When I walked into the garage for the first time and took a look around, I thought I was going to be decapitated. There were tools placed neatly in a row on a nearby table, which looked like they were ready to be used to pluck my fingernails off and slice my limbs. The lighting was dark and eerie. This was the moment that everyone had warned me about. Online dating is “dangerous” and “risky." However, little did I know that this would become a space for friendship and my love affair with “the best garage in the city," as my flatmate puts it.
I met my partner on Tinder during my first semester at Mills College. I spent a majority of my weekends with him in this flat and it began my wonderment about sharing space with others in a communal-like situation. I originally had hopes of finding an internship after my first term, but when things didn’t work out and my partner suggested that we try living together for the summer, I jumped at the opportunity. Together with our master tenant, we worked out details in order to allow a fifth person to inhabit the flat. Because of a magical tenant right called rent control, which only allows a 1.6 percent increase this year, every month I split a reasonable rent payment amongst each of the other four flatmates. A place like this is extremely rare in San Francisco where most one bedroom apartments are going for 2K+ per month. After a few months, l learned a fair amount about cohabitation in an era where Bay Area housing is scarce and overpriced. Though this means living with many different personalities, my experiences have proven that cohabitation is the best option for every walk of life and here's why.
A flat full of people can be a place of community and a place for growth. Living in a time that allows you to keep to yourself and be passive, a community is essential to actually get to know the people in the city that you are living in. I have realized that this city can be unforgiving at times and it puts me at ease to know that I can always come home to a group of people that care. You learn how to communicate with people in a way that can teach you so much about yourself and about others. There are also silly little things that you wouldn’t think of as being exclusively an aspect of cohabitation. If you leave a food item out on the counter, expect it to be eaten. You can’t leave dishes in the sink overnight because they will get in the way of others. You begin to establish a schedule for cooking, showering and even using the bathroom based on one another’s schedules. These are all things that require a lot of communication and there’s no better place to practice this than at home where you are the safest.
Oddly enough, the best space for community in our household is that frightening garage that I was introduced to on my first visit. Because I love the community that surrounds the garage, I have also fallen deeply in love with San Francisco. Not only do my flatmates hang out in the garage, but our neighbors also come in to chat about things that are happening around the neighborhood and even to share food. We love to spend the days that aren't cold and cloudy with the door open, inviting people into the garage to chat or to look at the cool art pieces hanging on the walls. Even though none of us are originally from San Francisco or have any relatives in the city, we have created our own little family through this space.
Above all, cohabitating with a group of people can be an unforgettable experience. You begin to learn how to live with people that have many different personalities. When you come home after a long day, there is always someone that you can vent to about your problems. There have been many nights spent in our garage enjoying a meal together, watching a movie or engaging in a heated philosophical conversation. Now, that I look back at that sweat provoking moment last fall, I laugh along with my flatmates at how much our “murderous” garage has changed my life.
