Memory Lane
Living in UCLA Family apartments at age 4 made the adjustment to moving to the US super easy. There were multiple quads with playgrounds right outside - where other little kids and their adults congregated. If we didn’t speak the same language, we still found ways to play together. We didn’t need fancy gadgets, and we would play until the sun went down.
Living in subsidized housing, none of us were well off financially, but there was richness in the lack of money to pay for services that forced us to lean on each other and make friends with neighbors - for rides to the airport, unexpected childcare needs, quarters to do coin laundry, hand-me-down clothes/toys, and moving assistance. Our lives were intertwined with school, church, and extracurriculars, and our adult caretakers often developed friendships of their own.
It is this sensation of sharing life with people who live down the hallway that I’ve tried recreating for much of my adult life. I was a resident assistant at college. I would get group hangouts going in apartments I lived in. A couple years ago I created an anonymous tenants union that now has over 1000 people. Apartment life and residential hall living has brought me so many sweet memories.
In contrast, suburbia in Ohio/Indiana was a strange experience for me. Kids I babysat would have basements or a room full of toys. They didn’t play outside, perhaps due to weather… or perhaps because “playtime” had migrated to gadgets and digital games… or perhaps because of the safety risks / “stranger danger”... or also because of the lack of easily accessible common spaces for play. Play dates had to be coordinated and scheduled.
I wish more apartments were designed with central community spaces, like the lobby of a residence hall or the common room of a sorority/fraternity. We live so close together and yet we retreat back to our little apartment units. I remember driving slowly towards my apartment, stuck in traffic, and seeing into 7 living rooms all watching the same basketball game.
Our hope with Homie Haven is that this app is mobilized to fight against urban loneliness. My cofounder and I have a heart for community, especially in apartments. We want people to be able to find neighbors to connect with, and this app can help break the ice for people who have common interests or just want to meet other people.
We can’t wait to launch on Google Play very soon.
