New dormitory-style studio apartments might save your sanity and your savings account.
With San Francisco rents continuing to rise, locals are trading in their traditional apartments for more-affordable rooms with shared living spaces. And, no, these adult dorms are nothing like your drafty, moldy, bunk-bed–filled college experience. SF-based start-up Starcity (2072 Mission St) converts old hotels, retail buildings and parking garages into luxurious, fully furnished digs at below-market rate (rooms go for $2,000 per month, including utilities). Each private studio comes furnished with a queen-sized bed, two nightstands, a wooden desk, Wi-Fi and, perhaps best of all, lots of natural light for your succulent collection. Have a wardrobe that would rival Kim K.’s? Each room also includes a large closet. Don’t like talking to people in the morning? You’ll have an in-room kitchenette for quick meals and snacks.
In the living room and state-of-the-art kitchen, residents can bond over weekly pot-luck dinners and Wine Wednesdays—Starcity-organized events that are included in the price of rent. And if you’re worried about someone eating your organic yogurt, don’t: Each “roomate” gets a labeled drawer in the pantry and a shelf in one of the two fridges.
Photograph: Courtesy Starcity
Starcity currently runs two San Francisco locations—one in the Mission and one in SoMa—and has nine more locations in the works. There’s an 1,800-person waiting list for the two open locations, so if community living intrigues you, put your name on the list stat.