211–220 of 275 posts
Apparently someone lived there for a couple months before someone found out.
I did this on a 6 month contract as an experiment over a mild winter in the UK in 2011. You can pretty much do this anywhere. Couple of tricks: 1) Get a small camper/van that can park in one car parking space with a diesel heating system. Kitchen is irrelevant. Bed/toilet/heating system/space to sit and type/space for clothes to hang. 2) You need a toilet but usually you time your bowel movements to only need to use…
1/ or you know,just find a housemate/roommate if you cant afford to rent a place alone... sorry but sleeping in a van doesnt "scale",and is not that economic. EDIT:the downvote mob is out for blood,as usual.I just said that sleeping in a van for 6 month is the worse thing to do,nobody can to tell me with a straight face that one should do that,especially in winter.
I sleep in a Previa fairly regularly, often with my kayak next to me. I only need it for sleep and charging gadgets so don't need a loo, heater washing stuff or a cooker. Never done more than a couple of nights in it but can't think of a good reason why I wouldn't if required.
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Reminds me of a book I read sometime back, where Employees lived on campuses, ate bio designed meat, produced bio engineered pets, products that enhanced artificial sense of well being while a biological catastrophe engulfed the outside world (mostly because of bio engineered products that these companies produced). I can't see to recall the name of the book though. Soon enough we will be getting there though.
Sounds like the plot of Oryx and Crake (I did not like the book, but it was an interesting plot): https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/46756.Oryx_and_Crake
Does anyone else feels like we're really getting towards the cyberpunk universe ? with corporations that completely own the life of their employees by providing them with everything, and a violent lawless and miserable outside world. And as always, it all started with the best intentions.
But I am also aware of defence companies that take on apprentices at 18, ship them across the country, and provide a room and free cafeteria meals. The company feel that, kids that age are still kids, and need looking after while they transition to independence in the same way as kids that go to university instead (dorms).
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Sounds like your set up was more rural. I was doing it in the middle of a city mostly, so really had to have everything self contained. Definitely would consider having the rear doors open and ability to pull out a cooking area and pop up an awning for those times when you are sitting on a beach and need coffee and a bacon roll. Must admit it's a pretty good way of living but not sure I would do it for years on end.…
I was doing it in Leyton/Woodford in East London so borderline city/suburbs. I'd do it again, 100% of the time but the three children, wife, mortgage and inevitable responsibilities that come with these things make it difficult if not impossible to achieve. Narrow boats and widebeams are horrid. I lived in a narrow boat for a month. They rock very slightly, smell awful, are damp as anything (even the nice ones), cost…
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Isn't a huge part of the housing issue in SV the zoning? I recall reading about how large swathes of land have been zoned away from residential, largely because of the influence of the wealthy who live in and near the area. Never underestimate the politics!
And that is the paradox. In order to make cheap housing you'd have to destroy all the open space and low density zoning that made all the tech and VC people want to live here in the first place. Besides the current economy isn't permanent at all. The tech bubble will bust and this will all go back to normal in a few years. People who are living here for the long haul, and not just for the gold rush don't want it to g…
I guess I'm wondering if Google actually cares. Seems like if they think it will help employee productivity to let them hangout at work 24/7 then seems like a win for everyone. Maybe they formalize it and set up a few bunk beds with lockers or something. Doesn't seem out of the question.
I guess they are officially disapproving but turn a blind eye as long as it's not a common occurence. Unofficially letting someone live at work every now and then is helpful for everyone, but if they tried to formalize it, then a lot more people would like to save on rent like that and all the benefits for the company could quickly disappear.
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Don't extrapolate based on one sensationalistic article. Most engineers employed at Google (or any other company) in Silicon Valley have enough to rent or even buy houses. Actually, a lot of other workers who make one half (or even less) that salary manage as well. People who choose to live in cars or on campus have something else going on with them. It's not just about money, most of us will always choose to have th…
As someone who lives and works in the bay area, you cannot buy a house with a software engineer's salary, not unless it is a very poor neighborhood, in which case you're contributing to gentrification, or you want to drive 2 hours from Pleasanton. I say that as a software engineer home owner who bought a house before the prices sky rocketed again in 2011. I wouldn't be able to afford my own house right now.
Sounds like a good time to sell!
Does anyone else feels like we're really getting towards the cyberpunk universe ? with corporations that completely own the life of their employees by providing them with everything, and a violent lawless and miserable outside world. And as always, it all started with the best intentions.
Indentured slavery has a long history. The cyberpunk take on it just subverts the concept, where it becomes control of the mind instead of the body.
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You mean China? That isn't totally fair, but a lot of Chinese workers live in small shared rooms provided by their employer, they then send money "home" to their villages. I wouldn't call China lawless, but it is is a bit miserable, particularly if you get fired from a job.
Or Europe (probably also the US?) during the industrial revolution. Worker housing really is nothing new. I can see the architectural remnants all around me. (The small town I grew up in was connected to the railway in 1863 and got a huge train repair complex. The red brick buildings that provided housing to the workers right next to where that complex used to be are still there today, now just ordinary apartments.)