Google employee lives in 16' box truck to avoid Bay Area rents | Hacker News Reader

Google employee lives in 16' box truck to avoid Bay Area rents

frominsidethebox.com

16 pointse15ctr0n20 comments

Honestly, it sounds kinda great. He's going to have some completely unique experiences and stories that he'll carry with him for the rest of his life, and he's learning a lot about how to live thriftily and how to separate needs from wants.

It's not all that different from living in an RV, and he's taking control of his finances to a degree that most people would never really consider. That's admirable, IMO.

It's certainly better than Ben Discoe's setup:

https://www.quora.com/Which-Googler-holds-the-record-for-liv...

while Brandon has made a whole project out of it with regular blog posts highlighting his eco-friendliness, Ben was forced to live at Google's parking lot in a van, in order to pay for alimony.

Wow... at the last place I worked someone (other than me) was immediately fired for taking a nap in the lounge.

Maybe this guy should consider just finding better paying work in a less expensive market before he winds up getting arrested?

See also this one about container living in Oakland: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/14/us/live-in-boxes-in-oaklan...

I see this as a smart move on his part. He's probably more fiscally responsible than 99.9% of people, including myself. It looks like a smart option for someone who only spends time at home when sleeping.

All things considered, I certainly hope that once he has paid off his student loans, he'll rent or buy a place.

pictures of the inside of the truck here:

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/google-employee-lives-in-t...

Rather spartan.

> A school-year later, he was purchasing a 16-foot 2006 Ford with $US157,000 miles on it.

Hm... "domain-specific" CMS that assumes all large numbers are money, or strange writer error?

And yeah, that is really spartan. I personally feel spending more money to make more homely would have been a good investment, but to each their own. Maybe get an RV or RV-converted truck (less obvious) to start with.

I wondered the same thing, why not an RV.

Also, I wonder if this guy is tired of Matt Foley references.

It looks like a Tokyo apartment. Well, in an "inside-of-a-truck" way.

Our startup is having to cut back so this looks like a great idea.

"Hey guys, wanna come over for a drink? Just move my bed to the left."

Paying $1000 / month for rent is expensive? For a GOOGLE employee?

Umm, if you can find a decent place in the bay area for $1000/mo, do let me know.

He said by splitting with roommates in the blog post. That's possible if you get a 3+ bedroom unit and split amongst that many people.

Google pays well, but it's not infinite money. Especially for a new grad with no savings, college debt, and before any equity kicks in.

Let me be the first to say it.

YUCK!

What's the point to living if you have the means, but don't live a decent life? Just to spoil it for others, who are living decently? Is this how this guy's gonna define himself?

You know, programmers already have a low social reputation for being geeky. Down mod me all you want but that only proves this is a circle jerk.

Please don't do this. If you do have to do this, don't advertise this. Please don't. Some of us worked very hard to be here, we would want programmers to be looked up, not down.

Yeah this makes it seem pretty crap http://frominsidethebox.com/view?key=5713144022302720

What are you, 14?

I was agreeing with you?

Um, sorry, I don't get it. I thought you were implying living in a decent house generates a lot of trash.

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