Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more?

Re:Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more? by sbierwagen on Tuesday December 29, 2020 @02:43AM (#25567653)

Seattle briefly allowed microapartments, before single-family home owners fought back and got them killed again. You can see one here: https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/apa/d/seattle-apodment-su... $900/mo for 198 square feet. Kitchen sink, but no stove/oven. You do get your own bathroom, at least.

Feeling a little agoraphobic with the above floor plan? Don't like those vast sweeps of empty space? No problem, try $875/mo for 147 square feet: https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/apa/d/seattle-apodment-su...

Carefully examine the bathroom photos. No sink! You wash your hands in the kitchenette. Easy enough, when it's three steps away. (After all, where would you put a bathroom sink? The entire apartment is the size of an RV.)

One upside: if the landlord gets on your nerves, it would be real, real easy to move out. A one-backpack apartment.

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Re:Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more? by emteycz on Tuesday December 29, 2020 @08:50AM (#25569685)

Oh, that looks like the average apartment used by a couple/single people here in Europe. Same price too.

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Re:Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more? by guenthert on Tuesday December 29, 2020 @02:00PM (#25573418)

Wut? I always wonder what people mean when they say 'in Europe', as if there weren't vast cultural and economic differences. Remember e.g. Switzerland and Albania are both in (continental) Europe.

A couple of years ago I inquired about the prize in a room in a hotel in San Francisco I happened to walk up to -- the front desk person cautioned that it offered 'european style' shared bathrooms. plonk -- I never encountered a hotel in Europe with shared bathrooms, but I've never been to Albania either.

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Re:Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more? by emteycz on Tuesday December 29, 2020 @03:24PM (#25574420)

I remember the geography of my home continent very well, I travel around here a lot.

The hotels with shared bathrooms are very common even in Switzerland, and everywhere else in Europe.

The small apartments are more common the richer the country. Larger apartments are more common in the poorer countries. You can find the small ones in every capital city though.

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Re:Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more? by guenthert on Tuesday December 29, 2020 @03:52PM (#25574829)

> The hotels with shared bathrooms are very common even in Switzerland, and everywhere else in Europe.

Truly curious. Could you provide a link to one?

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Re:Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more? by emteycz on Wednesday December 30, 2020 @02:33AM (#25579462)

https://www.hostelswiss.ch/

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Re:Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more? by guenthert on Wednesday December 30, 2020 @02:52PM (#25585287)

I sense a confusion of the terms hotel and hostel. That 's' separates worlds.

As a young lad (on a tight budget) I stayed in youth hostels in Europe and USA as well. Those (at that time) not only were equipped with shared bathrooms, but also commonly with bunk beds in dormitories (separated by gender -- yeah, such were the times) and usually expected you to take on chores. I enjoyed my stay as it allowed me to go to places I couldn't otherwise afford and meet like-minded young travelers, but it would be impossible to mistake those places for hotels.

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Re:Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more? by emteycz on Wednesday December 30, 2020 @04:47PM (#25586551)

Well the line is pretty blurred. But you're right that what used to be called three-star hotels is now primarily a thing of the east, while the west calls them hostels.

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Re:Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more? by labawi on Wednesday December 30, 2020 @02:34PM (#25585112)

Note that those are called hostels. I don't remember seeing shared bathrooms in hotels.

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Re:Ask HN: What are you surprised isn’t being worked on more? by emteycz on Wednesday December 30, 2020 @04:47PM (#25586554)

This change of naming happened during the past two decades. You're technically correct, though. Note that you can get a private room in the hostel I linked, that's not universal - and I feel that moves it towards hotel.

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