Poll

Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?

Yes
4 (7.1%)
Not at that price
5 (8.9%)
If I were single
10 (17.9%)
Hell no, are you crazy?
37 (66.1%)

Total Members Voted: 56

Author Topic: Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?  (Read 4932 times)

sis

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Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?
« on: September 16, 2016, 08:04:24 AM »
This is an extreme living situation for sure.  9 feet x 4.5 feet reached by a ladder... all at the low, low price of $450 per month.  <3 NYC

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/realestate/so-you-think-your-place-is-small.html?ref=realestate

trek240

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Re: Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?
« Reply #1 on: September 16, 2016, 08:07:06 AM »
Fuck living in NYC unless you are a millionaire. But what do I know.

bacchi

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Re: Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?
« Reply #2 on: September 16, 2016, 09:24:09 AM »
No way that's legal. If there was a fire caused by electrical wiring (=no lights), it'd be a dangerous mess getting outside.

sis

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Re: Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?
« Reply #3 on: September 16, 2016, 09:24:51 AM »
Fuck living in NYC unless you are a millionaire. But what do I know.

I managed to save around 50k in my first 4 years living in NYC on an average salary of about 48k while attending and paying for masters program the first two years.  NYC is actually quite affordable in some ways -- no need for a car, lots of free/cheap/interesting things to do, and there is high competition in some industries which drives prices down.  You can get an unlimited metrocard for $116.50 per month which covers the vast majority of your transportation needs.  The subway runs 24/7 so you rarely need to take a cab and there's no risk of getting a DUI because you don't have a car.

Have you ever been to NYC?

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?
« Reply #4 on: September 16, 2016, 11:03:53 AM »
Fuck living in NYC unless you are a millionaire. But what do I know.

I managed to save around 50k in my first 4 years living in NYC on an average salary of about 48k while attending and paying for masters program the first two years.  NYC is actually quite affordable in some ways -- no need for a car, lots of free/cheap/interesting things to do, and there is high competition in some industries which drives prices down.  You can get an unlimited metrocard for $116.50 per month which covers the vast majority of your transportation needs.  The subway runs 24/7 so you rarely need to take a cab and there's no risk of getting a DUI because you don't have a car.

Have you ever been to NYC?

Agreed! I got by just fine when I was a temp here, and now I'm able to save a lot of money partly because the salary opportunities are great.

I happen to pay a lot in rent, but I know people living in normal situations with sub-800 rent. Go to Queens, Jersey, further out in Brooklyn, north Manhattan. You may not afford to live in a single family house or have a spare bedroom, but there are a lot of options.

Yokan

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Re: Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?
« Reply #5 on: September 16, 2016, 11:15:34 AM »
Looks terrifying, only because I think I would get claustrophobic.

Dollar Slice

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Re: Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?
« Reply #6 on: September 16, 2016, 11:32:38 AM »
$450 for 40 square feet is outrageously expensive per square foot. I live in Manhattan in a fairly decent area and I pay less than half what he is per square foot...

seattlecyclone

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Re: Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?
« Reply #7 on: September 16, 2016, 11:45:08 AM »
$450 for 40 square feet is outrageously expensive per square foot. I live in Manhattan in a fairly decent area and I pay less than half what he is per square foot...

Yes, smaller places tend to cost more per square foot, especially in areas where production of new housing is heavily constrained by zoning. In this case the total price is the selling point. It's small but it's also the cheapest living situation on the block, and that appeals to quite a few people.

trek240

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Re: Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?
« Reply #8 on: September 16, 2016, 11:55:56 AM »
Fuck living in NYC unless you are a millionaire. But what do I know.

I managed to save around 50k in my first 4 years living in NYC on an average salary of about 48k while attending and paying for masters program the first two years.  NYC is actually quite affordable in some ways -- no need for a car, lots of free/cheap/interesting things to do, and there is high competition in some industries which drives prices down.  You can get an unlimited metrocard for $116.50 per month which covers the vast majority of your transportation needs.  The subway runs 24/7 so you rarely need to take a cab and there's no risk of getting a DUI because you don't have a car.

Have you ever been to NYC?

Yes, I'm been. But I've always heard that the rent is outrageous there. But I guess if you didn't need a car you could save a couple hundred a month from just that.

Dollar Slice

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Re: Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?
« Reply #9 on: September 16, 2016, 11:58:31 AM »
$450 for 40 square feet is outrageously expensive per square foot. I live in Manhattan in a fairly decent area and I pay less than half what he is per square foot...

Yes, smaller places tend to cost more per square foot, especially in areas where production of new housing is heavily constrained by zoning. In this case the total price is the selling point. It's small but it's also the cheapest living situation on the block, and that appeals to quite a few people.

It's a function of the extreme lack of affordable housing options. There is tons of housing if you can pay two or three grand a month, but anything cheap gets snapped up in an instant because there is much more demand than supply. Tons of competition for those, so you can get a relatively high price for cheap housing (even though that sounds sort of upside down).

ltt

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Re: Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?
« Reply #10 on: September 16, 2016, 03:16:12 PM »
Living anywhere reached by a ladder cannot be good.

icemodeled

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Re: Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?
« Reply #11 on: September 16, 2016, 06:47:20 PM »
I am all for minimalistic and not wasting space but... No I would never be able to live like that - plus THAT costs $450 a month!? I have no desire to live in NYC or anywhere that expensive either so it doesn't appeal to me in the least.

englishteacheralex

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Re: Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?
« Reply #12 on: September 16, 2016, 07:09:12 PM »
I probably would at a different time in my life; I was very flexible about living arrangements in my early twenties.

I lived at the 92 street Y on the upper east side of Manhattan for an internship during the summer of 2002. It was $750/month to share a small room and a bathroom with another girl. There was a community kitchen and refrigerator.

I actually hated NYC and have always been thankful for the experience because I thought I would love it and I'm glad I learned that I'm not a candidate for that lifestyle. I found it really crowded and expensive and intimidating. It was probably the worst summer of my life. I know plenty of people thrive on the energy, but it wasn't for me.

Probably cities can be Mustachian, but NYC apartments tend to not have decent kitchens, and cooking is such a big part of Mustachianism that I'm not sure how it could work.


sis

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Re: Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?
« Reply #13 on: September 17, 2016, 06:03:39 AM »
I probably would at a different time in my life; I was very flexible about living arrangements in my early twenties.

I lived at the 92 street Y on the upper east side of Manhattan for an internship during the summer of 2002. It was $750/month to share a small room and a bathroom with another girl. There was a community kitchen and refrigerator.

I actually hated NYC and have always been thankful for the experience because I thought I would love it and I'm glad I learned that I'm not a candidate for that lifestyle. I found it really crowded and expensive and intimidating. It was probably the worst summer of my life. I know plenty of people thrive on the energy, but it wasn't for me.

Probably cities can be Mustachian, but NYC apartments tend to not have decent kitchens, and cooking is such a big part of Mustachianism that I'm not sure how it could work.

Interesting perspective.  I think part of the reason for the terrible kitchens is that people eat out so frequently.  Even people with decent kitchens tend to eat out a ton because they work in industries where their meals are paid for by their employers if they work x number of hours.  I've always had apartments with reasonable (by no means deluxe) kitchens because I enjoy cooking.

I've lived in NYC for 9 years, I don't love it but I don't hate it either.  That said, I'm moving to an actual house soon and I'm so excited to have more than 800 sq feet of living space and a small yard to call my own.  There are definitely things I'll miss, but now that I'm no longer in my 20s I don't go out nearly as often as I did and I feel like having some personal space will be great.

MonkeyJenga

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Re: Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?
« Reply #14 on: September 17, 2016, 09:33:59 AM »
Probably cities can be Mustachian, but NYC apartments tend to not have decent kitchens, and cooking is such a big part of Mustachianism that I'm not sure how it could work.

I have found this true only in limited areas of NYC. I have lived in 7 or 8 different places here, and there was a full kitchen in all of them. The smallest was in the UWS, but it was still usable. (For one person at a time... That was an outlier, though..) The biggest was a beautiful, newly renovated open concept with granite counters and room for a dining table.

Tiny kitchens can still be made to work. Smitten Kitchen does all her cooking and photography in a small NYC kitchen. She has some photos here: https://smittenkitchen.com/about/

Or think about the nomads traveling in an RV with nary but a hot plate to feed them?

Regarding general size, I live in sub 800 sq ft and think it's too big, but I also don't have kids or pets.
« Last Edit: September 17, 2016, 09:51:34 AM by MonkeyJenga »

FIFoFum

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Re: Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?
« Reply #15 on: September 17, 2016, 09:50:01 AM »
Forget the size of the space or the price. That is so grossly unsafe. People make it seem like fire codes and egress laws are only about expensive permitting or gov't nanny-ing.

Irresponsible of the nytimes to brush aside how dangerous this "charming and quirky" sleep hole is.

Spork

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Re: Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?
« Reply #16 on: September 17, 2016, 10:00:06 AM »

Tiny kitchens can still be made to work. Smitten Kitchen does all her cooking and photography in a small NYC kitchen. She has some photos here: https://smittenkitchen.com/about/



Along the same lines, Mark Bittman (famed cookbook author, NYT Food columnist) has a tiny kitchen and produces gourmet meals. 

...and not quite NYC, but wife and I did about 6 years in a 600sqft apartment where the kitchen was literally a spot you could stand in one spot and reach the stove, kitchen sink/cabinets and refrigerator.  (You just had to rotate 90 degrees to move between them).  Lots of good eating came out of that tiny "kitchen."

englishteacheralex

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Re: Would you live in this rather Mustachian situation?
« Reply #17 on: September 17, 2016, 10:17:16 AM »
Yeah, little kitchens are fine--we're a family of four in an 850 sq foot condo in Honolulu, and our kitchen is pretty small but very functional. But I lived in a studio with a hot plate and a mini fridge (no freezer) for ten years and although I did a ton of cooking (got very good with a crockpot) it wasn't until I had a proper stove and fridge that I started getting really, really low grocery bills.

I just remember seeing a lot of apartments in NYC that had kitchenettes and I know from experience that it's...not ideal for frugal food.