Would You Rent An Apartment Without A Kitchen?

[dimondpark]

Nope.

[Obadno]

Originally Posted by IMBY

I was just reading an article in the most recent The Economist on the proliferation of online food/eateries. In the article, in China, it was reported that a number of Milennial Chinese have no use for a kitchen, they order all their food online, and would rent an apartment without a kitchen. Just a refrigerator and Microwave.

Yes, I've know a number of people who so hate to cook, they've never used their stove.

So, perhaps the day is coming when apartment buildings will offer kitchen-free apartments and those with kitchens? And won't that also reduce the cost of construction?

In a super urban area where its easy to walk to lots of food options I would consider it especially in my 20's

Im a bit more established now so Id be willing to spend the extra money to have a kitchen even if I dont use it as much as I should.

[Sun Belt]

No. Because I'm not 18 years old living in a dorm.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Sun Belt

No. Because I'm not 18 years old living in a dorm.

My thoughts exactly.

I haven't lived without a kitchen since college.

Been there, done that.

Not going back.

[jlousa]

A kitchen is literally the most expensive part for a developer to provide. They are the ones pushing this concept. And sure they would be some savings but it won't be proportional, just like the smaller units that were pushed all rent for a much higher rate on a pdf basis. Picture buying one of this units and then life changing and you want to cook, or sell the unit... the demand for such a unit would be pretty limited which will affect what you can get for it. And good luck ever putting a kitchen into a unit without one, new plumbing, electrical, most likely upgrade the service... it will never happen not to mention the real goal here is to cut down the space you get even more so they can cram more units onto a parcel.

[mhays]

Whether we want places without kitchens isn't the only point. Affordability is a huge issue. Micros, including the really tiny ones, are the only way you can build housing below a certain affordability level in an expensive city -- little if any kitchen, no parking, dorm-type square footage. I'd have loved to have that option in my early 20s.

Thankfully nobody here seems to be saying these units shouldn't exist. But in the real world that does happen. Apparently it's ok to tell people they should live in a shelter if they can't afford 300 square feet or more.

[memph]

Originally Posted by mhays

Whether we want places without kitchens isn't the only point. Affordability is a huge issue. Micros, including the really tiny ones, are the only way you can build housing below a certain affordability level in an expensive city -- little if any kitchen, no parking, dorm-type square footage. I'd have loved to have that option in my early 20s.

Thankfully nobody here seems to be saying these units shouldn't exist. But in the real world that does happen. Apparently it's ok to tell people they should live in a shelter if they can't afford 300 square feet or more.

Maybe there should be more effort made to allow housing designed for shared apartments with suite-mates. Like 3-4 bedroom apartments with decent sized bedrooms (or at least a lot of storage space designed into them) but smaller common areas.

I've lived in those kinds spaces as a student and into my 20s because it's important for me to have access to a kitchen and that's the most affordable way to get that. You can easily design that to be equivalent to 200 square feet per person assuming they're all bachelors. A lot of the places like that I've lived in were designed to be family homes so you either had larger than necessary living room/dining room areas, or a living/dining room converted to a bedroom, in which case the bedroom was bigger than needed (ditto for master bedrooms).

But anyways, yeah, I cook practically every day and eat out about once a month (including lunches - almost always packed sandwiches/leftovers). I probably save around $300-$400 a month like that.

[10023]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

My thoughts exactly.

I haven't lived without a kitchen since college.

Been there, done that.

Not going back.

I didn’t even live without a kitchen in college. I don’t know how I would have fed myself otherwise. If you want to eat well and cheaply, you need to cook.

[chris08876]

As long as a microwave is present, anything is possible. Just eat microwaved food. Problem solved with no kitchen. Use paper plates, throw in trash, take trash out, and get back to your living room apartment with no kitchen, but a bathroom.

Flush any liquids down the toilet. So if your drinking a coke, and have no kitchen sink, and have left over liquid, flush it down the bathroom sink or toilet. Use the bathroom sink to clean dishes.

See... one doesn't need a kitchen!

[eschaton]

An obvious halfway solution is to go full dorm. Don't have the units contain full kitchens, but have a semi-public "kitchen room" off the hallway with a fully tricked-out kitchen. Include some free pots and pans, and have it be the responsibility of the building maintenance company to clean the communal kitchen.

[MonkeyRonin]

Would you rent an apartment without windows? Would you rent an apartment without finished floors or drywall? How about one with no electricity?

At this rate, pretty soon this is what developers are going to be pushing on us:




New construction luxury unit, yours for only $999,999!

[llamaorama]

My dorm in college was a huge mess. I couldn’t use the shared kitchen because of how filthy it was.

One time late at night I went to use the toilet. I smelled smoke so I walked into the dark, deserted kitchen to discover flames coming out of the microwave. Someone put a bag of popcorn in for 99:99 and left.

[mhays]

Originally Posted by eschaton

An obvious halfway solution is to go full dorm. Don't have the units contain full kitchens, but have a semi-public "kitchen room" off the hallway with a fully tricked-out kitchen. Include some free pots and pans, and have it be the responsibility of the building maintenance company to clean the communal kitchen.

We were getting a lot of these in Seattle five years ago, but the City Council made new ones illegal. This was the "I wouldn't want to live there, so nobody else should be allowed to either" form of nimbyism. It was also a backlash against the poors. (They're still legal for students...it's all ok for them of course.)

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Would you rent an apartment without windows? Would you rent an apartment without finished floors or drywall? How about one with no electricity?

At this rate, pretty soon this is what developers are going to be pushing on us:

[/img]


New construction luxury unit, yours for only $999,999!

LOL!

Within walking distance to a bar!

[emathias]

Only at a substantial discount.

[10023]

Originally Posted by chris08876

As long as a microwave is present, anything is possible. Just eat microwaved food. Problem solved with no kitchen. Use paper plates, throw in trash, take trash out, and get back to your living room apartment with no kitchen, but a bathroom.

Flush any liquids down the toilet. So if your drinking a coke, and have no kitchen sink, and have left over liquid, flush it down the bathroom sink or toilet. Use the bathroom sink to clean dishes.

See... one doesn't need a kitchen!

You and I could not be more different as people.

I don’t even own a microwave, and have no need or desire for one. They are food-ruining machines. You cannot cook in a microwave, you can only reheat things that should not be eaten.

[Sun Belt]

Originally Posted by 10023

You and I could not be more different as people.

I don’t even own a microwave, and have no need or desire for one. They are food-ruining machines. You cannot cook in a microwave, you can only reheat things that should not be eaten.

Regarding a full functioning kitchen: a microwave is definitely part of the whole picture though.

You might disagree, but consumers want/desire microwaves. Good luck selling a property without a microwave. The first thing potential buyers would ask is why is there not a microwave? Why isn't it built in?

[JManc]

Originally Posted by 10023

You and I could not be more different as people.

I don’t even own a microwave, and have no need or desire for one. They are food-ruining machines. You cannot cook in a microwave, you can only reheat things that should not be eaten.

They are perfectly fine for reheating some foods.

[10023]

Originally Posted by JManc

They are perfectly fine for reheating some foods.

Maybe soup. But not necessary.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by 10023

Maybe soup. But not necessary.

Not necessary but convenient for most foods that aren't bread based. I would never nuke a slice of pizza but it's certainly more logical to reheat/ steam some vegetables or sauce for a few minutes than to deal with the stove. Especially if you don't have the gas version.