Are Americans ready to live in a micro housing-part II ?

                                                                   Sam Shueh

                                                                  Silicon Valley, CA 

Around Google, Facebook offices near Mountain View, younger professionals cuddled together to lease a room for $1,500 a month sharing a bath?  The room is not much bigger than 120 square feet in many cases. A one bedroom apartment goes for $2,600 or $3,200 monthly rent for a 2 bed room.  I have blogged last year that creative newbies buy a truck and live inside (Google employee new housing) or a boat (SF professional refuse live on land live in San Francisco Bay is an interim way to reduce high cost of rent.

                                 Carter's affordable housing $9600 + $350 monthly fee in San Francisco Bay

Mini studios were designed and explored by people in east coast. Initially it was by  Arcade in Providence, R.I., in a old building . Condos as small as the 225 square-foot dwellings she began hawking in 2014.  The size of 225 square-feet is about the size of a hotel room and is what most single millennials want.  These rooms have built in furniture. A microwave, refrigerator and a dishwasher are included. 

They are intended for busy professionals who often are on the go needing a place to sleep and unwind. Wanting to do laundry and grooming go to the end of hallway or downstairs in a high rise. Go out you take public transportation or your bicycle. 

The outside street like Castro Street of Mountain View, CA (below) serves as a living or great room.

 

 

 

If twenty something is used to live in the dormitory sharing with a roomate, the 250 sf is adequate. In fact, it has a lot of room that comes with high ceilings. Most of these towns in sunny California people live outdoors a lot, most towns are wireless. People order coffee, snack and spend much of the day outside. The city itself is the living room. Busy people are on the go who want a small quarter to rest. With Google it offers all three meals for free why need to cook at all?

 

Former mayor of San Jose, California (aka Silicon Valley) Chuck Reed thought these living quarters not only serve working millennials, the seniors and those who have a budget constraint will all benefit. Downtown San Jose which at one point was deserted like most American cities in favor of suburbs have returned with renovation, construction of light rail adding restaurants and places to go. Sunnyvale, all canniers have been rebuilt with similar high rises.   May be Americans are one step closer to live in a smaller quarter to make ends meet.  There is also those lockers for storage.

Sam Shueh