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

#121

Post by Turing_Machine » Sun, Nov 08, 2015, 2:26 AM UTC

mikerichards wrote: post #67

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?

Obviously it sucks, but the Europeans have to justify it because they can't admit its much better in the US when it comes to housing.

It's not just Europeans. I remember a conversation years ago where people from New York City were making fun of how "unrealistic" the Roseanne TV show was, "because people that poor couldn't possibly afford that house". Never mind that the show was set in a small Midwestern town, and small Midwestern towns are, in fact, chock-full of houses very similar to the one on the show, which are, in fact, occupied by working-class people.

Europeans, New Yorkers, and (increasingly) people from the Bay Area think that paying forty billion dollars a month to live in a closet is normal. It is not.

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

#122

Post by frame_perfect » Sun, Nov 08, 2015, 2:29 AM UTC

codingdave wrote: post #71

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.…

It is absolutely not where the most opportunities are. It is the place where the most startups are, which means the top of the opportunity pile eclipses other locations in terms of earning potential and networking. But quantitatively, the most programming jobs per capita are in Washington, Colorado, and Utah.

And here on the internet.

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

#123

Post by ryguytilidie » Sun, Nov 08, 2015, 2:30 AM UTC

pmiller2 wrote: post #109

pkaye wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Huh? I literally live at the end of the line and my commute is 30 minutes...

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

#124

Post by goodJobWalrus » Sun, Nov 08, 2015, 2:48 AM UTC

Turing_Machine wrote: post #119

goodJobWalrus wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Someone who is forced to live in a tiny apartment because they can't afford anything better isn't really making a free choice, even if they rationalize it by claiming that it is. Of course, but I wasn't referring to those people. I was talking about the people who prefer to live in apartments, like, for example, my parents who moved from a house (that was actually in a great location) to an apartment by choice (in…

You're talking about specific people (your parents). I'm talking about society as a whole. Are there people who prefer living in an apartment? Sure, but most people, regardless of "cultural conditioning", will choose a large country dwelling over a small city apartment if they have the resources to do so. This is true everywhere, in every society and culture, and across all of known history.

It is actually fascinating how convinced you are that your worldview must be the prevailing one. Yes, you accept that it is possible for the "specific people" to have different preferences, but no way that these can be anything else but individual quirks of the few, and not embedded in a culture, despite you not knowing anything about the culture in question.

Really, you exhausted all my arguments.

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

#125

Post by panic » Sun, Nov 08, 2015, 3:00 AM UTC

Harkins wrote: post #101

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…

Are fire codes really enforced in this way? Obviously the closet wasn't built to sleep in. It's one thing to force building owners and landlords to build and maintain rooms a certain way, but using a law to force people not to sleep in a closet seems counterproductive.

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

#126

Post by Turing_Machine » Sun, Nov 08, 2015, 3:04 AM UTC

goodJobWalrus wrote: post #124

Turing_Machine wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're talking about specific people (your parents). I'm talking about society as a whole. Are there people who prefer living in an apartment? Sure, but most people, regardless of "cultural conditioning", will choose a large country dwelling over a small city apartment if they have the resources to do so. This is true everywhere, in every society and culture, and across all of known history.

It is actually fascinating how convinced you are that your worldview must be the prevailing one. Yes, you accept that it is possible for the "specific people" to have different preferences, but no way that these can be anything else but individual quirks of the few, and not embedded in a culture, despite you not knowing anything about the culture in question. Really, you exhausted all my arguments.

"It is actually fascinating how convinced you are that your worldview must be the prevailing one."

Look, you have admitted that rich people (i.e., the people who actually have a choice) prefer country dwellings.

This was true in Ancient Rome. It was true in Victorian England. It was true in the Soviet Union. And it is true wherever it is that you live.

"Really, you exhausted all my arguments."

No, the facts on the ground have exhausted your arguments.

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

#127

Post by ars » Sun, Nov 08, 2015, 3:10 AM UTC

Harkins wrote: post #101

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…

To be a bed room it must have a window - which also counts as one of the means of egress.

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

#128

Post by ars » Sun, Nov 08, 2015, 3:13 AM UTC

panic wrote: post #125

Harkins wrote: post #101

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…

Are fire codes really enforced in this way? Obviously the closet wasn't built to sleep in. It's one thing to force building owners and landlords to build and maintain rooms a certain way, but using a law to force people not to sleep in a closet seems counterproductive.

Oh definitely. Especially for rentals.

To be a bedroom it has to have a window, a certain size (which varies), and some places even require a closet in the room.

If they find a bed in a room like that they normally start with a warning, then a visit from child protection services, or even condemning the entire house.

Obviously if they don't inspect they'll never know, but rentals, and people with contact with authority (CPS, Police, etc) could expect an inspection.

If you own, I'm not sure if the fire department can legally enter a home for an inspection without a warrant, but for a rental I believe they can, and do!

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

#129

Post by goodJobWalrus » Sun, Nov 08, 2015, 3:16 AM UTC

Turing_Machine wrote: post #126

goodJobWalrus wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is actually fascinating how convinced you are that your worldview must be the prevailing one. Yes, you accept that it is possible for the "specific people" to have different preferences, but no way that these can be anything else but individual quirks of the few, and not embedded in a culture, despite you not knowing anything about the culture in question. Really, you exhausted all my arguments.

"It is actually fascinating how convinced you are that your worldview must be the prevailing one." Look, you have admitted that rich people (i.e., the people who actually have a choice) prefer country dwellings. This was true in Ancient Rome. It was true in Victorian England. It was true in the Soviet Union. And it is true wherever it is that you live. "Really, you exhausted all my arguments." No, the facts on the gr…

> Look, you have admitted that rich people (i.e., the people who actually have a choice) prefer country dwellings.

No, I haven't. I am totally disinterested in rich people and what they prefer, but I'm not sure that there are fewer rich people living in cities such as NYC or Shangai than in the country.

> And it is true wherever it is that you live.

Right. Good to know. I'll let you get on with it now.

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

#130

Post by pkaye » Sun, Nov 08, 2015, 3:16 AM UTC

davidf18 wrote: post #112

pkaye wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Many professionals work long hours and thus want short commutes.

Well there are options and nothing is perfect. If people want to live in an area with high demand and they are not willing to compromise, they should quit their complaining and pay the high rental costs.