"Pod-estrians"

All the different ways of solving the shelter problem. To be static or mobile? Roots, legs, or wheels?
EdithKeeler
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"Pod-estrians"

Post by EdithKeeler »

...is the name for people who live in these pods.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lif ... li=BBnb7Kz

I think this is sort of cool, and I might have considered something like this when I first graduated from college, just because I was used to living in a sorority house with a bunch of people. $1200 a month seems crazy to me, though, since that's more than the mortgage payment on my house. But--location.

I was thinking the other day again about how humans really are probably meant to live in groups. Just thinking about our cave-man ancestors living communally, or Native Americans living in long houses together, or extended families of Vikings living in longhouses, big extended families living in large houses in the Middle Ages (of course, that probably helped contribute to the spread of The Plague, but I digress...) and lots of other societies where people generally living communally. I was reading someplace not long ago that the idea of the "family home" with mom and dad and kids was a relatively new development around the time of the Protestant Reformation--apparently having a lot of unrelated or marginally related people under one roof was "ungodly" and something that was starting to be frowned upon a bit, but most people still really had to live like that. It wasn't until the late 1700's or so that most families began living in pretty separate houses. But of course even recently we had things like boarding houses, overseen by a kindly (or maybe not-so-kindly) widowed landlady.

Anyway, maybe living in communal spaces isn't so weird, and while I don't think it's a huge trend, especially in the US with our wide-open spaces, I can see it becoming even more of a trend in big cities. I like the idea in the article of a membership, where for your $1000 a month you could just jet anywhere and have a place to stay.

Jason

Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by Jason »

EdithKeeler wrote:
Fri Jul 05, 2019 7:49 pm
new development around the time of the Protestant Reformation--apparently having a lot of unrelated or marginally related people under one roof was "ungodly" and something that was starting to be frowned upon a bit, but most people still really had to live like that. It wasn't until the late 1700's or so that most families began living in pretty separate houses.
lol@ The Podestant Reformation.

Actually there's truth to that. The Reformation de-sacralized the Church and its institutions, informing people that there are no special spiritual classes, specifically the monastics. Godliness could now be found in the quotidian, thus elevating basic day-to-day family functions to a legitimate spiritual occupation. However, things don't change without economic shifts, and this was also the beginning of a burgeoning mercantile class with the opening of new trade routes.

It's also corresponded to the rise of the printing press which would not have been possible without a new development in general society - private space. The growth of housing limited to one family and members living in separate rooms granted people the quiet enjoyment to read, thus the growth of literacy rates.

Toska2
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Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by Toska2 »

Look at Jason, the literate bourgeoisie. Now we have separate rooms to watch TV.

Dream of Freedom
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Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by Dream of Freedom »

Speaking of pods, I think someone should check for pods in Jason's basement. He may have been replaced. :?

@EdithKeeler
Sure it's 1200 bucks, but they throw in ramen noodles and cereal so it's really a value proposition :lol:
Last edited by Dream of Freedom on Sat Jul 06, 2019 2:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Jason

Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by Jason »

Toska2 wrote:
Sat Jul 06, 2019 1:15 pm
Look at Jason, the literate bourgeoisie.
Actually, I would make the argument that this is a redundant statement.

One could be part of the nobility yet be illiterate as that community was organized through sexual relations and hereditary. The bourgeoise is in essence an "imagined" community. For instance, two factory owners, one in Germany and one in France, had no need to interact with one another as they did not marry each other daughter's or inherit each other's properties. Yet they were considered a part of the same class, said class originating and having its ongoing dependence on literacy. An illiterate bourgeoise is scarcely imaginable, and from that standpoint, it is the first class in world history to achieve its solidarity on an imaginary basis, this imaginary basis being transmitted primarily via literacy.

It makes you contemplate the $1000 membership fee EK referenced. People can fly off to all these places and sleep with anyone they want. But that doesn't meant they can read anyone's words. This would not have been an issue pre-Reformation as the use of Latin was universal. Once the concept of nations with local languages arose and became the standard, this was no longer the case.

EdithKeeler
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Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by EdithKeeler »


Sure it's 1200 bucks, but they throw in ramen noodles and cereal so it's really a value proposition
Yeah, and the cynical side of me thinks of all the bed bugs you can get for free.....

Seriously, for $1200 a month, I’d hope there’s some serious cleaning happening, but something tells me there’s not. Bed bugs are a HUGE problem in hostels, and I can’t think it would be significantly different in these pods....

Laura Ingalls
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Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by Laura Ingalls »

I don’t know I think Jason just read too many books on the Reformation last year in celebration of the 500th anniversary.

I read the original article last night before drifting off to sleep in my hostel bed with its own little light and USB port. :lol:

Jason

Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by Jason »

FYI - Luther posted 95 theses in 1517, therefore 500th anniversary was 2017, at least from a symbolic standpoint.

Kriegsspiel
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Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by Kriegsspiel »

EdithKeeler wrote:
Sat Jul 06, 2019 3:04 pm
Yeah, and the cynical side of me thinks of all the bed bugs you can get for free.....

Seriously, for $1200 a month, I’d hope there’s some serious cleaning happening, but something tells me there’s not. Bed bugs are a HUGE problem in hostels, and I can’t think it would be significantly different in these pods....
Extolling the virtues of pod living (bunk beds in the same room) seems like putting so much lipstick on a pig. Communal sleeping space sucks. You are dealing with people coming in when you are already trying to sleep, lights being on, alarm clocks going off throughout the morning, and of course people farting, snoring, talking, laughing, phones going off. And on the flip side, you might find yourself getting stressed about disrupting other people too if you're highly conscientious. And bed bugs.

IMO, the good parts of living with people (ideally, that you choose to live with, not randos) are all about sharing spaces that you use when you're awake, like the living room or back deck or whatever.

EdithKeeler
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Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by EdithKeeler »

I looked at reviews on Trip Advisor. Looks like lots of people are using more like a hostel for a few nights. I know they try to monitor “tenting” off your space so they can see what’s going on, but I wonder about potential safety issues if people are only staying a night or two, etc. How are people vetted, how do you know someone won’t grab you in the bathroom. Presumably there’s enough people around, but....

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Sclass
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Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by Sclass »

Bed bugs are an obvious problem. LA has a big problem in the metropolitan areas. That place looks like a bedbug magnet.

I stayed in a really nice hotel this winter and I found them in my bed...on my checkout day. I wasn’t allowed in the house when I got home till I stripped down and left my luggage in the garden shed.

The pod idea looks good. Amazing what solutions people come up with when faced with life problems. If it works for some people why not.

Maybe this is the future of high density living. Looks like some dystopian sci-fi movies of late.

classical_Liberal
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Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by classical_Liberal »

Augustus wrote:
Sat Jul 06, 2019 11:37 pm
or a rope (you'd entangle yourself and somehow sleep standing up).
Bed bug problem solved.

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Jean
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Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by Jean »

solution to bed bug would be a closed pod, in which the beds are heated to 100°C for a few minute every evening.

tonyedgecombe
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Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by tonyedgecombe »

Jean wrote:
Sun Jul 07, 2019 4:08 am
solution to bed bug would be a closed pod, in which the beds are heated to 100°C for a few minute every evening.
I like a warm room but I think that might be a touch too hot for me.

Jason

Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by Jason »

I understand the necessity. But I couldn't do it. It's like a concentration camp for the IKEA crowd.

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Jean
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Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by Jean »

Zyklon B is quite efficient against bed bugs too.

Jason

Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by Jason »

I think we have found the final solution to the problem.

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Sclass
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Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by Sclass »

EdithKeeler wrote:
Sat Jul 06, 2019 5:12 pm
how do you know someone won’t grab you in the bathroom. Presumably there’s enough people around, but....
I guess that’s worse than the bugs. I figure the people will be more mature than freshmen in the dorms. Reading through the article it looks like part of the business is establishing law and order in there. Like the no friends rule.

Recalling my coed dorm mates I really would rather not live like this anymore.

I keep staring at the images in the article and I am beginning to think the kind of people who like to stay in this environment may coexist well there. Perhaps the types who would like to tent up their capsule wouldn’t fit in.

In college there is always that out of line behavior the first year in the dorms. We had a guy who just climbed into peoples’ beds with them in the morning uninvited. It was a joke but sexually aggressive at the same time. I’d hate to have the creepy neighbor roommate...as an adult.

The owner talks about membership and I think bad actors get removed from the community. Otherwise it would just degenerate.

$1200 in downtown LA goes pretty far against keeping the hordes of junkies out. As I walk around downtown I see more shots being administered than I do at Kaiser. Lowering rent seems to increase “issues”. That’s the real conundrum I’ve faced while with trying to save on housing all my life.

I’m starting to realize a good housing deal requires some work or an angle. You know a good landlord, have a work exchange, find a group of awesome housemates or convert a warehouse into a loft etc.. An exchange of social capital as we say here. I think this pod business has baked in some form of that. Coming in off the street with no credit, no friends, no reputation, no bed and just a modest amount of rent money alone without social capital will get a certain result. It’s analogous to heading out for a personal relationship with only money and coming home with a prostitute.

Laura Ingalls
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Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by Laura Ingalls »

@Jason
okay so you read too many reformation books in 2017. Here I stand corrected ;)

@sclass
I think you are right. The hostel I stayed in the host bought for $50k. She dumped a ton of money and sweat equity into it. Now she had a place to live with a giant dog, workspace for her other business, two foreign college students, and an assortment of hostel guests. I got a 25% discount for cash. It’s sure not passive. It’s a model that works because she her Meyer-Briggs would be very heavy on the E.

Jacob’s RV thing was way less social but van and RV life are more active lives and need time and intellectual/mechanical capital.

Ego’s property management gig has a different skill set.

DH and DS1 are presently couch surfing (not real surfing as the surf is way too rough for beginners) on the Big Island of Hawaii. I was wondering how this was going to go before they left. So far it’s going good. In large part because their host put them to work. DH is a gardener/plant person. Host has a small farm and plenty of chores for him. He is probably more content than he would be at Hyatt down the street drinking fruity drinks (although he is pretty good at that in small doses too :lol: ).

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Sclass
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Re: "Pod-estrians"

Post by Sclass »

I stumbled across this version of the article at CNN business. They have a video and interview with the owner. Interesting solution to a real problem.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/05/success/ ... index.html

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