Many cities many EAs live in have very high living costs. Thus, even full-time working adults often do flat sharing. This is why some people have set up EA (or rationalist) group houses: they’d prefer to live with like-minded folks.
This is only partially true. There are many EAs living in group houses who could afford to live alone but prefer group houses.
right, thanks for the clarification! Do you think this is mostly common for EA/rationalist folks or do people from many social circles like group houses? In Finland flatsharing for non-necessary reasons is somewhat considered alternative lifestyle so most working adults who do it are “purposefully” questioning the nuclear family unit. I’m trying to understand if living in an EA group house would come off as a “statement”or just something people sometimes do.
In the Bay Area, it’s very common for younger people to share accommodation (and not an alternative lifestyle). But this is often a set of somewhat random people living together and not an intentional group house of like-minded people. As people get older and have higher incomes, people are less likely to share (AFAIK).
So EA group houses do indicate an alternative lifestyle … but in places like SF and Berkeley such alternative lifestyles are also pretty common outside EA.
I live in London and have quite a lot of EA and non-EA friends/colleagues/acquaintances, and my impression is that group houses “by choice” are much more common among the EAs. It’s noteworthy that group houses are common among students and lower paid/early stage working professionals for financial reasons though.
This is only partially true. There are many EAs living in group houses who could afford to live alone but prefer group houses.
Also money isn’t free so if you’re neutral between the two, might as well save money on what is probably your largest expense.
right, thanks for the clarification! Do you think this is mostly common for EA/rationalist folks or do people from many social circles like group houses? In Finland flatsharing for non-necessary reasons is somewhat considered alternative lifestyle so most working adults who do it are “purposefully” questioning the nuclear family unit. I’m trying to understand if living in an EA group house would come off as a “statement”or just something people sometimes do.
In the Bay Area, it’s very common for younger people to share accommodation (and not an alternative lifestyle). But this is often a set of somewhat random people living together and not an intentional group house of like-minded people. As people get older and have higher incomes, people are less likely to share (AFAIK).
So EA group houses do indicate an alternative lifestyle … but in places like SF and Berkeley such alternative lifestyles are also pretty common outside EA.
I think that among non-EAs, flatsharing is much more common in the UK than in the Nordic countries. Relatedly, average household size is afaik bigger.
https://landgeist.com/2021/07/27/household-size/
I think this difference largely ultimately has economic causes.
I live in London and have quite a lot of EA and non-EA friends/colleagues/acquaintances, and my impression is that group houses “by choice” are much more common among the EAs. It’s noteworthy that group houses are common among students and lower paid/early stage working professionals for financial reasons though.