Live data from Hacker News

The case for having roommates even when you can afford to live alone

supernuclear.substack.com

61–70 of 119 posts

Re: The case for having roommates even when you can afford to live alone

#61

I'm a geek and have shared my home with housemates for 50 years. When I was poor and when I was prosperous. When I was married and when I was not. It's almost always been good for me, including for growth in my social intelligence. It was especially valuable when my wife died. Some of my housemates have been challenging. More became close friends. Living together people take their masks off. Quality social connection…

[flagged]

Re: The case for having roommates even when you can afford to live alone

#62

>With six roommates, I would cook a couple dishes a week. Every meal would be multi course, with different people making salad, protein, sides, and maybe mixing up some drinks for the cooks. I've never split meals with any of my roommates when I had them, and I cringe at the idea of asking them to accommodate my own idiosyncratic tastes. I, naturally, have lived on my own since I could possibly afford it. But I can s…

I lived in communal houses for a very long time. The best was something like this - we had communal meals four nights a week, and everyone had one cooking night. The other nights, you know you just show up and there's food. It's way easier to scale a single meal up to more people than it is to cook a smaller meal every night. And as folks cook together and rotate around, they learn and cook better. And you end up with more variety, as you experience the full gamut of idiosyncratic tastes. :)

Re: The case for having roommates even when you can afford to live alone

#63

In the US, is it concerning when a "grown man" in his 30s or 40s and beyond still lives with roommates, when dating and trying to attract a mate? Is there an expectation that you should be displaying a certain lifestyle that will attract a partner, and if you're living with a bunch of roommates, you're failing to do that? I believe that's not the case in many other countries in the world, but what about the US?

I dunno - having some social proof that a person can actually live with other people successfully is also a helpful kind of indicator.

Re: The case for having roommates even when you can afford to live alone

#64

The talk about having roommates into your 30s, 40s, and 50s to be able to split the load, avoid loneliness, socialize more, find motivation to do things with others, and have interesting conversations with people in different life situations is all interesting and good. Certainly something a single person should at least consider. But it also feels funny to read this as a someone with a family at home, because a heal…

It might be that a person with roommates is more likely to be introduced to more people and therefore more likely to find someone to marry, than a person without roommates. No idea if there is any data on that.

My own experience is that when I had roommates they would invite people over or invite me to activities where I'd meet new people with very little effort on my part. Vs when I've lived alone it felt less far less likely to meet new people without more effort.

Re: The case for having roommates even when you can afford to live alone

#65
post #3

The case for normalising poverty.

Sounds to me like a way to get out of poverty. If my rent is 1/2 to 1/4th what it would be otherwise then I can save that difference and get out of poverty faster than if I paid full rent.

Re: The case for having roommates even when you can afford to live alone

#67
post #61

I'm a geek and have shared my home with housemates for 50 years. When I was poor and when I was prosperous. When I was married and when I was not. It's almost always been good for me, including for growth in my social intelligence. It was especially valuable when my wife died. Some of my housemates have been challenging. More became close friends. Living together people take their masks off. Quality social connection…

[flagged]

Did you reply to the right thread?

Re: The case for having roommates even when you can afford to live alone

#68

In the US, is it concerning when a "grown man" in his 30s or 40s and beyond still lives with roommates, when dating and trying to attract a mate? Is there an expectation that you should be displaying a certain lifestyle that will attract a partner, and if you're living with a bunch of roommates, you're failing to do that? I believe that's not the case in many other countries in the world, but what about the US?

Yes, it is financially concerning. You do not need to own a house, but you do need to show you are financially responsible enough to pay for rent, utilities, etc all by yourself.
Post reply on HN