I lived in a grape cooler on a grape farm for several months once (in the non-cooled part). It had a bathroom but no shower. I made one out back on a cement slab with a hose, a garden water wand and a tarp.
Paradise! (https://youtu.be/DAtSw3daGoo)
I secretly lived in my office for 500 days
51–60 of 97 posts
Re: I secretly lived in my office for 500 days
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
little bit more expensive, per kilometer, than taking a car (train + metro vs gas) The TCO of a wholly-owned personal transportation vehicle is substantially more than the cost of fuel. It's hard to come out ahead, financially, unless you're a semi-decent mechanic, don't mind buying old machinery, and don't value your spare time very highly. Something bombproof and frugal, like a C90 underbone, could do well. A car,…
Also the costs the state incurs for the train include things like laying and maintaining miles of tracks, you'd have to roll road maintenance into your auto's tco to make a comparison.
You're right of course. But here's the thing :
Car : euro 0.4/km, travel time into brussels during heavy traffic : about 50 minutes, 30 if I'm willing to work 6am-3pm (I'm not). 21 (working days per month) * 35 (kilometer) * 2 (there and back) * 0.4 = 580 euro/month, 700 if you finance it using a loan (I don't need to). This pays for a comfortable "monovolume" car (big enough for a family, but certainly not a big car by Belgian standards). Note that this effectively comes with all sorts of bonuses, greater comfort, protection from the weather, and much cheaper and quicker groceries. I don't need parking where I work, but if I did it'd be another 50-100 per month everywhere except the European quarter. If we're talking a company car (tax deductible for companies in Belgium and thus very common), cost drops to 200-300 euros, and some companies (ie. if you're willing to do IT consultancy), drops to 100-300, depending on car, deducted from pre-tax pay. This is assuming the car's value goes to zero over a period of 4 years, whereas in practice I've always sold my cars for between 3-4000 euros after 4 years.
Public transport travel time : at least 2 hours (mostly due to waiting). Cost of bus card + train card (for one trajectory only during week days) = 150 to 300 euros (bus, depending on whether you need bus in one or two cities, so if you can get from home -> station without bus or from work -> station without bus, it's 150, otherwise 300. For me it's 300), plus 150 for the train. Add to that the cost of various other trips that you'll need to make that aren't covered by this, but are covered by having a car, and you easily get to 600 euros per month (groceries, going to town, visiting people, ...). Since I drop off kids at school using the car, if I included the cost to do that using public transport too, it'd be over 700 (2*60 euros per month to have the school bus pick them up on a street where I would worry every day they they might get killed, plus it would prevent me from leaving for work until they are on the bus).
Oh, and for that price, you get this : https://pbs.twimg.com/media/By62kxwIAAAX3Om.jpg:large
It's not a contest. Car is way cheaper, even disregarding the difference in comfort. Is that because of government subsidies for the car ? Yes. Otoh, the government also sponsors the mass transit quite a bit. How does it stack up in "real" costs ? I don't know. How much would the other disadvantages of using public transport add up to ? Don't know, but I don't think it's zero. (much less free time, less time working because of the kids limits, ...)
Of course it depends on the trajectory you take. If I had to "cross" Brussels (east-west or north-south), I'd take the train, and I know people who do so, but I'd also find another job or move, because it's simply not doable.
Re: I secretly lived in my office for 500 days
#53Earlier quoted context omitted.
The compromise is losing 2 hours a day in your car. This is why I didn't take the job in LA.
Google Maps says Koreatown and Venice Beach are 15 miles apart. Some time late in the 21st Century or early 22nd Century humans will realize that great mass transit can really make life more enjoyable, and that'll be a 15 minute commute. It's pretty amazing how bad things have to get before people wake up.
You would think so, but the traffic and public transit in LA doesn't work that way.
It's too congested even for buses to quickly get by. I've walked/biked 5+ miles faster than it took a bus to get where I was going during peak traffic hours, and I am no avid runner/biker.
I've spent 30 minutes trying to go 1 mile.
I've been stuck in completely stopped traffic at 3AM caused by multiple concerts let out at the same time
One time I remember walking to the bank 2 blocks from my house. It took about 5 minutes because I was taking it slow. By the time I got out of the bank, and went outside to walk home, an impromptu Katy Perry concert had started (That's Hollywood & Highland for you) and there wasn't even walking room for blocks in every direction. I ended up having to loop around everything and it took me 20+ minutes to get home.
Basically, the traffic/transit in LA is not a predictable monster. When it comes to getting from point A to point B, no quick glance at a map can help you guess how long anything will take.
Re: I secretly lived in my office for 500 days
#54I wonder what would happen if this form of housing became more popular. Maybe soon we'll be reading accounts about two office-overnighters who inevitably found about one another.
Well, huge factories of 19th / early 20th century did build living quarters for their workers near to the factory's premises. I think only the draconian zoning and building codes of California prevent Facebook or Google to do the same near their own offices.
If I am not mistaken ConocoPhillips owns apartments around its support center in Bartlesville, OK. People seem to love it and that town is dirt cheap.
Re: I secretly lived in my office for 500 days
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
When I was in grad school, one of the other grad students lived in his office. We all looked the other way when he shifted the desks around (leaving a couple of the other grad student desks kind of cramped) to make room for a sofa. "Yeah, that'll be real comfortable to... sit on... while doing math. That's what it's for!" I'm pretty sure all of the faculty and staff in our department knew about it too.
I think there's a difference between doing this in your office, and an office you share with others. If I needed to stay late to study, or grade assignments, or whatnot, I would be pretty annoyed if my office-mate asked me to leave because it was his bed-time.
I think "throwing people working late out" isn't one of the things you get away with doing that.
Re: I secretly lived in my office for 500 days
#56Must have been pioneer in this area. A bit over ten years ago I once had a good job in Santa Monica, but was tired of paying ridiculous rent for a shoebox that I was never at.
So I packed up, slept in the underground parking garage, and went to the gym every day.
Was in the best shape of my life and saved 40k that year, which I later turned into a 2-year trip around the world. Was definitely worth it.
Re: I secretly lived in my office for 500 days
#57I did that for just a little while, when going through a divorce. It was kind of fun. I had what I needed at work: shower room, place to sleep, Internet access.
A fridge to keep groceries and a microwave oven too.
I ate canned food, combined with fresh vegetables.
I discovered that using a microwave, you can easily bring water to a simmer in a plastic container, and by that means, you can cook pasta very nicely. (I'm sure it saves energy compared to stove top pasta boiling. It takes about ten minutes (same) and the wattage of the microwave is not only lower, but you don't use it on full power.)
Toaster ovens help too. If your office doesn't have one, just go out and buy one. You can revive a store-bought frozen casserole dish in one of those things.
Re: I secretly lived in my office for 500 days
#58Must have been pioneer in this area. A bit over ten years ago I once had a good job in Santa Monica, but was tired of paying ridiculous rent for a shoebox that I was never at. So I packed up, slept in the underground parking garage, and went to the gym every day. Was in the best shape of my life and saved 40k that year, which I later turned into a 2-year trip around the world. Was definitely worth it.
How did that work for your sex life? Bringing ladies home to a van is my main reason for not wanting to do this.
Re: I secretly lived in my office for 500 days
#59Some years ago I worked at a large aerospace firm in the L.A. area. 20,000 people worked there and with that many people there are bound to be a few odd ones. Several lived in their cars in the parking lot. But the weirdest one was the guy who was living in the ceiling above his office. The story goes that one night a security guard noticed some movement in a hallway and went to investigate. He saw some wet footprint…
What a sad way to waste your life. I'm sure he had other options considering he worked in an office at a "large aerospace firm," right?
It may seem like a waste of life to you. To me, it sounds like an adventure. Potato, Potatto, hakuna matata.
Re: I secretly lived in my office for 500 days
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
What a sad way to waste your life. I'm sure he had other options considering he worked in an office at a "large aerospace firm," right?
It may seem like a waste of life to you. To me, it sounds like an adventure. Potato, Potatto, hakuna matata.
Agree. I slept in the ceiling (rafters) of my ex-girlfriends house. She lived with her mom, her mom hated me, this was 10+ years ago. I had to be at her house every day no later than 6pm to get up there, once I was up, I was up. I had to stay extremely quiet. I got a lot done and the WiFi signal worked. I couldn't talk on the phone, only text.
In the end I ended up saving for an apartment and got my own place, and broke up with my girlfriend it just wasn't working out. It was a story and an adventure I'll never forget :)