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Silicon Valley thinks it invented roommates. They call it 'co-living'

theguardian.com

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Re: Silicon Valley thinks it invented roommates. They call it 'co-living'

#11

Post by humanrebar »

dtech wrote: post #7
humanrebar wrote: post #4

> By “convenient” they mean anonymous people on minimum wage clean up after you. Hey, let's not stigmatize the upper middle class actually hiring people to do worthwhile work. That's how jobs, small businesses, and economic growth happen. > As was quickly pointed out by numerous people this is basically a “bus”. Just, you know, without the poor people. Likewise, this is a good idea. People sharing rides in smaller bu…

> Public bus systems should really be exploring a smaller vehicle model more I asked someone from my local bus service once. Their answer was that it's not economically viable for the public bus service, as the only major saving was fuel cost and the extra services don't provide enough revenue to offset the employee cost (otherwise they could service it with the large normal busses). So basically this becomes viable…

> So basically this becomes viable with...

Well, some startups think they can make it viable. Either they can or can't, but making fun of them for reinventing "buses" isn't going to help.

Likely any company in this space is looking to as many users as possible while breaking even, banking on self-driving tech developing in the meantime. When the vans drive themselves, the economics will change drastically.

Re: Silicon Valley thinks it invented roommates. They call it 'co-living'

#12

Post by cm2187 »

zerostar07 wrote: post #9
chrisseaton wrote: post #8

I think the author is being deliberately uncharitable. I think what these co-living spaces are proposing is more similar to an officers' mess, if people here have experienced that, than roommates, in that it's sort of like a private permanent hotel with private rooms, dining areas, kitchens, libraries, and staff waiting on you. As a young person it's a really fantastic way to live, very efficient, and it fosters comm…

> like a private permanent hotel with private rooms now thats a good idea. Given the societal trends, it's something i 'd invest in.

But that's called serviced apartments, not a new concept. Just serviced studios in that case.

Re: Silicon Valley thinks it invented roommates. They call it 'co-living'

#14

Post by chrisseaton »

cm2187 wrote: post #12
zerostar07 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> like a private permanent hotel with private rooms now thats a good idea. Given the societal trends, it's something i 'd invest in.

But that's called serviced apartments, not a new concept. Just serviced studios in that case.

No a mess is not really like serviced apartments. It's more like one big communal house. Most of the areas except bedrooms and bathrooms are communal and you would normally eat together with staff waiting on. It isn't a new idea but most techies probably have not experienced that kind of lifestyle, so will be new to them.

I'd love to live in a living space like a mess if I wasn't married.

I've always thought that a mess for politicians would be a good solution to the parliamentary expenses problems in the UK as well. Could build a mess for the politicians in Westminster where they can all stay. Could be nicely appointed but efficient as they're all together.

Re: Silicon Valley thinks it invented roommates. They call it 'co-living'

#15

Post by rayiner »

humanrebar wrote: post #4

> By “convenient” they mean anonymous people on minimum wage clean up after you. Hey, let's not stigmatize the upper middle class actually hiring people to do worthwhile work. That's how jobs, small businesses, and economic growth happen. > As was quickly pointed out by numerous people this is basically a “bus”. Just, you know, without the poor people. Likewise, this is a good idea. People sharing rides in smaller bu…

> Hey, let's not stigmatize the upper middle class actually hiring people to do worthwhile work. That's how jobs, small businesses, and economic growth happen.

It should be at least a little stigmatized. Having upper middle class people be able to afford lots of labor intensive services is a sign of an unhealthy society with too large an income gap.

Re: Silicon Valley thinks it invented roommates. They call it 'co-living'

#16

Post by lotsofpulp »

humanrebar wrote: post #11
dtech wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Public bus systems should really be exploring a smaller vehicle model more I asked someone from my local bus service once. Their answer was that it's not economically viable for the public bus service, as the only major saving was fuel cost and the extra services don't provide enough revenue to offset the employee cost (otherwise they could service it with the large normal busses). So basically this becomes viable…

> So basically this becomes viable with... Well, some startups think they can make it viable. Either they can or can't, but making fun of them for reinventing "buses" isn't going to help. Likely any company in this space is looking to as many users as possible while breaking even, banking on self-driving tech developing in the meantime. When the vans drive themselves, the economics will change drastically.

When your biggest expense is employees, it's obvious that you're not going to get anywhere without increasing revenue or decreasing # of employees.

Re: Silicon Valley thinks it invented roommates. They call it 'co-living'

#17

Post by emiliobumachar »

> Earlier this year, for instance, the ridesharing start-up Lyft launched Shuttle, which allows you to “Ride for a low fixed fare along convenient routes, with no surprise stops”. [...] As was quickly pointed out by numerous people this is basically a “bus”. Just, you know, without the poor people.

Implicit Nirvana fallacy. Yes, ridesharing is worse for society then using (and voting to improve) traditional public transportation. But it's still much better than the popular default of each person owning and solo driving a car, which sits idle most of the time taking up valuable urban space.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana_fallacy

Re: Silicon Valley thinks it invented roommates. They call it 'co-living'

#18

Post by jabretti »

cm2187 wrote: post #12
zerostar07 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> like a private permanent hotel with private rooms now thats a good idea. Given the societal trends, it's something i 'd invest in.

But that's called serviced apartments, not a new concept. Just serviced studios in that case.

Serviced apartments typically aren't "permanent", though, they're rented by the night like a hotel rather than on a longer-term basis, so they cost a lot more, to compensate for the high vacancy rate.

Re: Silicon Valley thinks it invented roommates. They call it 'co-living'

#19

Post by kharms »

humanrebar wrote: post #11
dtech wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Public bus systems should really be exploring a smaller vehicle model more I asked someone from my local bus service once. Their answer was that it's not economically viable for the public bus service, as the only major saving was fuel cost and the extra services don't provide enough revenue to offset the employee cost (otherwise they could service it with the large normal busses). So basically this becomes viable…

> So basically this becomes viable with... Well, some startups think they can make it viable. Either they can or can't, but making fun of them for reinventing "buses" isn't going to help. Likely any company in this space is looking to as many users as possible while breaking even, banking on self-driving tech developing in the meantime. When the vans drive themselves, the economics will change drastically.

A datapoint: there was a startup in Boston named Bridj that folded because it turned out to not be a viable model.

Re: Silicon Valley thinks it invented roommates. They call it 'co-living'

#20

Post by cm2187 »

jabretti wrote: post #18
cm2187 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But that's called serviced apartments, not a new concept. Just serviced studios in that case.

Serviced apartments typically aren't "permanent", though, they're rented by the night like a hotel rather than on a longer-term basis, so they cost a lot more, to compensate for the high vacancy rate.

There are also permanent serviced apartments. An example that comes to my mind in the UK are the apartments in the Shard, which are serviced by the Shangri La but I believe were sold, not rented.
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