Paying $2200/month for a dorm room in SF

[NW-Bound]

In San Francisco, people making up to $90K are renting dorm rooms and pay $2200/month for a private bedroom of 130-220 sq.ft. Bathroom, living room, and kitchen are in the common area.

Yet, tenants seem to enjoy it. Would not be for me, but then I am an introvert and need a lot of private spaces. Guess I am spoiled.

See: Dorm Living for Professionals Comes to San Francisco

 

[aaronc879]

If the price is low enough I could see the market for such a place. I could see this set up like a college dorm room where you have a 'wing' for men and a 'wing' for women. Each has one large bathroom with several toilet stalls and several shower stalls. This could be a valid solution for lower income people. The fact that $2000/mo is considered cheap is lost on me though. I would expect something like this to be around $250-400/mo around here.

 

[ocean view]

My guess is that this is aimed at young tech workers. They can get meals, showers, gym, even laundry service at work so really they just need a place to sleep.

 

[aaronc879]

My guess is that this is aimed at young tech workers. They can get meals, showers, gym, even laundry service at work so really they just need a place to sleep.

The link specifically says it is intended for non tech workers. Tech workers and their over inflated salaries are driving housing cost far too high so that other people can't afford to live there. This is a place intended to be more affordable for those people with a more modest income.

 

[NW-Bound]

If the price is low enough I could see the market for such a place. I could see this set up like a college dorm room where you have a 'wing' for men and a 'wing' for women. Each has one large bathroom with several toilet stalls and several shower stalls. This could be a valid solution for lower income people. The fact that $2000/mo is considered cheap is lost on me though. I would expect something like this to be around $250-400/mo around here.

This setup in San Francisco is for adults, so there's no need for sex segregation.

In fact, the article does not mention it, but if romance developed between neighbors, there's nothing to prevent or prohibit that. This environment may even be good to find a compatible soulmate.

 

[aaronc879]

This setup in San Francisco is for adults, so there's no need for sex segregation.

In fact, the article does not mention it, but if romance developed between neighbors, there's nothing to prevent or prohibit that. This environment may even be good to find a compatible soulmate.

If you don't separate by sex then you need to have individual lockable bathrooms/showers which is much more expensive. Either way works it just depends on what you want it to cost.

 

[NW-Bound]

Yes, it sounds like these have multiple smaller bathrooms, and not a communal shower like in a military barrack or a summer camp.

 

[aja8888]

I could see this set up like a college dorm room where you have a 'wing' for men and a 'wing' for women. Each has one large bathroom with several toilet stalls and several shower stalls. This could be a valid solution for lower income people. The fact that $2000/mo is considered cheap is lost on me though. I would expect something like this to be around $250-400/mo around here.

This was the setup I lived in when in the military (in the U.S.). I guess we could have qualified as low income at the time seeing I was paid $72/month.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

On a smaller scale, what some homeowners here do is turn their houses into boarding houses. Like the parents or grandparents move out, add a room over the garage or convert the dining room to another bedroom, one young adult child or grandchild lives in the house as the manager and all the bedrooms (5+) get rented out to young adults., usually friends or co-workers of the "manager".

 

[NW-Bound]

One of my nieces just married a guy who, before the marriage, rented his house out, and lived as a roommate with 4 other guys in another home. He's an architect living in LA.

Compared to that, my son who's a young mechanical engineer in Phoenix bought his first home last year for $318K. It's 2,600 sq.ft., and has huge spaces for a single guy to entertain family and friends.

The pay is a bit lower in Phoenix, but not that much lower, and leaves my son with plenty of disposable income.

PS. The home is supposedly worth more than $350K now, if one can believe Zillow.

 

[NW-Bound]

This was the setup I lived in when in the military (in the U.S.). I guess we could have qualified as low income at the time seeing I was paid $72/month.

They did not charge for room and board, right? Saved you all kind of money to go shopping at the PX.

 

[RetireAge50]

For that money here in Washington you can get room and board, plus take classes full time. [emoji3]

 

[24601NoMore]

That's absolutely INSANE. Both of my HOUSES (1,900 sq ft first house and 3,800+ sq ft 2nd house) were < $1K per month in MORTGAGE, much of which went back into my Net Worth as equity. Of course, I acted responsibly, got a college education, saved for a hefty downpayment, and generally didn't act like a free spirit hipster that just wanted to groove with the flow (like those mentioned in the article), also.

If people are foolish enough to want to pay $2-3K a month in RENT for a bedroom with shared bathroom and kitchen, more power to 'em. They're being totally fleeced (another less polite word comes to mind..) and don't even realize it.

 

[aja8888]

They did not charge for room and board, right? Saved you all kind of money to go shopping at the PX.

And the food was free too! And the airplane ride to southeast Asia was free also.

 

[NW-Bound]

...If people are foolish enough to want to pay $2-3K a month in RENT for a bedroom with shared bathroom and kitchen, more power to 'em. They're being totally fleeced (another less polite word comes to mind..) and don't even realize it.

I dunno about being fleeced. This is San Francisco, the place where many people want to be, although you and I do not. Well, I do, but only as a tourist, and I have been there many times.

Supply and demand. I believe these renters are grateful to have a place that "cheap" to stay, as they cannot afford million-buck 2-bedroom bungalows.

And the food was free too! And the airplane ride to southeast Asia was free also.

All the C-ration one can eat, plus free heavy-duty camping gear! I don't know when you went to 'Nam, but assuming it is 1965, then the $72/month back then works out to be $572/week now, or $29,700/year. Is the pay of a private about that now? I hope that's the net pay after tax.

 

[harley]

On a smaller scale, what some homeowners here do is turn their houses into boarding houses. Like the parents or grandparents move out, add a room over the garage or convert the dining room to another bedroom, one young adult child or grandchild lives in the house as the manager and all the bedrooms (5+) get rented out to young adults., usually friends or co-workers of the "manager".

A lot of places, especially SF, are cracking down on any kind of creative housing intended to help lower income people. They have such convoluted and onerous zoning laws that it's nearly impossible to create any low income housing. I'm sure they have reasons, but whatever they are the result is a crisis in lower cost housing.

 

[meierlde]

Here is a link to a web site that gives the pay of a private: https://www.military-ranks.org/army/private-pay Note that in addition to the base salary of 19k a year are basic housing allowance, and basic subsistence allowance taking the pay to 37k a year.

 

[GravitySucks]

Something similar in my Upstate NY city. Each floor has about a dozen studio apartments (bedroom, bath room, combo living room-dining room-kitchenette.) Each floor also has a large kitchen, dining room and common room for entertaining and socializing.
It sounded good to me as rent was under $1,000 a month and it was being marketed to my demographic of 50 something singles or empty nester couples. I never checked it out further as its strictly no pets allowed.

 

[Sunset]

When I contracted, I'd move from city to city, and just rent a room in a house, share the bathroom/kitchen/laundry all for $660/mo (in today's dollars).

 

[gauss]

If the price is low enough I could see the market for such a place. I could see this set up like a college dorm room where you have a 'wing' for men and a 'wing' for women. Each has one large bathroom with several toilet stalls and several shower stalls. This could be a valid solution for lower income people. The fact that $2000/mo is considered cheap is lost on me though. I would expect something like this to be around $250-400/mo around here.

Now that's my definition/experience of a dorm room! Nostalgic.

-gauss

 

[ncbill]

If you don't separate by sex then you need to have individual lockable bathrooms/showers which is much more expensive. Either way works it just depends on what you want it to cost.

At DK's school, the one (very large) dormitory has a shower (and sink) in the room.

Toilets (with sinks of course) are segregated by gender, across the hall.