Excellent Reads

The price is ridiculous for what they get. And it's in Texas of all places.

You could find a nice older house in the midwest with land for under 100k.

R O W H O U S I N G.

Gardening, owning a workshop, are two hobbies which are pretty much impossible in apartment complexes (as are many other things which are deal-breakers to anyone with enough income to have an opinion on the matter). However to think it's either "apartment complex" or "detached house with five parking spots and a grass monoculture" is a false dichotomy. A terraced house with 3 stories and a basement used to be the standard for the working class where I live, and it is a huge shame they went out of fashion.

Row housing sits halfway between apartment buildings and detached houses, density-wise. Maybe much closer to apartments if you're comparing against low-rises with ample green space.

This is obviously the niche that the trend in the article tries to fill, while failing hard due to zoning laws forbidding terraced housing despite the fact that the exact same lots would immediately double the livable space at almost zero cost (besides a few grand in fireproof and soundproof materials I guess).

They are doing this in the US currently. The problem here is that corp America has fucked us all so hard that when buying a house you're not just competing with people more well off than you but companies with bottomless pockets.

so you either live far from where you work or have to live up your neighbors ass in one of these type of buildings whose units aren't any more affordable. Not everyone wants that despite your insistence that AmErIcAn FrEeDuMb is to blame.

People are framing this like its a dystopian nightmare. The fact is that you SHOULD be able to buy a small 2 bedroom something when you're young. It doesnt need to be huge or glamorous.

I don't think they do but with a basement I could maybe manage but it would be a tight squeeze for a couple.

I'm not sure I could live somewhere smaller than my current apartment.

Smaller, absolutely, but are you able to visualize what 400 ft² looks like? Because I've lived in an apartment that was a little under 500 ft² and it was not enough for two people to live in anything like comfort.

Not only that but I highly doubt these homes are built to last. They put them up as fast as they can and trim every corner to make an extra buck.

You could buy a well built century old brick house for what they're charging. Some people have an affinity for shiny new stuff, no matter how shoddy it turns out to be.

Sounds like my version of hell. I want to be left alone to do the things I like, my way.

If I had to eat Franks idea of spaghetti every second week, or deal with old Beatrice telling me I missed a spot on the window ledge where a mote of dust had landed, I’d kill myself right there on the spot.

I’m fine with community, but I don’t want it forced into my personal space.

You want to live in a commune. Those exist.

Sounds similar to a commune; they exist. Typically everyone works in the commune. The living conditions don't look "great," but I've lived in worse conditions. I think the two biggest ones in the U.S. are Twin Oaks and and East Winds. There are many other types of intentional communities, and there are many around the world: https://icmatch.org/community-types-2/ https://www.ic.org/directory/common-place-land-cooperative/

There were some in New York (Housing Cooperatives) that were built slightly before the great depression so went under pretty quick. They also involved owning your unit after a certain number of years. Wish they’d have had a fighting chance, I truly think people need community to live well and condensing work like childcare, food prep, and laundry (tasks that scale really easily*) make life easier for everyone.

I think there are a few communities like this still in Belarus (not joking btw, i remember hearing of one built around a tractor company from the Soviet days)

We should build that. Make it not based on biological family so you aren't stuck with whatever assholes you're related to and let people leave at will and join at any time with a two thirds vote of existing members

I’ve had a vision for a while of a community of tiny homes that are basically for sleeping and studying/entertaining oneself. There would be a shared cooking/dining area, and a shared shower area similar to Japanese public baths (shower and wash yourself in a stall, soak in a hot tub once you’re clean.)

We found Mrs. Bucket over here