plastic object," Lennox told Insider. "It has, like, definitely a different feel -- I would say that it's more calming and soothing for people."
No privacy... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:No privacy... (Score:5, Funny)
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"Just put on the VR goggles and enjoy virtual sex! The future is bright my friend!"
Which is why you gotta wear VR shades!
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And alongside a pair of VR glasses, every pod is going to be equipped with a set of connected sex toys - dildos, suction cups, etc. Full package.
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Re:No privacy... (Score:5, Funny)
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I dunno, when I was in college, none of my roommates ever bothered with privacy.
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What? I would think the chance of getting laid should be higher if you play your cards right.
My bigger concern would be snoring/quietness.
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That's why "my place or yours" is a thing. It'd be no different than when some married dude sneaks out to go on a Tinder/Grindr hookup. Except, instead of having a wife back home, it'd be because you live in a giant Ikea Kallax shelf.
Re: No privacy... (Score:2)
Better than living at the Kallax airport.
But $800/month will give you a decent studio or even a little larger apartment elsewhere in the world.
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Work makes you free (Score:4, Funny)
They should add this to such a henhouse
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There have been even more crowded accommodation types listed on AirBnB in markets like Chicago for years. They're used by gig workers like Uber drivers that come into town for big events.
Why don't companies do this? (Score:3)
It seems like there would be a natural fit with fewer employees coming into the office, and higher rent and home prices, that eventually companies would start renting out living pods in offices that are no longer needed entry for office space.
After all, lots of offices have showers and gyms now, and since most people here are in the tech industry I think we all know people who have literally lived in an office under a desk for a while.
It would be nicer all around if an employee could have the option to have a nice space and not have to pay a huge rent to live in a city they wanted to be in, certainly no worse than living with parents...
Only downside I could see is, what happens when someone leaves a company... but I think you could solve that by saying if you were with a company for more than two months you could continue living there indefinitely until you chose to leave.
On a side note I do like the sound of the wood construction of the pods from the story, I could see where that might feel nicer than plastic. I have to wonder long term how hard that is to clean though... if it were bamboo at least it would be anti-bacterial.
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There might be some potential if the company is happy for people to be 99% remote and only occasionally come in, meaning they need somewhere to stay overnight after a long trip. It would have to be a very big company for it to be worthwhile over just using hotels though.
Yahoo Japan has a nice scheme. Live and work anywhere you like. You get about 10,000yen/month travel allowance so you can come in to the office if you need to.
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Like TFA says, shitty dormitory housing is a thing in China.
The "housing shortage" in the USA is an entirely artificial constraint. We're nowhere close to running out of land. Hell, I live in one of the most populated states in the country and within 30 minutes of driving I could be somewhere you wouldn't want to break down without a cell phone (and I mean that because it's still all swamps and alligators, not because it's a particularly bad neighborhood).
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Friend of mine lives in a flat that was designed to be an office complex but was partially converted on the fly to homes. The HOA is basically half house owners and half office
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I think I would lose my mind being subjected to the music my coworkers listen to even in my off hours. On the plus side, it would be motivation to see how accurately I could reproduce the saw blade gun from UT99.
Even Easier (Score:1)
On the plus side, it would be motivation to see how accurately I could reproduce the saw blade gun from UT99.
And sleeping right next to the shop at work you could probably get that done in record time!
I'm confused (Score:3)
So, I can live with 2 buddies, for $800 a month each, or I can live with 13 strangers for the same $800?
Is that a tough decision for a lot of people?
Here's another. For your vacation, which would you prefer: 8 hours of a terrible time, or 2 days of a good time?
Would you prefer fast pain, or slow pleasure?
Would you prefer a little bit misery, or a whole lot of joy?
Re: I'm confused (Score:3)
Yes, you are. A studio apt is about 20 to 30 sqm. To be decided among 3 persons.
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So, I can live with 2 buddies, for $800 a month each, or I can live with 13 strangers for the same $800?
You need to look up what "studio apartment" means.
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In California, or at least in my municipality (San Francisco), to be classified as a bedroom, a room has to have a closet, a window, and a door. A studio need have none of these things. The only "room" that has a door is the bathroom. So with your three buddies, you'd either still have the bunk beds (three-up, military style) or one of you would be sleeping in the living room, one in the kitchen, and one next to the bathroom door.
Re: I'm confused (Score:2)
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I see studio apartments on TV all the time. People of modest means rent them and they are freakin' huge!
is it up to fire code? state renters rights / law? (Score:2)
is it up to fire code? state renters rights / law?
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is it up to fire code?
Oh absolutely, with all that wood it should burn really well.
state renters rights / law?
These days laws are more what you call guidelines...
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As long as there are multiple exits it should be fine. Renters rights? How is it any different with this type of housing vs. others? If you don't like it, you don't have to rent it. The choices are: be homeless, turn down a Silicon Valley internship/job opportunity, or pay $2400 for a studio.
If you ban this type of housing (for no good reason), it would lock in only the last two options. Also, shared living space might be a good thing for social development and collaboration. Any anthropologist would tell y
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turn down a Silicon Valley internship/job opportunity
What good is the money if that's how you'd have to live? There's a bigger picture to be looked at when considering what actually constitutes an "opportunity".
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As long as there are multiple exits it should be fine.
That's a pretty tall assumption, but I'm unfamiliar with Palo Alto fire code. A bar or restaurant in San Francisco with only one exit has a maximum occupancy of 49, per fire code -- but then, nobody actually sleeps there.
The choices are: be homeless, turn down a Silicon Valley internship/job opportunity, or pay $2400 for a studio.
No, the fourth choice is to commute. Same as everywhere else. And a lot of Silicon Valley companies have transitioned to allowing remote work. I'm thinking whoever the market for this kind of place would be, it's pretty niche.
If they're comparing it to the capsule hotels in Japan, the diffe
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For sure you can code there in Fire [github.com], but if you code in languages like C/C++/Java/Python, you have better chances of being hired in SF area....
Demand (Score:2)
With the shift to remote work and the recent California data transit contract regulation, those Bay Area prices ought to be coming down - perhaps never nominally but in real terms.
In many places you can rent a house for $800 and get a gigabit connection to that house. Imagine how great the job has to be to live in a pod instead.
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The intended occupants are Stanford students, not office workers. Though if an office worker wants to live with students, then good luck...
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With the shift to remote work and the recent California data transit contract regulation, those Bay Area prices ought to be coming down
You'd think. They're not.
live in the pod (Score:4, Insightful)
and people wonder why so much of our population is depressed, on drugs or suicidal.
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these are also the people taking derisive shots at 'flyover' states. (of course way too many of these types wind up fleeing to flyover states, for some reason)
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Done well, pods are surprisingly comfortable.
I slept in a few capsule hotels in Japan, and guest houses that offered similar accommodation in Hong Kong and South Korea. You actually have privacy in there, it is not a dorm. What is nice is that what you lose in personal space, you win in shared space. Some capsule hotels in Japan could almost qualify as resorts, for about half the price of a basic hotel.
Of course there are drawbacks. It is clearly for singles, if you have someone you are comfortable sharing
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Yep, as someone who travels a lot and is a cheap bastard, I've been at more than a few pod hotel/hostels. More often than not, it's an improvement on a depressing Motel 6 or some shit. At least if you're comfortable sharing any of the space with others.
Although I might be looking at this differently if I had to spend more than a few days living like that :)
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I've stayed in hostels in Europe. All I could think was how fast can I get back to that shitty hotek room.
Showering in the middle of a giant common room by pulling a shower curtain in a circle about you over a drain in the floor sure was an interesting experience.
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But "hostels in Europe" are not pods. In fact pods tend to be a strict improvement over typical hostels as it is basically the same thing except you can close your pod for privacy, it also provides some soundproofing.
Showers are a different thing, common room showers, sometimes with no privacy whatsoever are perfectly fine in some cultures. I never experienced the kind of shower rooms you described, except in gyms and swimming pools. Usually, shared showers are individual rooms you can lock. In Japan, S.Kor
Look back to 1849/50 (Score:3)
See what people were doing in SF then.
Explain to me how this is particularly different.
It's not.
Back then, no materials and labor to build housing.
There IS a shortage, but mostly it's red tape born of efforts to thwart scam artists... OR, this is why we can't have nice things.
Re:Look back to 1849/50 (Score:4, Insightful)
See what people were doing in SF then. Explain to me how this is particularly different.
You'd have hoped for more progress in 173 years.
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Certain elections occurred.
And you expected progress from THOSE indicators?!
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The Rise of the Pod People (Score:3)
Is this how a dystopian future starts? When will the pods be located in a public building near a public transportation center?
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Why not? If people decide that a particular job is SO important to them...then that is the choice they made.
If San Franciscan techies collectively said "Meh, not worth it...this isn't how I want to live"...then things would change, prices would drop, etc.
But the reality is, as demonstrated by their collective actions...they are showing that they feel it is worth it.
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It''s called a crash pad (Score:2)
Re: It''s called a crash pad (Score:2)
Well, they're charging a monthly rent well above what others here after paying for a decent apartment, so this pretty sure it's meant as an alternative to regular apartment and not some emergency shelter when commute doesn't work out.
That crash pads exist and have been existing for a while and never have been meant as permanent quarters doesn't mean much. Cars were also around for a while and never meant to live in.
But it's becoming normal for more and more people.
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Specific to airline crash pads, the reason they were appealing is because during your time off you get to enjoy free travel. I knew several airline people doing them over the years. (Maybe not the most mentally stable bunch, but they liked it.)
no thanks (Score:2)
I'd use one of these if I was younger (Score:3)
If I was fresh out of college and was able to land a good job at a good company in silicon valley I would totally take advantage of one of these for a few years. I'd be making a wage designed for people with far higher rents then $800 a month and would therefore be able to save quite a lot. A few years of this and I'd have a large enough bankroll to comfortably buy almost anywhere else in the country and a few years after that I might even be able to afford a down payment on a house in the valley if I decided I really wanted to stay in that bland suburban sprawl of nerds.
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The only point to be in SF is good restaurants, which will eat at those savings. Occasional cultural trips you can drive in for.
Why are you, or that company, there again?
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I don't understand what you're getting at. If I'm only paying $800 a month on a proper Silicon Valley wage I can easily enjoy everything the region has to offer while saving boatloads of money at the same time. Living life was already part of the equation.
Good for a 2nd home or open marriage (Score:3)
I know a few affluent couples who do something like this. They have a tiny apt near the office and a nice home in the burbs. The husband is away all week and comes home on weekends. It may be the only thing keeping them from divorce.
I'm glad my wife likes me enough to want to be around me 7 days a week. However, having an inexpensive option for when I want to sleep far away could be appealing. This also could easily be a timeshare. When I used to have a long commute, I would have been tempted to just sleep there for long nights. I don't want a full hotel room. I just need a place to sleep and shower. The lack of appeal is actually a feature for men with nervous wives. I think banging in a pod is a deterrent for most women who have better options.
I can also picture companies setting these up for employees. Have a late night release? Want to get plastered with your coworkers? Why not just let them book a bed. A setup like this also reduces the chance of sexual misbehavior since it will be more obvious if your coworker is sneaking out of your cube as well as if she's a screamer.
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I would love one of these if I didn't have kids, honestly. Right now, I have an expensive home 2 miles from my office. It's a nice place, but if I moved an hour out, I could easily get a lot more for the money.
Two miles? You can literally walk to work. What more do you want?
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I would love one of these if I didn't have kids, honestly. Right now, I have an expensive home 2 miles from my office. It's a nice place, but if I moved an hour out, I could easily get a lot more for the money.
Two miles? You can literally walk to work. What more do you want?
The point is to sell the house 2 miles from work...pick a home based on quality of homelife far away from the office and pick a pod based on convenience to office. Instead, we're overpaying and sacrificing some amenities for a shorter commute.
I think personally, I would stick with what I have. I don't want the complications of 2 places. However, I would be tempted to have a cheap bed close to work and a nice place far away. It's like an RV. Somedays, I think an RV would be awesome. Most days, I rea
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Most of these pod living arrangements have no sex rules [vice.com]. That might make things more comfortable for some. But if they also offered pods with sex, they could fit 14 people in one phone booth. Ouch! Make that 15 (I didn't see the midget).
LOL! Twice as expensive ... (Score:3, Funny)
... as my single-room apartment in a six-apartment house built from bricks and concrete with 50cm thick walls with all-inclusive, located in a wealthy neighborhood in the outskirts of large German city smack center in Europe with bike-paths all the way into the city center 6.5 km away.
800 USD rent for a large coffin and still no feasible healthcare or feasible public education. LOL. You guys are effing insane, that's what.
SCNR.
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You do realize that $800 price tag will only work in a very few small areas (like Silicon Valley) of the giant country that is the US don't you? Almost anywhere else in the US and you'd get the same "LOL" you're throwing out.
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You do realize that $800 price tag will only work in a very few small areas (like Silicon Valley) of the giant country that is the US don't you? Almost anywhere else in the US and you'd get the same "LOL" you're throwing out.
You won't get an apartment in a wealthy neighborhood in the outskirts of large city (400k+) with bike-paths all the way into the city center 6.5 km away anywhere in the USA for under $1000 a month. Maybe $1500 at best if you are lucky.
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Sure and when you factor in that Americans https://policyadvice.net/insur... [policyadvice.net]. make about 10k more than Germans https://www.statista.com/stati... [statista.com] on average that makes a lot of sense.
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Oh and Germans pay significantly more of that lower wage in taxes https://www.chicagofed.org/pub... [chicagofed.org] .
So yeah, it makes quite a lot of sense that US rents would be higher.
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Great, all things that have nothing to do with the conversation.
And really chill out, I'm not bad mouthing Germany at all in saying this.
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Well, when you only have to cover 138,065 square miles with "functional rail transit"...it's a bit different story than when you have to cover 3,797,000 square miles with "functional rail transit". Germany is smaller than Montana.
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No, this is a ripoff even there. They pointed out studio apartments in the area were $2400. While 3x as much that's a whole apartment 3 could share.
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Share a studio with three other people? Might as well be pod living, at least then you'd be able to have sex in private.
wankingpalace.com (Score:3)
wankingpalace.com. Buy the domain now. Also shares in Kleenex.
Stanford Real Estate (Score:3)
I'm surprised these universities in expensive real estate areas don't use their muscle with the local authorities to build high-rise student accommodation communities at the edge of town, and then lay on transport focused on shuttling students back and forth between "campuses".
That way they can generate rental income and also keep the kids "in disney" for eating, leisure etc.
I hear that in some other places they initially build for students, use it that way for a few years and then sell and build a replacement elsewhere - that way they are effectively leveraging their privileged access to planning approval to constantly build housing that may not meet normal city codes (eg. for minimum apartment sizes, parking capacity etc.) but that gets "grandfathered in" by the time they sell and move on
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Local NIMBY opposition is the reason. UC Berkeley tried to build new housing, but faced a court-mandated enrollment freeze [greenbelt.org] because a NIMBY sued on environmental grounds.
Similar issues at UCLA [therealdeal.com].
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Environmental laws, working as intended.
Before you downmod, realize human history is a sordid tale of corruption. "Good reasons" to get in the way of business are best of all, as you get free support for your blocks...until something happens...then the official unblocks it.
People In Storage (Score:2)
This is a great idea. But, it needs scale. Call it People In Storage.
Repurpose this proposed 4,000 person nearly windowless dorm concept with these pods.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/madis... [buzzfeed.com]
I bet you could stick 6-8,000 people in there at that point.
I love new ideas, almost any idea, they fuel the future. But stacked wooden storage sleeping containers isn't the future (excepting maybe jail design, or Pythonesqe, an abattoir...).
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Tbe pupeteers in the Ringworld universe are all warehoused in tiny rooms in giant buildings. They live vr lives. Thanks to teleporting they don't even have doors.
Talk about inflation (Score:1)
An entire 1600 sqft house in San Jose was around $800/month to rent in 1986 (last year I lived there). Now you get, what, 24 sqft?
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AKA a dormitory (Score:2)
Bunk beds? Check.
Can hear everyone nearby? Check.
Sweaty stank pits? Check.
Shared restroom? Check.
$800/mo? Check.
Someone looked at a dormitory and said, "Hmm...I can turn this into a business model! Just give it a hipster name and...Unicorn status, here I come!"
$26/night - Cheaper than a hostel (Score:2)
The idea is good, implemention, not so sure (Score:2)
I bought a minivan at the beginning of the pandemic, put a bed in it, bought boxes for camping gear for under the bed and a tent attachment for the rear hatch. It allows me to bugger off somewhere with the dog for a weekend out of the city with minimal setup and fuss. It's fine for a weekend, but use as a long-term or permanent living space is not practical and doesn't seem enjoyable.
Sleeping in a 4x4x12 space for two days is fine when most of the day is hiking up mountains or swimming in lakes and just g
What everybody in the Valley dreams about (Score:2)