I am willing to bet good money that almost all of these people would prefer to live in a nice modern apartment in the same spot, if provided at the same cost.

Pretending otherwise might get clicks but is doing the people a disservice.

> if provided at the same cost.

Pretty big if, if you ask me.

That's not what I'm writing about. It's obvious from the photos that they're living in apartments already (those who aren't living in vans), so a "modern" apartment is just a living accommodation upgrade. It's about trying to find relative solitude in a huge city. It's hard enough to do so in a modern sub-urban environment.

I'm personally paying about $1k/month more for relative solitude in an older place with some solitude near a large metropolitan area than I would for a modern apartment in the area. It's worth it not just for the solitude, but for the things not being physically connected, or even really close, to your neighbors' homes provides.

We all like different things.

I've tried many of the different lives, and there's nothing better than being in close quarters for me.

And people like you have got almost all of New York to do this in. At a cheaper-than-solitary rent, too.

Yeah sometimes it's worth preserving the feel even when making improvements.

For example I really lament never having been able to visit the walled city in Kowloon. For a simple 1 square city block it's pretty legendary, and a huge influence on fiction and culture (Cyberpunk genre for example, ghost in the shell, games like stray, call of duty, etc). I'm sure it was going to collapse sooner or later but I'm sad they completely destroyed it instead of improving it and keeping something unique.

Fort Tryon Park during the day on a weekday used to be pretty quiet. I would sit and see maybe two people in 30 mins or even fewer sometimes. Not sure what it's like post-covid though..