EP # 195 Exploring Alternative Living: Tiny homes and ADUs and more.

Robb (: 00:00

That's funny. Welcome to another show, Don't Get This Twisted. I am Rob, along with my co-host as always, Tina. Tina, how you doing?

Tina (: 00:07

I'm hanging in there, Rob. Yeah. Barely. Barely.

Robb (: 00:08

Yes, that you are. There's Yeah, no shit, right? Aren't we all? You know, I threw a idea for a show towards you today and we're going to have to work on it, but I think it's it was it's going to be called from chaos to calm how to manage life. And I think we're going to have to come up with some things like that. But it's you know, life is chaos. And since we're we're all

Tina (: 00:35

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 00:39

Man, living paycheck to paycheck, living is financially strapped as we can. I had someone a long time ago talk to me about alternative living. like living in a van or living in like a tiny, not an RV, but what are they called?

Tina (: 01:06

tiny house or a converted garage.

Robb (: 01:08

Like a trailer, like those little silver streams, like living in something like that. Or you could hook up to water, living in a garage that's like a converted garage and living in an ADU, which is really cool. since you said it, I don't know what they meant. where are you? does it stand for? Accessory.

Tina (: 01:11

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 01:27

I was wrong.

ADU stands for accessory accessory dwelling unit.

Robb (: 01:35

Okay, that makes sense because it's kind of an accessory to your home because usually they're on a piece of land, right? My old boss, she built two on her property. One for her mother. So she could, you know, she's getting older and she wanted her to stay there. And then one right next to her that is for,

Tina (: 01:50

Hmm.

Robb (: 02:05

The children, if they want to come and stay and hang out and they just want to stay for a night. It's like a little so two little one bedrooms. Those are really bitching, though. I those are homes. Yes, like they're really cool. Like I walked her her place when I went over to visit one time and I was like, I could live here. I met right. I would live there.

Tina (: 02:16

Mm-hmm. Yeah, full kitchen, full bathroom.

Tina (: 02:32

Hmm.

Robb (: 02:35

It was so bitchin' because the way that it was set up was like one long room that was like your living room and a wall and our living room and a wall that was backed up the bedroom and the kitchen was all it was one big open floor plan then you went down the hallway towards the bedroom bedroom was on the left side bathroom was on the right and your stackable laundry was right there. Super bitchin'. It was probably

At best probably 600 square feet but it felt roomy because there was no wall between the kitchen and the living area. So it just seemed very large to me. And the bedroom was probably I'm guessing 11 by 11. So was small like you couldn't put a king in there. You'd probably if you wanted a queen you'd have to stuff it in there. I think she had two fulls in each one.

Tina (: 03:09

Wow.

Tina (: 03:15

Mm-mm. Yeah.

Tina (: 03:34

I think my room here is a 10 by 10 and I have a queen size bed in here and it is, it's tiny. The room is tiny. You have a bigger room for sure.

Robb (: 03:41

Yeah, I have a queen in mind, but I have a big ass room you've you've seen Yeah, you've seen my bedroom coming over here to record the show, but it's it's big But I think my living area isn't I mean, it's a pretty big apartment. It's like 990 square feet pretty big

Tina (: 03:59

Mmm.

Robb (: 04:02

But the way that the rooms are set up actually work. Even my son's room is kind of it's pretty long. It's pretty big. Considering. But. I think going forward, though, and mostly like being a little bit older, I think I don't know if I could live in a van. I think a van is a tad much for me. It's a little too small.

Tina (: 04:11

Nice.

Tina (: 04:22

Yeah, it's a little too much.

Those tiny houses too are really tiny.

Robb (: 04:29

They are, but those are kind of cool too. Only because like, look, mostly if you are bound and determined to just be you and you want to escape. Having a small home, I could live in a 650 square foot home. Yeah. If I was by myself, sure. But, but I'd have to have a little land. It could be me and my dog and I would have no problem at all.

Tina (: 04:47

live permanently? I don't think I could.

Robb (: 04:57

Just come in, do your stuff and have a decent size piece of property to walk around on and hang out on. Sure. Because to me, it's it's literally. It's just. You know, it's a place to sleep. I mean, maybe I mean, I and I say that now because I'm not retired. Maybe if I was retired, I'd want a little bit bigger place because I'm going to be around the house more often like right now.

You know, but it would you know, it's it's a definitely a different kind of life though I can see why people like it because you're you're kind of living Mostly a van and I'm gonna I couldn't do it but I can understand it. You're really just kind of always driving around doing stuff You know what mean and and most of those people have like jobs and then they they get a gym membership for the lowest they can get

Tina (: 05:47

It's true.

Robb (: 05:56

Right? Like 15 bucks a month and that's where they go in the morning, workout, shower for the work day, get dressed and then go to work. It's definitely a... You have to be a different kind of person. You know what I mean? Like you have to have that nomad kind of gypsy way of looking at things.

Tina (: 06:14

Mm-hmm

Robb (: 06:23

To me it would be difficult. You'd have to have a bigger van. Like couldn't imagine sleeping in something small. I'm... I just couldn't. I hadn't slept in a king-size bed in quite a long time. And I stayed over a friend's house and we shared a king-size bed and it was interesting that you feel like you're not next to someone. It's very... Considering I have a queen...

Tina (: 06:30

Mm-mm.

Tina (: 06:48

Yeah.

Roomie.

Robb (: 06:52

I have a queen and I sleep alone every night and I still feel like I have a lot of room because I'm you do but you get in a king-size bed and she was tiny she's a tiny little girl so like I felt like I was like I had like so much real estate it was funny and she she sleeps on the edge no matter what that's just how she sleeps so she she was like this little and I had to like

Tina (: 07:13

That's how I do it too.

Robb (: 07:19

I had all this room and I remember like laying in bed. She was sleeping and I remember like like rolling and looking around like holy crap. I have all this room. It felt like I was in my own bed. So I hadn't slept in a full or twin in quite a long time and I had stayed at a friend's house who had a full. You start feeling like wow I don't have a lot of room.

Tina (: 07:30

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 07:47

No, you definitely don't on a full.

Robb (: 07:49

Yeah, and I haven't slept in a twin bed in forever, but I'm sure you have to sleep in a fetal position to do that, because just to fit right, you know what I mean? So a van, couldn't imagine it. But I'm sure that there's, look, there's no rent, right? So if you're, so if you are working like a lot of those people are, because it's like this nomad thing where you enjoy doing that.

Tina (: 07:56

You

Tina (: 08:00

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 08:08

this true?

Robb (: 08:16

I mean you're literally on the low end probably saving Let's say you wanted to get a room the cheapest rooms where I live are about a grand Maybe a little less maybe 800 bucks the best so you're saving at least 800 and Let's say you wanted a one-bedroom apartment. You're 1700 Every single month so if you did that for a year, I mean you're talking about taking home

Tina (: 08:28

Hmm.

Robb (: 08:45

You know, $12,000. I can see where people could get ahead. Now, it might be difficult if you're younger and dating and you're like, so let's go back to your house, right there, parked in the parking lot. That would be like, yeah, talk about not. Yeah, yeah.

Tina (: 08:50

That's true.

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 09:06

Yeah, I think that would be my first and last time seeing that person

Robb (: 09:13

You'd almost have to explain it if you went on like a coffee date first To get it out of the way and say okay look if you want to hang out cool if you the guy was the guy was Kind of cool. You might be able to work around it But you better be able to say like I'm working towards something like I don't want to be a nomad forever You know you're not living on the street, and it's like if you smell good, and you're

Tina (: 09:19

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 09:34

right?

Robb (: 09:38

and your hair is good and your clothes are you you look like you're trying to to do something I could understand. Right it would be difficult it would it would be hard to to do you'd almost have to go out on a bunch of dates and then you know not go to each other's houses for a little while just to see if you're connecting and then drop it on somebody but even that might be really bad.

Tina (: 09:46

I don't know. don't think I... No. no.

Tina (: 10:03

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 10:07

You're like, just so know, don't have a house, I live in my car. Yeah. I just, I think I could do,

Tina (: 10:08

Yeah, think that, yeah, would be a pass.

Just Yeah, just so you know, I'm not a small person I'm not living in a van with you nor am I gonna be able to live in a tiny house because you won't be able to get past me in it and I don't I Don't know. I don't think I would want to do that

Robb (: 10:35

I could do like a silver stream like one of those, you know, towable... I don't know what they call those. It's not an RV. Camper. Yeah, like a camper. I could probably do a camper without it being horribly bad. Just because, and again, alone. Like those aren't... Those also aren't for living in as a couple, I don't think.

Tina (: 10:45

campers.

Tina (: 11:04

I don't think they're meant to be lived in at all.

Robb (: 11:05

You know? Some are, I mean, you're right, probably not lived in. They're meant to be at a camping ground for a couple of days because they, you know, a lot of those have like water hookups where, you know, it's meant to be lived out of for several days. My dad has an RV, like a real RV, like the ones that, yeah, the ones that cost as much, you know, as a small home.

Tina (: 11:15

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 11:28

and McMansion.

Tina (: 11:32

as a house.

Robb (: 11:34

Yeah, I remember when he told me how much he paid my jaw almost hit the ground I was like you paid how much for this? Yeah, I was what? So But now here's the flip side. He's retired my stepmom's retired They have used the shit out of it. They've been to every lower 50 all of them Yes, and and it's and I think they just got rid of it. They just sold it

Tina (: 11:38

You better what?

Tina (: 11:56

Well, then it makes sense that they had it.

Robb (: 12:03

Because they I mean, they've been gone. A long time that they got it when they lived in California. That had to be I've been here. That had to be like 10 years ago. So 10 years and they got road work and they just started having problems with the extendables on the side. That was it. And and they I the last I heard they were trying to sell it, I don't know if they did or not, but they got work out of it.

Tina (: 12:17

Hmm.

Tina (: 12:24

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 12:33

And so they drove that shit all over and you don't even have to put the sides out if you don't want to because they had a queen size bed in the back. So they, so their bedroom was always there and they could eat, you know, at the small table without extending it out and making it all big. So they didn't have to do that. That I can understand living, but that is, once you decide to do that, you are retired and you're

Tina (: 12:37

Right.

Tina (: 12:41

that make sense?

Tina (: 12:50

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 13:00

Your whole life is like you want to just drive and go on the road and see the world. That would be kind of cool. Yeah. Yeah. And you, and you just want to, know, mostly if you're like, let's say like my dad, they live in South Dakota where the winters are frigging cold. You know, so when you, when you leave in September and you, and you go to

Tina (: 13:04

Mm-hmm, and you don't want to keep all the stuff that everybody keeps that ends up in a bin at the end of your life

Tina (: 13:22

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 13:29

Florida and Texas and Tennessee and New Mexico and Nevada. It's warm. Yeah. And you don't mind going to Nevada when it's 90 because at home it's minus degrees. So I can see where a lot of those people, what do they call the snowbirds, right? They fly for the winter. Which, know, like Palm Springs out in California, that's a

Tina (: 13:35

It's okay.

Tina (: 13:44

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 13:52

for sure.

Robb (: 13:57

Everyone who a lot of the people who own homes and Palm Springs and Palm Desert, they don't live there. That's only that's only their winter home. They come out here because it's, you know, the desert, it's only 50 instead of minus 10. Yeah, fly south for the winter.

Tina (: 14:03

Mm-mm.

Tina (: 14:14

Yeah, and it's definitely true of back east to the northern states like Rhode Island and Connecticut and Massachusetts and up there. They go to Florida for the summer. I mean for the winter, I should say, not the summer because Florida is horrible in the summer.

Robb (: 14:26

Yeah, it's true. Right, they want, well, even up north where they're at is not the greatest. It's just not as hot, but it's humid as all hell. Yeah, when I went back to New York in 88, I remember being on Long Island and I'd just like walk outside and the sweat would roll down you and I was like, holy crap. And.

Tina (: 14:37

Yeah it is. Yeah it is. That was not my favorite to be honest with you.

Robb (: 14:54

Although it was a hot summer that year. We were getting like 85 degrees and like almost 90 % humidity. So it was like, yeah, it was pretty, it was pretty brutal. But I get it. I mean, I can see the lifestyle. I can see people who want to do this alternative living because renting, you're not getting anything, Any kind of break.

Tina (: 15:02

That's horrible. You don't dry off,

Robb (: 15:23

And I even hear owning a home now isn't the greatest anymore. It used to be a amazing tax write-off. Like really nice one, not so much anymore. It's like all the people, close friends that I've talked to, even they were like, yeah, it's nice, but it's not what it used to be. Even getting married now isn't what it used to be. It's almost a deterrent. You get married and you get hammered on taxes instead of the old days when they were like,

Tina (: 15:32

Not so much.

Robb (: 15:52

getting married was great. The first year I got married, I just heard it's not, it's getting a little worse. It's still a perk, but it's not like when I got married in, what was that, 2000? 2000? We owned a home and got married and we got like a huge return, like a really nice return.

Tina (: 15:55

So that's getting worse, actually.

Robb (: 16:19

But we both claimed zero. Like we did everything you were supposed to do, you know, taxes-wise, but we ended up getting a bunch. And then we had a kid, so we got another thousand. And the girls were both under 18, so we got a thousand for each of them. So, yeah, like the first three years were bitchin'. Because the boy got us a thousand, and my oldest...

Tina (: 16:35

Nice.

Robb (: 16:46

you know, didn't turn 18 until then. So yeah, it was like, we got 3000 every year for that and then tons of tax write-offs. So it's definitely an interesting thing. I can see why people like to do it. The ADU is bitchin'. I think if I could go to somebody who maybe had ADUs on their property and rent those, not renting a room in the house, but actually renting one of those, I think it's definitely something that I could do.

Because you feel like you're in your own home, you know what I mean? Like you can still play the music loud because the people who own it aren't you're not gonna hear anything. It's more of a home with without being atrocious like with a joining wall.

Tina (: 17:31

Mm-hmm Yeah, see I don't know what it's like to live in places like that cuz when I was a baby my parents lived in an apartment, but I was Shoot I think I was two or three when we moved into our first house and that one had a guest house on the back So it was a huge situation in Sherwood forest in Northridge

Robb (: 17:37

And you guys didn't and you guys also had the the house in the back

Tina (: 18:00

Yeah, we did my uncle and my dad used their gi bills to get that first house after they got out of vietnam So they put them together. They were able to get this huge house with a huge lot and And my uncle lived in the back house in the guest house and we lived in the front and it was cool Yeah, and then and then they raised the property taxes like

Robb (: 18:18

That's so cool. That is bitchin'.

Robb (: 18:24

wow.

Tina (: 18:25

Astronomically, it was like 50 % or 100%. It was something major. They just double taxes is what they did and and my dad and my uncle were scraping by to make payments already so they couldn't afford it and had to sell it and then one of my mom's friends mothers bought the house in The 80s and it was over a million dollars

So it was, was, my dad was kind of pissed. He's like, shit, too bad we couldn't have held on. You know, we would have made a killing, but we moved in here and into the house that I'm at now. And, and, my dad's lived there ever since. So that's been 49 years.

Robb (: 18:57

Yeah. And you've never left. That's that in itself is is big. I mean, you never left because you moved in there like. No, no, no. But what I mean by yes, but by proxy.

Tina (: 19:08

He never left. Yeah. Yeah. Well no, I was gone for 22 years. I lived in...

Robb (: 19:21

By family. You know, yes. You know, I'm yeah. agree. A lot of people. Well, here's the bigger problem mostly in California is. Properties become.

Tina (: 19:22

Yeah, by family we're still here.

Tina (: 19:27

I don't believe there's a lot of original owners or actually there's no original owners. I think we were the younger ones for the next phase. I don't think there's very many of us left.

Robb (: 19:50

If you buy them cheap, when you decide to move, you make a killing. My dad bought a house in Santa Clarita, in a good part of Santa Clarita, like way up in the hills. I forgot what year it was. Let's see, it had to be, it was in the 90s. Maybe mid 90s, mid 90s, let's say. I want to say he bought it for like 260,000.

Tina (: 20:17

which was nothing.

Robb (: 20:19

Which was decent then, you know, in the mid 90s. It was like, it was a, you know, it was a good house and it was in a decent area and it was a good price. When they left, they sold it for almost 900. And, and it was paid. No, they were in it 20, 20 something years. They paid it off. So when they left, it was paid off.

Tina (: 20:36

Wow. How long were they in it? Like 10 years, you said?

Tina (: 20:42

Okay

Wow.

Robb (: 20:47

On top of it. So like it was they made a killing and then they moved to South Dakota and bought their house outright and still had money to put in the bank because a house in South Dakota was like 250,000 and it was exactly what they wanted and it was brand new. They bought a brand new house as well. So when they moved in, it was everything that they wanted, they picked out. So pretty yeah, pretty cool.

Tina (: 21:05

Wow.

Tina (: 21:14

Nice.

Robb (: 21:16

So I understand why there's not a lot of owners here anymore because it's too easy to make a killing when if you've bought something that's old. Like that house where you're at. That house in the San Fernando Valley, I bet you it would be close to 900,000. And I'm sure he doesn't know 900,000 on it. So look at it that way.

Tina (: 21:28

That's true.

Tina (: 21:37

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 21:43

no. Not even close. But he paid it off and then got another.

Robb (: 21:46

Yeah, not even. Yeah, exactly, got another loan against it. But I mean, even so, so as as we move forward, I think you're going to see a lot of people building ADUs on property. Yeah, and it. on the on the other side of.

Tina (: 22:04

for sure that's happening here like crazy there's a house that's right across the street from the high school that we used to go to it was one house on one lot on Woodley where the where the football field is and they build on where one house stood there are now five units

Robb (: 22:17

Mm-hmm. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Wow. So someone owns that property and is renting those out, I'm sure.

Tina (: 22:34

Five different ways, yeah.

Robb (: 22:37

Man, they're making a killing. Man. Really? Holy moly. Yeah, I mean, they're nice. I'm telling you, the ones that my...

Tina (: 22:39

And across the street, it was a single unit dwelling. I grew up in that house with the kids that grew up in that house. And they put three units on one.

and I think two are in the same house.

Yeah.

Robb (: 23:05

Old boss built they're beautiful. I mean they're and again, they're brand new But I mean it had everything that you would think I don't think she put granite tops in it, but but a nice Kitchen top, know what I mean? It was it wasn't like apartment quality, but it wasn't granite It was that nice in between And she put a full-size refrigerator full-size stove like

Tina (: 23:12

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 23:27

right?

Robb (: 23:34

It wasn't like you were living in a box. It had all the amenities that you needed. the one and she and she did something that was really cool that I liked. She put a back door. So you could walk out the back door to like a small piece of concrete, like a walkway, and then there was bushes there. So let's say you had an animal. You could go out your back door, walk your animal and then walk right back in. It was very.

Tina (: 23:40

That's cool.

Tina (: 23:47

nice.

Tina (: 23:54

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 24:03

I love the setup. So it wasn't, you know, if you didn't have to walk out the front door to get air, you could walk out your back door and not bother anybody, not be seen. Yeah, like you could you probably could have put a nice little small table with some chairs right outside the back door. There was that much concrete. Yeah, like a small I'm talking like maybe like a drink table, you know, maybe like, you know, 25, 24 by 24 table with two chairs.

Tina (: 24:14

That's really cool.

Tina (: 24:23

Really?

Robb (: 24:33

Easily, there's enough concrete and it was behind both adu. So it was one stretch of concrete It was really nice. She did they did a yeah, they did a great job So I think that I think you're gonna see a lot of people trying to build that I have another friend who has a pool That costs and they love their pool But she even said that she told her mom we should just bury the pool and build an adu

Tina (: 24:38

Wow, that's cool.

Tina (: 25:00

Yes, that was that was what we talked about, but I like the pool.

Robb (: 25:05

Yeah, I mean, so does she, but, you know, I mean, at the end of the day, what's gonna be, you know, at some point, what's going to be more useful? I mean, I guess, I guess if the person who lives in the ADU is paying rent and paying in, you're saving, you know,

Tina (: 25:18

The pool.

Robb (: 25:29

$1,500 bucks a month or $1,000 a month, even if it's family and you give them to them for a thousand bucks a month. I mean, profiting $12,000 a year on top of what you're making is going to change everything in your life. Yeah. So I think it's kind of cool. I understand why people want to do it. I think it's difficult.

Tina (: 25:44

little bit.

Tina (: 25:54

I think because of the economy and everything, that's where we're headed, because people can't live alone in a house by themselves on one income.

Robb (: 26:03

Income. Yeah, for sure. I mean, it's hard. It's hard for me. I do all right. My rent just went up again. It's twenty three hundred bucks a month. Now I have my son that lives here who's now older and he's helping, but.

Tina (: 26:07

or the majority can't.

Tina (: 26:18

That's crazy.

Robb (: 26:23

I'm also trying not to rape him either like he needs to help me, but I don't want to Undercut him so he makes no money at work. Like that's not fair. I don't think But Yeah, I want him to do both like make some money and have some you know and put it away But you do have to help. I mean nothing's free I think you're right though. I think the future is a lot of people

Tina (: 26:32

Yeah, I guess you want him to want to work.

Tina (: 26:43

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 26:50

A lot of older people like us are going to be living in smaller dwellings if you don't have a home Hmm Yeah, could for sure I mean

Tina (: 26:57

or living in with multiple people in it. I was talking the other day I said, Tim what are we going to do when we get older? And one of my friends said we're going to do a revamp on the Golden Girls because we'll have to live together. And I thought about that. like, she's not lying. It could be that way.

Robb (: 27:20

I like the idea of communal living. Like a big piece of land with a bunch of ADUs that it's just communal. it's you know, it's a community. Everyone lives in the same piece of land and, you know, not right on top of each other, but enough that you can kind of have your own little backyard. And I could totally do that. And it's no, I think a lot of people are like, oh, but you know, what if you don't like somebody? There's people I don't like where I live now.

Tina (: 27:25

Hmm.

Robb (: 27:48

You know what I mean? Like, it's not gonna change. You're always gonna be around somebody you might not like. It's just gonna happen. Even in your family, shit, there's people that in your family you don't wanna see. Yeah, I mean, it's common, you know, or people who don't get along and don't talk anymore, or, and then through other things happen. it's...

Tina (: 27:49

Hmm

Tina (: 27:55

Very true.

Tina (: 28:01

I'm telling you I have those days.

Tina (: 28:06

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 28:16

I mean, I don't want to live out of my car. I don't want to live out of a van. And I wouldn't do it, you know, but I think a smaller dwelling for me later on in life, I could totally understand and I could totally be down with it. I could probably live out of. You know, if you downsize everything is like, let's say my son moves and leaves on. I could live in a one bedroom apartment because I don't need a lot.

Tina (: 28:19

No.

Tina (: 28:29

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 28:45

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 28:46

Like my bedroom, my bedroom now is a bed, two little side tables and my insanely huge computer rig, podcasting station. It's huge. It's massive. but I could put that in the living room and be okay with it. Like it doesn't need to be in any certain place. It's just in the bedroom here. so that I could totally do and

Tina (: 28:57

Yeah, it's pretty large.

Tina (: 29:04

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 29:14

If my rent didn't really go up a lot, let's say my son left, I would put this huge massive rig in that other room and just use it as a secondary thing. That would be the only hard part is like the luxuries that we're used to, I couldn't imagine being on the road and not having. I couldn't imagine not having internet or a laptop or a computer station that

Tina (: 29:27

A true office.

Tina (: 29:36

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 29:44

I wanted to just log on and do my shit. I couldn't imagine having to like find a Starbucks or find some kind of Wi-Fi that that has to be a very difficult part of that. You know what I mean? You're you're spending a lot of time in places that have free Wi-Fi. Having to buy a coffee because they know they won't let just hang out there. Yeah, and I well.

Tina (: 29:58

Absolutely.

Tina (: 30:01

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 30:08

I don't even drink coffee that wouldn't work for me.

Robb (: 30:13

No, but you could probably go get like a, you know, they have like, you would probably have to, yes, you'd have to pay whatever the extra is to make a hotspot on your phone. And I'm sure that that's how they all live, right? But like, but at some point you have to power your laptop, battery doesn't last forever. You got to charge your telephone. You know, the necessities that we live with

Tina (: 30:15

I don't know, probably be easier to just make a hotspot on your phone. You use it that way.

Tina (: 30:29

for sure.

Robb (: 30:42

that we totally take for granted, it's kind of funny. Because we do, like, when my phone gets down low, say, oh, fuck it. Plug it in and go to work. Like, I'm not worried about my phone not being charged at the end of the day. yeah. And that's what people do. what you, you know, I've been to fast food joints.

Tina (: 30:54

Mm-hmm.

Right. Because you could plug it in pretty much anywhere.

Robb (: 31:08

And it's generally younger people, but it's wild to see somebody in the McDonald's. They're nursing a Coke because they had to buy something and they had their, their, plug is like way up on the wall and they have a phone plugged into that trying to, trying to get their, their, you know, stuff charged and they're not even homeless. That's just somebody who wants their phone charged. Somebody who lives out of a car. guess you probably there's ways of getting around it, obviously.

Tina (: 31:22

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 31:29

Right?

Tina (: 31:36

Those little battery packs that you just stick right on the back of your phone really do work too. And then when you're at the gym or wherever you're at, just plug it in right here at work. Let's plug it all in.

Robb (: 31:39

Yeah. Yeah, that's what I think that's how most of the people probably live. Right. They go to work and everything that they need to charge, like there's like eight things plugged in at work and they're like, got to steal some, got to do that while I'm here because I need power. I think it's an interesting thing going forward. I think you're going to see more people well after we're gone.

Tina (: 31:47

I'm sure.

Tina (: 31:59

right?

Robb (: 32:07

Definitely living alternate lifestyles. Younger people don't even want to buy homes because they feel trapped. I saw, I want to say it was an article or I heard it on another podcast, but that's like the biggest thing. And the reason is, what if I want to leave? What if I want to get a new job? What if I just want to pack up and go? And it's like, we were never raised like that. We were raised to

Tina (: 32:15

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 32:28

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 32:35

No.

Robb (: 32:37

And to buy a home. Yeah, more, everything was about planting seeds, you know, well, and that not worrying about picking up your life and leaving. Picking up your life and leaving was like life altering. You know.

Tina (: 32:38

Get your, get your, get your, graduate from high school, get your diploma, get to work, to get a job, to get married, to have kids, and to buy a home.

Tina (: 32:56

survival.

Tina (: 33:02

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 33:06

I was offered a job and you know across the country do I want to take it? Now people are like I don't want to be here anymore. I'm just going to pack up all my shit and live out of my car in another state until I can find a job and then get a new apartment. Or rent a room somewhere. It's like. And look, I've done it. I've I've rented rooms. Thankfully I rented rooms from people I knew.

Tina (: 33:11

Yeah.

Tina (: 33:21

Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 33:33

There was a person down the street from me that needed a roommate at one point and I told her I could totally move in with her. It would be easy. We got along. We had a good relationship with each other. I could do it. I also lived with somebody for eight years, but I knew her well. And even knowing her well, there was rough days, right? I think if I was ever going to live with somebody again, I'd go with the format I've always done.

Tina (: 33:34

Yeah.

Tina (: 33:51

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 33:54

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 34:02

I've always lived with girls. And for some reason it works for me. Yeah, mean, yeah, I've only lived with one at a time. You know, lived with my friend who lives in North Carolina. I lived with her in my early 20s. Probably my best roommate ever. We had such a great time.

Tina (: 34:05

Yeah.

Tina (: 34:09

I don't know if I'd want to live with a bunch of girls. I think I could do better with guys.

Tina (: 34:17

Yeah.

Tina (: 34:23

Hmm.

Tina (: 34:29

Nice.

Robb (: 34:32

There was There was nothing romantic Which made it very easy from at least for me. She always had a crush on me and Years later told me even when we lived together. It was very hard for her Yeah, so which is you know look I mean I wouldn't say that I didn't I didn't I just knew not to push the button because I didn't want to ruin a great living arrangement

Tina (: 34:39

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 34:47

Aww.

Robb (: 35:00

I'm sure I could have walked into it anytime and said, you want to have sex? there would have been no blinking. It would have just been on. But on the flip side of that, we had a great friendship that was just so easy to live with. So I do kind of believe it's either we're going to live alternative styles, like we're talking about these small, tiny things, or you are right, we're all going to live with friends.

Tina (: 35:00

I get that.

Tina (: 35:10

Damn.

Robb (: 35:30

that we know even in the worst times, even when we're having a shitty day, you know, you can survive with them. And there's I have a very small group of people I could do that with. I couldn't even do it with my best friend. I lived with him for a little while. I almost killed him. We were we were I mean, we were very young. was we were 20, 21 and we were sitting at a kitchen table.

Tina (: 35:39

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 35:49

Hmm.

Robb (: 35:59

And at the time, he had some friends over and they were all drinking and he drank a lot that day. And he started saying things out loud that only me and him knew about. And I had to, I literally had to lean over the table and tell him like, you need to shut up now or I'm going to throw you down the staircase. Because we lived on the second floor. Yeah, we lived on the second floor. And his friend that was there visiting was very big, like much bigger than me.

Tina (: 36:19

No way.

Robb (: 36:27

And I had to look at him and go don't stand up He's got a big mouth. I'm gonna shut it and Said well, you know, what's it gonna be and he didn't say anything and I went to bed and we were fine the next day, but It's diff living with dudes is difficult because there's there is alpha mentality and there is and I think that's what you're talking about like living with a girl it would it'd be difficult because You're very much the same when it comes to

Tina (: 36:33

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 36:57

hierarchies and that kind of thing. where with a woman, every time I've lived with a woman, it was great because I still got leaned on like I was the protector provider. Right? I, you know, I fixed everything in the house. I made sure that everything was good at night. I made sure everything was locked up. The whole, the whole thing of the man part.

Tina (: 37:14

Yeah.

Tina (: 37:24

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 37:25

Just without the relationship. So it was always like really good And and like I said, i've done it twice For long periods of time like the one with my friend in North Carolina. I think I lived with her three years And then my friend and cam Almost nine Yeah

Tina (: 37:45

Wow See I went from my family house, which always had people Staying with me and and it's funny because people go how do you put up with that? I'm like, it's been my whole life Our house was the house everybody came to if they didn't have a place to live or if they needed a parent or if they needed Protection or if they needed a roof over head so my ex and I at one point we had Counted that there was at least

30 people in my lifetime that lived in our house with us. So we had to learn to share. And I think the number is higher than 30. That's a conservative number, to be honest with you, because at 30, I said, I don't want to think about this anymore. So it took us a couple days to get that list together. And then have it verified with my dad, because he's like, yeah, they were there too. Yep. Oh, shit. Remember when they lived here? You know, was one of those things. So

Robb (: 38:16

Tina (38:41.561)

We never had, I always had to share. Everybody thinks that we had this perfect life where my brother had his own things and I had my own things and mom and dad were cool and everything was fine, but we always had people we had to share with. Or I slept on the couches many times because somebody had to live here and needed a bedroom and, you know, just some bullshit. So, and then when I lived with my ex...

Robb (: 38:51

Right.

Yeah.

Tina (: 39:06

You know, then it was I had to share with him and learn how to make that work and that was not easy. I remember having some really big fuck you matches together and then my daughter came and you know, she wasn't I didn't give birth to her. She's she was adopted. So she came with all of her own issues and all of her family and all of the drama that you know came with being a foster parent and then being adopted and all the social workers and the therapies and

You know, so it was really hard to live with the two of them. Not that I didn't love it, I did, but it was a lot. It was a lot to take all that on and not even, I didn't even know what I was doing to be honest with you.

Robb (: 39:41

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 39:52

Yeah, it's I get it when you because okay when I was got with my ex-wife You know she moved in with me four months later with two kids And then not too long after that my mother-in-law moved in Actually, she was great. I can't

Tina (: 40:03

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 40:08

Robb (40:11.366)

I would love to bitch about that, but I can't. I can't, nah. She cooked, she was always doing something, she watched the girls when we wanted to do something. I can't even complain about my ex-mother-in-law. Not even a, nah. Yeah, I'm lucky when it comes to that. But I get it, that's why getting into a relationship with people is difficult. Because once you decide to meld that together,

Tina (: 40:14

Bet you can't. That's funny.

Tina (: 40:25

I

Tina (: 40:38

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 40:41

you're you're you're taking what you take for granted at home and now have to put it in someone else's lifestyle and and heaven forbid you're moving into their home not getting a home together not getting an apartment together so you move into their home and then it's like okay I'm I'm more of a I'm mold really easy so like for me the first thing I would do is is

Tina (: 40:54

Mm-hmm. Yes.

Robb (: 41:09

look around and see what they're they do and just change. I just find it easier on myself. There's less headache and less fighting. Now, I think you still have to stand up for things that you believe in. But you have you do have to understand that it it's still someone else's home, even though you're trying to make it a relationship home. That's just

Tina (: 41:15

Yeah.

Tina (: 41:23

For sure.

Tina (: 41:35

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 41:37

The bigger thing is don't throw it in people's faces. You can't go, this is my house, know. Like, okay. Because you hear that enough and you make it their house forever and you leave. So, you you end up living in your van because communal, you know, you don't want to do that no more and your alternative lifestyle living is easier. You know, I'd rather live in my car than get bitched at every day. So, but I get it. I think, I think all of us, you know,

Tina (: 41:42

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 41:47

Yeah.

Tina (: 41:54

Yeah.

Robb (: 42:07

have been in whatever dire straits. You know, when I moved back from Vegas, my son lived with his mom for a month or two. I lived with my best friend for 30 days. Awesome. was best 30 days ever. watched tons of television, had lots of tacos, and drank a lot of booze. It was great. Out of the 30 days, I was probably under the influence, probably 25 of them.

Tina (: 42:19

You

Tina (: 42:28

Nice.

Tina (: 42:35

on Jesus.

Robb (: 42:36

Yeah, we drank a lot. And then after that I lived with my dad for 30 days, which is great. I mended fences. I realized I grew up a lot in life. And then after that I went to live with my friend in Camarilla. It was awesome. But I understand that we are going to keep melding and molding as we go. I don't want to live in a car, but I could live...

definitely live a alternate, it doesn't have to be an apartment. I don't think I could rent a bedroom from someone I didn't know. Yeah, and a lot of places that you rent, do. It's just, you end up, if I didn't know somebody, you end up living in your bedroom way too much.

Tina (: 43:14

No, because you need you need to use a kitchen and you just need to

Tina (: 43:31

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 43:32

And that's also not healthy or what you end up doing is never being at home until it's time to sleep That's right And I will tell you like, you know when I moved in with my friend in Camarillo, I didn't know her well I knew her, you know, we had spent a bunch of time together like she modeled So I was always like taking pictures of her and her friends and a bunch of other things. So we had a decent relationship

Tina (: 43:39

Yeah, and that's not healthy either. You need a place to decompress.

Robb (: 44:01

But even in the beginning, it was rough. Like it was difficult to understand somebody new and understand how they work. And so in the beginning, yeah, and I spent a lot of time in my bedroom where I think now I wouldn't do that. If I ended up staying with a friend of mine, like let's say we ended up renting a room or whatever.

Tina (: 44:11

What triggers them?

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 44:28

I would make I would do my best to really be in the social part of the house I would always try to talk to somebody and then I would hope that those people would go Hey, I'm kind of having a bad day or you know, I'm not really not in the mood cool Then you go to your room because if like you said you have to Being in your room all the time is not healthy And when I moved here You know when me and my son I hadn't had an apartment by myself in quite a long time

Tina (: 44:33

yeah.

Tina (: 44:42

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 44:49

It's not.

Robb (: 44:57

I mean years, years and years. Like at least nine, because I lived in Vegas, had my own apartment. I remember moving in here and the first night, I remember sitting on my couch in my underwear. It just underwear and a t-shirt. And I remember like letting out the biggest sigh ever. And it was just like, okay. And not that I was worried because I had made a good deal on money to come out here.

Tina (: 45:15

Yeah.

Robb (: 45:24

But I was still, you know, I was still worried, but not ultra worried. Like, okay, now it's time to be, you know, I'm spending more money. I have to make sure I do this. I make sure I have to do that. So, you know, going forward, I think I could live with somebody. Definitely. I could live with a romantic person easily because I think that that's much easier to do. Molding wise. But I think.

I think a lot of people of the millennial generation and probably Gen Z, is that what my son is? Yeah, Gen Z. They're going to have these alternate living arrangements. I think you're gonna see a lot of people living with roommates for a longer period of time. Because like our generation would always move out.

Tina (: 46:21

Yeah.

Robb (: 46:23

have a couple roommates and then bail. You know what I mean? I think you're gonna see people living together for five years to kind of get ahead to get a stockpile of money so they can go out and venture on their own. Or they're just gonna stay in that kind of communal living because like they're all gamers and they can, they dig it. And they, know, yeah. And the living room is generally empty.

Tina (: 46:25

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 46:45

They don't talk to each other anyway, so...

Yeah.

Robb (: 46:50

You know people meet eat and then go back to their rooms and you'll never hear from them ever again Yeah, it's it's very interesting. I just think that things Things have just changed so quickly With you know people doing this kind of lifestyle. I followed this one guy I want to say he was irish See he was irish this fool lives out in the forest

Tina (: 46:54

So.

Robb (: 47:18

in a van. And he does, he has a YouTube channel. And he talks about like things that you should do and how he enjoys being free and out in the land and you know, he still goes into town and he's and he's making money off his YouTube. So that's how he survives. But he goes, yeah. So, and so it's interesting, like he'll be,

Tina (: 47:39

Seriously?

I couldn't do that.

Robb (: 47:47

He'll be bathing in like the river like in the summertime. Just hanging out him and his friends. They build hammocks on the trees on the forest. It's really cool. But in my head, I'm like, no, I mean, I love camping. I don't love camping that much. No, but he something that I found very interesting with that kind of lifestyle.

Tina (: 47:56

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 48:05

But doing it forever is not fun.

Robb (: 48:15

is that it's very, very zenny, right? This guy's just like, you don't understand when you're out here by yourself how your, all your worries kind of disappear. And I can understand that part. I mean, I couldn't, you know, we live in cities where there's so much light pollution, you can't even see the stars anymore. And I was watching some program and it was,

Tina (: 48:21

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 48:38

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 48:43

these guys who lived out in a cut in the country But they had a city but they where they live they drove like 25 minutes there was no lights and and he's sitting there with his phone and he's looking at the stars and It was very like I was like, that must be so nice that like you can have both because it's very difficult in Southern, California to find a place where There's not so much light pollution that you can actually see the stars at night

Every blue moon where I live, I drive north up towards where the mountain is, there's not a lot of light pollution up there and you can look a certain direction and see the stars. But it must be nice to live in a place where every night there's a starry sky. That would be cool. I don't know. I think my future is in the country somewhere.

Tina (: 49:32

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 49:38

Outside of town there still has to be a town. I still need to still need to be able to like Go into Walmart and go in and get you know if I want a pizza I want to be able to drive into town and get a pizza and come back home but I think living outside of a Town in a country atmosphere is probably my future somewhere I can just go and Have a couple of dogs and be left alone

Tina (: 49:49

Yeah.

Tina (: 50:05

hear you. I'm not with you, but I hear you.

Robb (: 50:08

Yeah, no, no, I get you. I don't think that's for everybody either. I really don't. That is not for everybody. And I'll tell you, 10 years ago, I would have told you it wasn't for me. But I think visiting North Carolina gave me this jumpstart of like, okay, maybe I could live somewhere else forever.

Tina (: 50:11

No, it's not.

Tina (: 50:19

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 50:28

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 50:31

And it might not be North Carolina because I had never been there in the summertime and I heard it's hot as balls but but I heard all the south is so and But here's the cool thing about Anywhere other than Southern, California as you go east you really do get four seasons You get a spring and you get a fall and you get a winter and you get a summer and the summer really is only three months You know and after three months it goes away

Tina (: 50:35

Yeah, forget that place. Right? Well, it's hot here too.

Tina (: 50:51

Mm-hmm.

Robb (: 51:00

Unlike here where it starts in late May and ends in October. So it's just different. I don't know. I definitely see the world changing for the best and at least for that kind of style. Not for me, at least not right now, but I definitely think that's going to be the future of a lot of human beings. They're just, Yeah.

Tina (: 51:24

Yeah, it's going to have to be. We're getting too many people in these areas. There's nowhere to go but up.

Robb (: 51:31

That's what the other thing I think you're gonna start seeing is high rise apartments.

Tina (: 51:38

In in In the valley where the San Andreas Fault goes right through that's not a smart idea But if it happens it happens. I mean I won't live there. I would never live there I'll live in a van before I'd live in a skyrise being that We grew up in LA

Robb (: 51:57

I don't think that I've ever seen Actually been in I know there's some down in LA like as you drive in there's like ones that are like 10 stories I Think the biggest apartment I've ever seen is four stories. I've never been in an apartment bigger than four Which is about right? It's it's different. It's weird being on the fourth floor and looking out is weird is most of

Tina (: 52:07

Mm-hmm.

Tina (: 52:14

Yeah, I still don't want to do that.

Tina (: 52:22

Well.

Robb (: 52:23

Most are two Yeah, yeah Even in office buildings I did some alarm work in an office building in Oxnard and I remember I have a picture on my phone still and it was I was on the 14th floor and I had my head I took a picture and I sent it to somebody I said do you think you'd even feel it if you hit the ground?

Tina (: 52:25

Seeing the apartments in Northridge that were stack three high go down to the parking area underneath made me not want to live in places like that.

Tina (: 52:51

Mm.

Robb (: 52:52

And you probably wouldn't. It would be over so quickly. But 14 stories is high. like in New York, people live on like the 30th floor. That's... No, but you're so high up. Like to me, I don't, I just don't think I could live that high. It's like your perspective of the world is just so weird. Like you wake up in the morning and go to the window and it's like, you can see all of the city. You know, where...

Tina (: 53:00

Yeah. Well, they're not right on a fault line either, though.

Tina (: 53:15

totally.

Robb (: 53:22

I don't know, but to me it would just be weird. Obviously living in Southern California where we don't have big things like that. You know, there's I know there's some off the 405 going into LA. There's a couple of like near sunset. There's some high apartment buildings, but there's not many. There are definitely not a lot here. Very interesting. All right, girl. Any last words of not living in a truck?

Tina (: 53:35

Yeah, bigger.

Tina (: 53:40

Mm-mm.

Yep.

Tina (: 53:48

No, I don't have anything for you today. It's been... fuck. Life is not easy, and I don't know, I'm just glad to be here. But yeah, I don't have any real opinions on that today. Live where you gotta live, I guess.

Robb (: 53:51

It's been a day. You just want to fix your house. It's. Yeah, do what you got to do to make yourself happy. It's already hard enough. Just is. And it's an opinion show. Don't get it twisted. Keep coming back every Wednesday. You can check us out on every place you can ever find podcasting. You can find us on Instagram.

Tina (: 54:07

Yeah, please.

Robb (: 54:18

Facebook. Somewhere else. I don't know X. And I go there there'll be a link on how to listen to the show and share it with everybody. It's been really nice lately. And besides that, that's about all. I'm Rob. That's Tina. We'll see you in week. Bye.

Tina (: 54:40

See ya.