If it was done as a worker's co-op it should be possible to use the idea to avoid the worst apsects of capitalist immmiseration through group cost savings. Living with a group of politically like minded people seems attractive. Allowing comrades you live with to hold you accountable for your organizing, lifestyle and productivity would probably be a positive thing for everyone here tbh. Am guilty. A lot more theory would be read in general lol.
I mean, it's probably better suited to single people that would be willing to relocate, but it seems surprising that it's not a bigger thing, especially with the cost of accomodation.
Got this fantasy of a derelict office block at the end of a cycle path, say 40mins cycle from a city to get the cheaper real estate, converted for communal living.
endgame is when you buy the hull of a decommissioned oil and gas floatel, stick a propeller and support truss under it, fill the pillars and underwater hull with some kind of solid waterproof foam (closed-cell polyurethane? idk) so you no longer have to worry about ballast pumps (i'm not an engineer, but i figure constant buoyancy should be fine since there's no heavy cargo to load and unload) and build a cute town on top. those platforms are stable even in crazy seas
this cozy platform serves as the home base of the fleet. it has everything you need to survive at sea forever in relative comfort (it's even got microbial bioreactors (mostly genetically engineered E. coli) for producing drugs anyone might need). when the fleet is ashore, the platform is anchored off the coast with a rotating skeleton crew. during long sea voyages all the other boats of the fleet are either loaded onto the platform or towed behind in some separate structure (if the mass of the fleet is enough to destabilize the platform). the crew is made up of all sorts of delightful people with all sorts of skills and knowledge, and you basically do Communism In One Fleet and during downtime you grill on the deck and watch the stars and bioluminescent plankton at night.
also the platform has some kickass guns on it that are hidden when not in use.
then you just travel around the world helping small coastal communities with whatever they need help with, exchanging recipes and hosting cookouts. you launch all the little boats and live ashore for a while, then you return to the platform and sail on.
Captain, my Captain. Cast the fuck off lol. Shanghai yourself and evryone around you.