Life in a Studio Apartment with My Wife and Two Sons • Hacker News Board

Re: Life in a Studio Apartment with My Wife and Two Sons

#101

Post by Harkins » Sat, Nov 07, 2015, 11:33 PM UTC

For anyone wondering how this is possible: by violating fire code. He says he, then he and his wife, then one or both of their children were sleeping in the closet. I'm not familiar with the language of the California Building Code, but in the 2014 verison, volume 1, chapter 10 gets into the limits. The closet is not a "sleeping unit": it doesn't meet the 120 sqft minimum, doesn't have a wide enough door, and doesn't have two methods of egress. There's probably more I didn't find.

I know this seems like tedious legal nitpicking and the main apartment room is right there and "everybody does it", but nearly every line of fire and building code exists because of a preventable tragedy. Even if it's not against the lease it's unsafe. (And he built a barely-braced lofted bed in an earthquake zone!?)

The author happily compounded the rent they saved every month but failed to compound the increased risks they took every night.

Re: Life in a Studio Apartment with My Wife and Two Sons

#102

Post by pkaye » Sat, Nov 07, 2015, 11:52 PM UTC

sotojuan wrote: post #46

stevoski wrote: post #7

The more I read such articles, the more I think you'd have to be nuts to choose to live in San Francisco. And yet, clearly, plenty of people do choose to live in San Francisco.

As someone who does not want to live there either, I can see why people move there. It's simply where the most opportunities are. The idea is to move there and live uncomfortably until you network your way to an awesome, high paying job. Alternatively, the tech companies there usually do more interesting stuff than in other area. Here in NYC most are related to advertising or media—stuff not easy to get exited about.…

You don't have to live in San Francisco to work there. There are plenty of people who live on the other side of the bay and commute by train. This gives you a much more affordable place to live than San Francisco.

Re: Life in a Studio Apartment with My Wife and Two Sons

#103

Post by serge2k » Sun, Nov 08, 2015, 12:00 AM UTC

Turing_Machine wrote: post #74

serge2k wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US is over 10 times larger than the UK. Guess what, tons of land leads to different expectations. I don't understand why Europeans seem to like acting condescending about this stuff?

More like 40 times (3.8 million square miles compared to 94,000 square miles). The UK is smaller than Oregon.

I think I switched one to miles and then dropped a zero.

I should probably return that math degree :/

Re: Life in a Studio Apartment with My Wife and Two Sons

#104

Post by superuser2 » Sun, Nov 08, 2015, 12:01 AM UTC

alkonaut wrote: post #45

atom-morgan wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a weird situation. There are so many tech companies out there and I'd like to work for some of them but I don't think the sacrifice I'll take with my standard of living will be worth it.

Why aren't SF tech companies hiring more remote workers? They could pay people who work remotely a lot less, save a lot on office space etc. Tech companies are the ones that should be able to pull that off. Even if I lived in SF I'd be reluctant to commute an hour to work if I could just as well work from home.

Remote work is an excellent paradigm when you get an assignment, go work on it for a while in total independence/isolation, and then turn it in, i.e. when developer-hours are perfectly commoditized. Not every software project is like this at every part of its lifecycle.

The same pitfalls that apply to outsourcing to low-cost-of-living countries should apply to hiring American remote workers: communication overhead, lack of context and understanding of what the product should be, etc. If a projects works well with remote workers in developed countries, consider that it's probably irrational and a borderline violation of fiduciary duty to pay extra for them rather than equally skilled workers in India/China/Eastern Europe.

Re: Life in a Studio Apartment with My Wife and Two Sons

#105

Post by serge2k » Sun, Nov 08, 2015, 12:04 AM UTC

greg-kroleski wrote: post #55

tinbad wrote: post #14

Growing up in communist Russia, 400sq. feet apartment would be the luxury option for 2 or 3 families with multiple children each. No joke, my parents lived with their siblings and parents (and sometimes grandparents) in the same apartment even after everyone had children of their own. Somehow we still managed to occasionally have 20 more people over for birthday celebrations and cook all the accompanying excessive am…

Author here. As we lived in that apartment I constantly reminded myself that compared to all families from around the world and across time, we had a luxurious life. Clean water, climate control, safety, food 3 times a day, etc. We definitely had company over, often gatherings of 10-12 people and one time we had 5 overnight guests (that was a bit crazy but fun).

and compared to what you could have had if you gave up on living in an absurdly expensive city?

Re: Life in a Studio Apartment with My Wife and Two Sons

#106

Post by JabavuAdams » Sun, Nov 08, 2015, 12:11 AM UTC

gnarbarian wrote: post #73

JabavuAdams wrote: post #44

Fascinating article, and great observation on optimizing density. How do you think in a space like that? I need personal space just to think.

I've known people to at work later if they want time to themselves.

Been there, done that, but it can turn into a bad habit. Oh, look Daddy got home just as the kids are all prepared and in bed.

Re: Life in a Studio Apartment with My Wife and Two Sons

#107

Post by JabavuAdams » Sun, Nov 08, 2015, 12:12 AM UTC

douche wrote: post #52

JabavuAdams wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is who you're living next to, at that price point, in another city. Basically, if you live where all of the minimum-wage people live, you're going to get spill-over from all the typical problems in such a neighbourhood.

In other parts of the country, the kind of money the author is paying in rent on a studio will pay the mortgage on a 2500 sqft house, in an upper-middle class neighborhood. In an age of high-speed internet, it's ridiculous that we insist software engineers be jammed into dense, expensive globs. Working remotely with Skype calls/IM/screensharing is a better experience, all around, than trying to collaborate in the sam…

For sure, but I was commenting on the parent's $400/mo.

Re: Life in a Studio Apartment with My Wife and Two Sons

#108

Post by astockwell » Sun, Nov 08, 2015, 12:23 AM UTC

hluska wrote: post #89

This is off topic, but in March 2016, I'll become a dad for the first time and I was wondering if some more experienced parents could answer a question for me. That article has a black board with a tally of diapers changed today. The count was up to thirty. Is that somewhat accurate/possible??? If so, holy shit, I'm investing in cloth....

What has worked wonders for me: when/if there's a baby shower, invite your buddies out for a "diaper party" (bowling, driving range, pub crawl, whatever) where the "price of admission" is everyone brings a box of diapers. This can save your bacon (the trove can last 6+ months), and also can provide male friends with a way to be involved/contribute, which in my experience, many appreciate.

Re: Life in a Studio Apartment with My Wife and Two Sons

#109

Post by pmiller2 » Sun, Nov 08, 2015, 12:33 AM UTC

pkaye wrote: post #102

sotojuan wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who does not want to live there either, I can see why people move there. It's simply where the most opportunities are. The idea is to move there and live uncomfortably until you network your way to an awesome, high paying job. Alternatively, the tech companies there usually do more interesting stuff than in other area. Here in NYC most are related to advertising or media—stuff not easy to get exited about.…

You don't have to live in San Francisco to work there. There are plenty of people who live on the other side of the bay and commute by train. This gives you a much more affordable place to live than San Francisco.

That has its own set of trade-offs. Prepare for at least an hour commute each way by BART if you work in SOMA, for instance.

Re: Life in a Studio Apartment with My Wife and Two Sons

#110

Post by girvo » Sun, Nov 08, 2015, 12:33 AM UTC

jschwartzi wrote: post #31

bpicolo wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Even without DIY, I think e.g. Ikea showrooms are actually pretty good at showing how a little space can go a long way. That said, I am looking forward to moving away from the Bay someday to more space. : )

Yeah, Ikea furniture seems to be designed for apartment living. Because their designs use glue-less fastening I can tear down all the furniture in my apartment and fill a truck without a lot of work. The only thing I wouldn't be able to move by myself now is my mattress. The compromise is that the stuff they sell that has significant decorative elements is extremely flimsy. The malm series is probably the most durabl…

Indeed. The bulk of my furniture is Malm series stuff. It also looks quite nice in my apartment!