hardly limited to the 1960s, you can still do this in 2020 even in an expensive place like los angeles. pandemic aside, people living cheaply with many roommates and getting by on the wages of a bartender or minimum wage film set production assistant aren't even rare - the old pabst brewery on the eastern fringe of downtown LA is an entire campus of it. it just requires compromises on things that one is less likely to make if $2000/mo/bed is an option.