What if the secret to a better life wasn’t a bigger house or higher salary, but simply living closer to your friends? Phil Levin, co-founder of Live Near Friends, reveals how proximity can drastically increase happiness, cut housing costs, and reshape how we think about community. From building a 10-home campus in Oakland to redefining what “neighbor” really means, we explore how small shifts in where—and who—you live near can change everything.

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Keywords

community, co-living, housing, quality of life, social connections, urban living, real estate, friendship, shared spaces, neighborhood design, built environment

Chapters

00:00 Understanding Crocs Distance and Its Importance00:40 Building a Community: Life at Radish01:56 The Cadence of Living Near Friends04:03 The Science of Happiness and Friendship06:33 The Pandemic's Impact on Co-Living Trends08:58 Barriers to Living Near Friends11:07 Live Near Friends: The Enterprise13:29 Target Demographics for Co-Living15:48 The Difference Between Co-Living and Living Near Friends18:19 Cultural Context of Living Near Friends20:32 Sharing Spaces: What Works and What Doesn't22:14 The Joy of Shared Living24:28 Navigating the Home Search Process27:26 Flexibility in Living Arrangements28:18 Rethinking Urban Design for Community39:32 The Dizziness of Freedom and Community Anchors

Links

Phil Levin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillevin/

Live Near Friends – https://www.livenearfriends.com

Radish – https://radishoakland.com/

Supernuclear (Blog + Substack) – https://supernuclear.substack.com

Framingham Heart Study – https://www.framinghamheartstudy.org

Culdesac (Car-Free Community) – https://culdesac.com