Instant Alert: This man built a bedroom 'pod' because San Francisco housing was too expensive

MANAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS   |   UNSUBSCRIBE   |   VIEW ONLINE   This man built a bedroom 'pod' because San Francisco housing was too expensive by Jillian D'Onfro on Mar 27, 2016, 8:39 PM As home and apartment prices in San Francisco have skyrocketed, finding an affordable place to live isn't easy.   That's why 25-year-old illustrator Peter Berkowitz decided to get a little creative with his living situation, by constructing a 8x3.5x4.5' "bedroom pod" that costs about $500 to live in per month.  He originally planned to split a two-bedroom apartment with a friend, but quickly realized that, price-wise, he couldn't make it work.  "I was far too optimistic at first that we could find a place that wouldn't cost a fortune," Berkowitz tells Business Insider. "It didn't take long to realize that that wasn't a feasible plan though." That's when Berkowitz decided that he'd construct a pod so that he and his friend could split a one-bedroom instead. "Two people looking for a one bedroom apartment makes the city a lot less scary to look for apartments," he says.   Although he didn't end up living with that friend, he did move ahead with his pod plan in the living room of another apartment Take a peek inside Berkowitz's interesting digs: SEE ALSO: Is your iPhone acting weird after the latest update? You're not the only one Here's how Berkowitz's pod looks like from the outside. About three weeks ago he enlisted a few friends who were handy with power tools to help him construct it: When we talked to him, he said that he was working on putting cork board on the outside to help make it more sound-proof.  All told, it cost $1300 to build. Add that to the $400 a month in rent he pays to live in an apartment near San Francisco's Ocean Beach, and he's out about $508 a month. Not bad considering the median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco is $3,460 a month, according to the most recent analysis by real estate marketplace Zumper.  He already has a fan, but he wants to add extra ventilation to make sure it never gets stuffy. See the rest of the story at Business Insider   Share the latest business news with your network: Email sent to:   |   Manage your email preferences   |   Unsubscribe Terms of Service   |   Privacy Policy Business Insider. 150 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011