A lot of the things we do on a daily or weekly basis have ways of doing them that can either be private or communal, some of these which we do not think to consider as having that characteristic.

For example, bathing in the Roman Empire used to be communal, but then Rome fell and citizens in the splinter countries began taking baths privately.

Receiving mail is another example. There are countries which don’t have mailboxes and everyone gets their mail at the post office in the PO boxes. It was the United States which pioneered the idea of the modern mail system, which is why we associate it as a private act.

There are activities as well which don’t have any history as jumping between one or the other that might benefit from it, for example I think towns might benefit if internet was free and freely accessible but only at the local library.

What’s a non-communal aspect of life you think should be communal?

  • @[email protected]English
    1•1 month ago

    People who live in apartments are generally less well off and have problems with crime and anti-social behavior.

    There are apartment buildings in my city of Houston where the base units rent for north of $10k/mo. Housing is cheaper (relatively speaking) but you don’t get the kind of access or amenities that these spaces provide. If there are criminals in these units, its all white collar crime. Nobody is stealing catalytic converters to pay rent at the Riverway Plaza.

    Live in a nice upscale spot and you’ll enjoy the apartment lifestyle. Live in a falling over money pit and you’ll hate home ownership.

    Moved back to my parent’s house and then was lucky enough to be able to buy a house.

    The great thing about parents is that they’ve already paid off their mortgage (or near enough) that they financed on a property purchased decades beforehand. But the down payment on a house costs more (even in PPP adjusted dollars) than the whole unit would thirty years ago.

    That’s not a rich-guy / poor-guy problem, its an old-guy / young-guy problem.

    • Jimmybander
      3•1 month ago

      Most cities in the South stink. Our suburban school district is the best in the state. Very little crime. My house is the correct size thankfully. I can afford it.

      10k/month for an apartment. Lol. That is a rich guy thing. My mortgage is $750/month.

      I don’t like all the people everywhere anyway. Whatever floats your boat.

      Amazingly my parents house and my house cost the same at purchase. $130kish. A lot of things fell into place for us to be able to buy a house. I did get lucky.