Althouse: If you're going to San Francisco...

September 26, 2023

If you're going to San Francisco...

Link to SF Gate.

Reminds me of a sleeper car on an old train...

42 comments:

cassandra lite said...: I had been reliably informed that downtown SF was clearing out of everyone but thugs and homeless, and that spaces were going begging.; 9/26/23, 9:04 AM
Kate said...: I'm pretty sure no one will have a Marilyn as their pod neighbor.

And thanks for the ear worm, lol. *frowny face*; 9/26/23, 9:07 AM
Kay said...: Loving the continuity between this post and the last.; 9/26/23, 9:09 AM
Gusty Winds said...: It's like Tokyo but with a shitload of crime!; 9/26/23, 9:10 AM
rehajm said...: For decades Japan has had those sleep pod things where you're stacked like cord wood. Same diff...; 9/26/23, 9:10 AM
rcocean said...: $700/month is cheap. Sleeping pods make sense if you're a young guy out of college working 60 hours a week at a tech firm. The tech firms usually have good cafeterias and recreation facilities. And on the weekends, you want to go places and do things.

Its no different than a Youth hostel, or an army bunk.

And probably some of the higher paid tech guys work remote, and then fly to SF, spend a night or two in their "Pod" and fly back to the home in Oregon or wherever.; 9/26/23, 9:11 AM
Clyde said...: Nothing new. The Japanese have been doing capsule hotels for years. Of course, staying in one for a few nights is much different than living your life in one.; 9/26/23, 9:17 AM
Blastfax Kudos said...: "No one is telling people to live in a pod" they said.
"That's a silly conspiracy!" they said.
"And even if it wasn't, it'll be fun!" they said.; 9/26/23, 9:23 AM
Enigma said...: Japanese capsule hotels date back decades:

https://www.japan.travel/en/guide/capsule-hotels/

Airport sleeping pods appeared quite a while back too. They are logical in dense urban areas. I expect the next step to be driverless cars with sleeping facilities, owned or rented.; 9/26/23, 9:25 AM
gilbar said...: You could join the Navy..
HOW TO PICK THE PERFECT NAVY RACK!
it'd be a LOT cheaper.. Plus, it'd pay for your school.. Plus you'd get to see the world
(unless you were a dolphin, then you'd get to see Kings Bay, or maybe New London); 9/26/23, 9:32 AM
Wince said...: Reminds me of a sleeper car on an old train.

"Wake up and go to sleep."; 9/26/23, 9:35 AM
BUMBLE BEE said...: I've seen the movie! Don't go near any "pods", they'll start to bubble.; 9/26/23, 9:39 AM
The Vault Dweller said...: May I suggest everyone rewatch The West Wing. Where pursuit of Lefty policies just leads to everyone living comfy lifestyles filled with witty repartee at the office.; 9/26/23, 9:40 AM
Breezy said...: Hive minds.; 9/26/23, 9:45 AM
MadisonMan said...: Soundproofing by curtain. God help the people next to the snorer.; 9/26/23, 9:53 AM
Ken said...: This makes sense in Japan, where there is (a) no crime, (b) a tradition of public bathing, and (c) a zillion cheap places to eat. San Francisco? I'd be worried.; 9/26/23, 10:10 AM
John henry said...: I stayed in a hotel in Chicago like this a few years ago. The Field House Jones hotel on chestnut st. my room had 6 pods sort of like this. I had the whole room to myself and it was pretty comfortable. There was a communal kitchen, rec room with pool table and slot car track and some other facilities.

Beds were doubles, not queens in cubbies with curtains.

I think it was an old bus terminal or something but nicely modernized with an oldtime Chicago vibe.

As I recall the room rate, even though I was alone in a 6 person room, was pretty reasonable.

John Henry; 9/26/23, 10:11 AM
John henry said...: Heh, Gilbar.

That is exactly the kind of rack I had on ship. About 2'X6'. Mattress on top of an 8" deep locker scientifically designed to hold the entire contents of a full seabag, no more, no less. I didn't know they had them anymore.

There might be 18" between the top of the mattress to the bottom of the rack above. A couple of bars on the side to keep you from rolling outin rough seas, separated from your neighbor by a 3" gap on one side and an 24" aisle on the other, 1" or so at head and foot.

My first rack aboard ship, the only one available to me, had a steam pipe running across the middle. I had to sleep on face or back. To roll over, I had to get out and get back on.

OTOH, a middle rack you are on a level with your shipmates assholes. The chow tended to make us gassy so you had people literaly farting in your face.

Or you could sleep on the bottom rack, on floor level, with everyone's stinky shoes in your face and the risk of getting kicked by accident or setpped on as your middle and upper neighbors climbed in.

You pays your money and you takes your chances.

Or, at the transit barracks in Philly, where I spent a month in 68 we had a hundred or so double deck racks in a single large room. Very cozy.

And, in addition to standing watches and working 8 hours a day, the Master at Arms would come through at any hour of day or night looking for volunteers working parties. A volunteer was defined as anyone who was breathing. Awake or asleep.

John Henry; 9/26/23, 10:26 AM
Iman said...: I watched a YouTube video about a month or two ago that a fellow had taken as he was walking down Market St. in San Francisco. He highlighted all of the stores and businesses that were closed, all boarded up. Storefront after storefront, empty and out of biz.

Knowing how vibrant that area had been, I came away thinking that city is toast. It. Is. Done.; 9/26/23, 10:31 AM
Iman said...: This would pose a problem for me… and everyone else. When I’m in a deep sleep, I tend to breathe, snore, yip and sound like Curly Howard of the Three Stooges.; 9/26/23, 10:35 AM
JAORE said...: Saw a more deluxe version in Iceland recently.

I think it would be OK if I was young and flexible. But, even then, I'd limit it to a night or two.

As a life style...no thanks.; 9/26/23, 10:50 AM
PM said...: "Howdy, podner."; 9/26/23, 10:53 AM
Original Mike said...: Blogger cassandra lite said..."I had been reliably informed that downtown SF was clearing out of everyone but thugs and homeless, and that spaces were going begging."

That was my first thought, but then I realized there were intense work periods of my life where this would have been the optimum living situation for me. Probably a lot of Bay area tech workers in that situation, but I wouldn't think downtown SF would be the best location for them.; 9/26/23, 10:55 AM
Randomizer said...: The WEF said, "You'll own nothing and be happy." The pods provide no privacy or security, so Gen Z should be right at home.; 9/26/23, 10:57 AM
Old and slow said...: Everyone loves to hate on these things, but they fill a real need and look pretty good in many ways. My son lives in Dublin, Ireland and makes a pretty good living. He's renting a tiny room in a shared house for more than this, and is delighted with it. If these were available there for $700USD / month, there would be a waiting list a mile long. When housing is unaffordable, bad government policy is always to be found.; 9/26/23, 11:07 AM
tim maguire said...: These are mostly 20-something up and comers. If it has a decent communal space, a bedpod is all most of them will need.; 9/26/23, 11:24 AM
PM said...: South of Market, cool.
Well, it's just a hole in the wall.; 9/26/23, 11:40 AM
Leland said...: Biden has a bigger bed of Air Force One.; 9/26/23, 12:02 PM
WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...: I would hope they are saving their money ... with plans to retire in this ever shrinking land of opportunity.; 9/26/23, 12:08 PM
Kevin said...: Some of them are likely to be men dressed as women.; 9/26/23, 12:11 PM
Rabel said...: I could see that working well for the Furries.

But seriously, poop. That's 28 poop producers in a housing space with five toilets in one of the examples.

"Life Stinks" - Mel Brooks.

Also seriously, surely in a progressive city there are regulations regarding the minimum amenities that landlords must provide for renters and I see no way that these kennels can meet those requirements.; 9/26/23, 12:49 PM
Whiskeybum said...: Those ladders to the upper units look like they were designed for a tree house - have fun climbing up and down those every time you need to go out.; 9/26/23, 12:51 PM
Interested Bystander said...: Why not build these things by the thousands for the homeless. Put a roof over their heads and force them into detox and treatment.; 9/26/23, 1:42 PM
Lance said...: if you're a young guy out of college working 60 hours a week at a tech firm.

Not if you want to get married and start a family so there'll be a next generation to pay your Social Security and Medicare.; 9/26/23, 2:09 PM
Lance said...: Also why would a tech want to sleep in San Francisco? Remote work is great for most techs.; 9/26/23, 2:10 PM
Static Ping said...: It sounds like something you would do when you want to save up a lot of money and then use that money for what you actually want.

It used to be that people would take jobs in Alaska as the pay was higher than anywhere else, skimp on all expenses as much as possible, and then use the savings to come back to the Lower 48 and buy a house. Not sure if that is still a thing.; 9/26/23, 2:25 PM
Jay Vogt said...: Honest question from a non-bay area guy:

What is the high demand skill that's maintaining this heavy local population - kind of at all costs. I don't think it can be for coders as there simply aren't that many of them. And by definition, they could work pretty much anywhere. I don't live there, but I'm really struggling to figure out what they do and why so many of them are needed at that location.

That said, I was in SF a couple of months ago and I thought it looked great.; 9/26/23, 2:46 PM
Jay Vogt said...: Oh and, Some Like it Hot is aways a funny movie.; 9/26/23, 2:47 PM
Free Manure While You Wait! said...: "Hey, baby, how's about you and I get out of this lame-ass nightclub and go someplace a little more quiet?"
"Sure, handsome. Your pod or mine?"; 9/26/23, 2:55 PM
Bunkypotatohead said...: Los Angeles officials prioritized speed over cost while building a new city-sanction tent village for homeless people in East Hollywood, reportedly shelling out $44,000 for each individual tent — about the price of a new Tesla Model Y.

All told, it cost about $4 million to put up fencing, bathrooms, and staffing facilities for the village. Catering services and 24-7 staffing cost an additional $3 million per year, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Somebody should point LA gov't to this more economical solution.; 9/26/23, 7:47 PM
NotWhoIUsedtoBe said...: It's like living on a ship, but you can leave at any time.

The only thing that could make it worthwhile is the rent being high enough to keep the riff-raff out.; 9/26/23, 9:23 PM
Tina Trent said...: Where do the illegals live. Cute picture, but this isn't amusing. Would you like to impose this lifestyle on others?; 9/27/23, 5:21 AM