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Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

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Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#71

Post by catbird »

nosuchthing wrote: post #49
catbird wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's so strange. If you're going to park your tiny home somewhere, why not make it the size of a regular car, like the VW Westfalia camper van? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Westfalia_Campers

Westfalias retail for upwards of ~$50,000, with 1980's models still fetching upwards of $15,000... If the Elio [1] can retail for $6,800 new, it's not a stretch to imagine a modern minimal camper-motorcycle/tuktuk/scooter for under ~$20,000... models for countries with less regulatory requirements like India or Asia regions might have much less expensive versions. [1] http://eliomotors.com/

Ah, I had no idea that they cost so much. Thanks

Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#72

Post by cpncrunch »

quadrature wrote: post #68
cpncrunch wrote: post #66

Presumably if you got a nice big RV with double-glazed windows, aircon, heating, TV, and there were electricity/water/sewage hookups, it could be quite comfortable. It might be worth google making hookups available for employees who want to live in their RVs on-site.

Sounds like a certain CEO http://www.businessinsider.com/tony-hsiehs-home-in-a-trailer...

It would be nice if someone set up something like that in SV, although I suspect the land would be too expensive.

Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#73

Post by beachstartup »

mrbill wrote: post #60
tjohns wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Living in Los Angeles as a college student for five years, none of my apartments had air conditioning. Sure, some houses had it... but even in LA it's a bit of a luxury. Same goes for the homes of everyone I knew in Lake Tahoe, where I grew up. The climate's similar to the bay during the summer, but it's still (partially) in California. ;)

Born and grown up in Oklahoma, and living in Texas (Austin from '96-04, Houston for the past ten years) living somewhere without AC seems so bizarre. What if you like it cooler than the weather permits? Heck, I have central AC in my house here, and I keep the house generally at 75, but have a window AC in my bedroom that lets me crank it down to 66-68 in there.

yes, it sucks without ac.

in california, it's the older buildings that aren't fitted for it. most new buildings have it.

i live in an old building (built in 50s) and a year ago i finally couldn't stand it any longer and bought a floor standing unit that i vent out the window. it's nice.

Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#74

Post by deathanatos »

cpncrunch wrote: post #64
ocdtrekkie wrote: post #26

This is known as an "unhealthy work/life balance".

I guess it depends on your perspective. Zero commute, low living expenses, zero? crime. You can probably go to your RV to take an afternoon nap.

> You can probably go to your RV to take an afternoon nap.

You don't need to go that far… Google has nap pods[1].

(Note: He mentions them in the article, "Those Google nap pods are a joke. It’s an awkward bench with a cone over your head."; but this is as a reference to nighttime sleeping, not afternoon napping.)

[1]: https://www.google.com/search?q=google+nap+pods

Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#75

Post by WalterBright »

jschwartzi wrote: post #52
cfallin wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You joke a bit but this is one of the biggest things I miss now (in a small apartment in the middle of a city). Growing up in suburbia with a well-stocked garage for tinkering was a wonderful experience. Yeah, hackerspaces; not quite the same though...

I won't pay 300 more a month for modern fixtures, plumbing, or millwork, but I'd pay it for a two-car heated garage with a 220v outlet and good lighting.

Haha, I told the real estate agent I wanted a 2 bedroom house with a 5 car garage :-)

Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#76

Post by kragen »

bhickey wrote: post #62
kragen wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, what's strange about him?

Ben and I started at Google on the same day. I was pretty psyched to meet him because I'd followed his website ( http://vterrain.org/ ) for years. He's a fairly loud, outgoing guy. Among a bunch of quirky nerds he sticks out with his 10" ponytail. When he first told me he was living out of the parking lot, I thought he was joking.

How quirky are these nerds if someone sticks out by having long hair? Did I fall asleep in 2015 and wake up in 1962?

Thanks for the link to his website! It looks awesome!

Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#77

Post by ethbro »

jlarocco wrote: post #40
ogreveins wrote: post #21

The rationale behind it makes perfect sense. Do you really want to give someone $2-3000 per month or $24-36k a year just to have a box around you? Especially if you don't own much stuff? How much do you actually need besides your computer, phone, clothes and toiletries? Gym for bathroom and free public wifi for internet aside from your phone and you're set. The rental and housing market is disgusting. I wouldn't cons…

What doesn't make sense to me about that line of thinking is why even keep working? Why not work for a year, save money, and then live in your van wherever just doing whatever? If you could save $75k of the $135k salary, you could go a very long time living in a van in somewhere like South Dakota.

I would hazard that someone who is happy enough in their job to live at work (let's face it, no one who is proposing this is working at Taco Bell) doesn't have being able to leave their job as their #1 priority.

I'm sure it's somewhere up there, but I see this as more of a compatible lifestyle choice than a suffer-in-the-short-term-then-cash-out scheme.

Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#78

Post by ethbro »

eli_gottlieb wrote: post #58
zzalpha wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The rationale behind it makes perfect sense. Do you really want to give someone $2-3000 per month or $24-36k a year just to have a box around you? Really? You honestly can't fathom why some people might desire their own, private space, away from their work environment, where they might, I dunno, live their life outside of their day-to-day drudgery? I'm not even sure how to react to that. It's such an alien way of thi…

>Really? You honestly can't fathom why some people might desire their own, private space, away from their work environment, where they might, I dunno, live their life outside of their day-to-day drudgery? I agree, but you do have to admit that $2k-$3k per month is a huge trade-off, especially considering how little you're actually going to get for that money. Would you prefer to spend the same money on a shitty, expe…

Or, hell, simple carnal pleasures. I'm pretty thrifty, but I think it's reasonable to expect most people could come up with some pretty solid ideas to increase their happiness with an extra $1k (after tax)/month. Then save the rest.

Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#79

Post by mb_72 »

cpncrunch wrote: post #64
ocdtrekkie wrote: post #26

This is known as an "unhealthy work/life balance".

I guess it depends on your perspective. Zero commute, low living expenses, zero? crime. You can probably go to your RV to take an afternoon nap.

Across former Soviet states there are now-crumbling collective farms with purpose-built apartment buildings nearby, the apartments having been constructed for the farm workers. Every time I hear about one of these 'living at work' stories I can't help but draw the comparison, unfairly or not, to Soviet-era apartments near these farms. Zero commute, low living expenses ... but to me it's not any way I'd want to 'live'.

Re: Thirteen Months of Working, Eating, and Sleeping at the Googleplex

#80

Post by infinotize »

ogreveins wrote: post #21

The rationale behind it makes perfect sense. Do you really want to give someone $2-3000 per month or $24-36k a year just to have a box around you? Especially if you don't own much stuff? How much do you actually need besides your computer, phone, clothes and toiletries? Gym for bathroom and free public wifi for internet aside from your phone and you're set. The rental and housing market is disgusting. I wouldn't cons…

Only on HN!

Doesn't this beg the question: Why would you suffer such an unreasonably irrational wife?

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