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The American Religion of Self-Storage Facilities

282 points · 456 comments · pseudolus

  1. alexpotato · · focus · HN ↗
    A lot of small businesses use self storage facilities as mini warehouses.

    e.g. let's say you are starting a painting business

    You have a lot of equipment you need (ladders, sprayers, buckets, etc) but you live in a small apartment.

    A self storage unit can hold all of the above and the storage price is probably tax deductible.

    1. stasomatic · · focus · HN ↗
      Not just warehouses. In one facility here in South Florida a family member who is a general contractor, uses the storage just as you described, but a couple of units over, there is a gun range, a gun smith shop, a tattoo shop running out of these "self-storage" units. It's legal too, kind of strange how it would be, but I see cops at the range often enough.
      1. GenerWork · · focus · HN ↗
        A gun range being run out of a storage unit? I realize that Florida has gun laws that people would consider nuts (you can have a gun range in your backyard and nobody can really stop you), but I'd think that the contract of the storage unit would absolutely say no gun ranges.
        1. stasomatic · · focus · HN ↗
          I may have expanded the definition of self-storage, apologies, but here's the place I was talking about. There is definitely storage and there are definitely guns and gunsmith shops. Crazy, hey? There are people living out of these, this part of Florida is bananas.

          <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;maps.app.goo.gl&#x2F;iKnViouaU2inoT82A" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;maps.app.goo.gl&#x2F;iKnViouaU2inoT82A

          1. GenerWork · · focus · HN ↗
            Ah ok, this makes a lot more sense. We have places that look exactly like this near my area of Florida as well, and it&#x27;s 100% in the &quot;industrial&quot; zoned area. No homes, only commercial businesses and small industrial setups.

            &gt;this part of Florida is bananas

            All parts of Florida are bananas :)

            1. stasomatic · · focus · HN ↗
              Really I don’t mind, I wish there were more archery ranges but I can deal. People all around are nice, all walks of life. But if someone from another continent were to drop in, their eyebrows would have a heart attack.
        2. stasomatic · · focus · HN ↗
          Without splitting hairs, essentially they are self-storage units that are zoned for multi-purpose use. I don&#x27;t know the right nomenclature to describe them. Heck, I saw a Jamaican barbecue outfit there. I am sure there is some &quot;farming&quot; going on in more than a few of these. Some photos (these are hosted on my own domain, I can&#x27;t stand Imgur):

          <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.tinkdeck.com&#x2F;13eafadad46004a8b366f5d68f7c205a.png" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.tinkdeck.com&#x2F;13eafadad46004a8b366f5d68f7c205a.png <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.tinkdeck.com&#x2F;e6204adcf7037830f8dcffab4f2d5a40.png" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.tinkdeck.com&#x2F;e6204adcf7037830f8dcffab4f2d5a40.png <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.tinkdeck.com&#x2F;b8e6a18e1ebc8f056d6eaa93b85cf2bb.png" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;i.tinkdeck.com&#x2F;b8e6a18e1ebc8f056d6eaa93b85cf2bb.png

      2. rbanffy · · focus · HN ↗
        &gt; but I see cops at the range often enough.

        If it&#x27;s not legal, I&#x27;m sure the cops don&#x27;t know.

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