DailyDirt: Living The Dream...

Living in northern California has plenty of benefits -- nice weather, plenty of cool stuff to do, tons of companies to work for, etc, etc. One of the downsides is housing. Crazy expensive rental properties are pretty much normal, but a few people have come up with some alternative solutions. If you don't mind living in small spaces or commuting long distances, you can save up quite a bit.

• There's a Google employee named Brandon living in a 16ft truck in the parking lot of his employer, saving on rent and other expenses by not having a car or an apartment. He's blogging regularly about his experience, and it looks like he's financially net-positive on his truck-home investment. [url]
• Instead of living in the San Francisco Bay Area, how about commuting from Las Vegas? It would be a bit cheaper, but a 90-minute commute by plane -- and somewhat inconvenient flight schedules -- might be a bit of a hassle. On the plus side, no state income tax in Nevada! [url]
• Have you ever thought of living in a shipping container? Not at sea, in a warehouse in Oakland, of course, for $600/month for 160 square feet of near privacy -- not too far from homeless shelters. Containertopia isn't exactly an ideal solution (especially if glorified glamping isn't for you), but it might be a temporary fix until... you save up enough to move somewhere more comfortable. [url]

After you've finished checking out those links, take a look at our Daily Deals for cool gadgets and other awesome stuff.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story