This 38-person commune shows the lengths millennials will go to live in San Francisco
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A 10-bedroom house in San Francisco's Alamo Square neighborhood might be the city's most affordable, if not strange, rental for the millennial who doesn't mind cramped quarters.
The promotional video for Chateau Ubuntu (yes, there's a promotional video) goes a little something like this: Millennials hold jam sessions in the living room, flip into tidal pools, shop at the farmer's market, and twirl tiki torches around a fire while three dozen of their closest friends watch. It's like MTV "Real World," if the roommates were nice to each other.
The community, founded in 2015, operates out of a French Victorian mansion where some 38 residents eat, sleep, dance, and "realize his or her grandest potential."
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They live by a set of "Burning Man-esque" values that encourage living with intention and finding strength in community. According to the website, the group shares 1,330 hugs a week.
"We're not looking for bodies to fill a room; we're looking for dynamic, authentic, and all-around awesome people," the online application for Chateau Ubuntu reads.
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The 35-question application asks the typical questions — what's your move-in deadline and who's your current landlord — but also, "What does community mean to you?" They ask what traits and skills help make you and the people around you "more awesome."
Chateau Ubuntu posted an ad to Craigslist in June. The vacancy appears to be filled.
Rent starts at $650 for a bunk in a six-person bedroom and reaches $1,050 for a more private spot in a two-person room. All tenants pay an addition $350 monthly membership fee to help cover food, utilities, cleaning, and other community needs, according to the online application.
For comparison, the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the Alamo Square neighborhood sets renters back about $3,695 a month, according to real estate site Trulia.
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San Francisco remains the most expensive rental market in the US. Chateau Ubuntu shows the extremes that young people will go to to live comfortably in this city.
So if "sharing with intention" and making veggie stew from produce rescued from dumpsters is your thing, Chateau Ubuntu might be the home for you.
Watch the promotional video below:
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