[quote=UCGal]And in the 1930’s a lot of people with large houses rented out rooms in them for income.
I just spent the weekend reading my grandmother’s diary from 1931-1933. It has her moving from a boarding house room, to a 3 room flat that was the top floor of a house (the owners lived downstairs). Jobs were tight, my grandfather was on the road for work much of the time…
It had a deja vu feeling to it. Mind you, my grandparents were both college educated and came from upper middle class to wealthy backgrounds.
If you don’t have enough income – you rent out rooms. If you don’t have enough income, you downsize your living accomodations.
I did a google map/street view of the places she rented – most are back to single family residences. But during the depression – they were boarding houses.[/quote]
Great story, UCGal. Must be awesome to have your grandmother’s diary from that era. There is nothing better than to learn about history by reading/hearing directly from the people who lived through it.
Personally, I like the idea of living with multiple generations, if the houses are designed for it. We’d like to do that ourselves.