Sharing real-estate.

Interesting blog post from Soph over here, and the comments. Amazing that so many people had ALREADY considered sharing a house with another family. I had really never thought of it, even though real estate is one of my favourite topics; I assumed marriage and family would be the one thing to definitely end house-sharing. I reckon it's a great idea and would theoretically love to try it. I have only a casual interest in normality and love novel ideas. But not many people actually do it, actually share a house with another family—we're still held back by our individualism and our wisdom and just what we think is normal—but it's only normal for Australia, when you look at it. Rest of the world lives in bark huts and cardboard slums, but we need our own bedroom and ideally our own bathroom. And the cost of this luxury is isolation and loneliness. I've seen the downs of flat-sharing: 2 out of 6 years have been spent with a flatmate who made me a bit miserable, 2 out of 8 flatmates I have not clicked with. If real estate was cheap, I could have avoided some negative experiences. But I think the relational benefits of flat-sharing are heaps. You don't have to be kindred spirits, you just have to get on, which, yes, does require sacrifice, but basic human interaction is so important. And when you are sick, there is someone to go to the shops for you. So I'd imagine it's not impossible for a family to share a big house with another family, and maybe it'll be the next movement we hear about.