I’m assuming they’ll be constructed like every other apartment in the past decade with paper thin walls and little consideration for natural light.
I guess I’m the outlier but I would never consider living in one of those ever again.
With these options, unless you're starting a family and need the space, these apartments seem like a good deal for younger people working for Google. It will be priced to be within a Google engineer's budget and will have much better amenities than any SFH for sale that costs below $3m.
I guess if you really want to work for Google, and they’re moving away from WFH options, this is as good an option as any as you point out.
I also dislike living in McMansions in suburbia, I’m more of a rural dweller type.
I’ve wondered if it’s an introvert/extrovert thing. Maybe it’s just unique to the individual with no correlated personality trait.
I get there’s trade offs to each living situation and we all just assign different weights.
I've lived in both poorly built apartments and very nice new concrete walled ones where you can't hear your neighbors at all.
To your point, under engineered buildings are a serious concern. Ex: I lived in library gardens in Berkeley before they had the balcony collapse in 2015 which killed 6 students. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley_balcony_collapse