Thanks for writing this up. There were good, specific bits of advice in here I hadn't thought of (and I've had lots of roommates).

(Though I do think no matter how common your interests are, the most important part of sharing living space is stuff like respecting other people's moods and stuff, etc)

So, that's it, I'm inspired. I want to start a Hacker House in Portland, OR. Though I'm a computer person, other people's hacking would not be limited to code. I'd also welcome bike hackers, materials hackers, etc.

Dudes and dudettes (i'm a girl, both boys + girls welcome) in the area should hit me up to talk/wiki-ify any thoughts you have. Am thinking of starting this late summer-ish.

Email within two clicks of my profile here.

This is something that's interested me ever since I heard about the first Hacker Houses here on HN, and it's great to hear some details about how it worked out. I'd love to get a bunch of folks together in one place and let the ideas flow, especially if there was some hardware involved. Kind of a modern-day mad scientists' laboratory, if you will...

EDIT: and if anyone else in Wellington NZ thinks the same way, take a look at my profile and get in touch. :)

Another tip: get a cleaning lady. 5+ guys in a house can get messy quick. :-)

If you are interested in this, you may also enjoy this presentation on "hacker space design patterns": http://events.ccc.de/congress/2007/Fahrplan/events/2133.en.h...

These design patterns proved helpful when setting up Noisebridge, a hacker space in San Francisco.

This was actually what first inspired us to make the hacker house in Charlottesville. Thanks for the link!

Your formula for sharing rooms doesn't seem to scale well to many room-sharers. How about:

P = (houserent * 0.5)/numpeople + (houserent * 0.5 * a)/numrooms

Where a=0.5 if you're sharing a room, else a=1. This basically assumes that half your rent is going towards the common areas & utilities and the other half is going towards the room.

Anyone interested in starting a HH in the Cambridge/ Boston area? If so, ping me!

Anyone else besides me pass the first two tests? Pretty awesome way to attract a group of nerds, if you ask me. (going to work on the third at home).

What counts as a commitment? Just a verbal agreement or contract / down payment? Seems like people backing out would be an early concern.

I imagine the standard leasing procedures would apply - that is, safety deposit + contract.

check out the current pa hh rates ;)

Perhaps, but we have women here.