alt Hacker NewsI lived on a kibbutz for nearly three years after university and had similar levels of personal space. While I definitely would not want to live on a kibbutz for my whole life, there were very significant downsides (internal politics), I made some lifelong friends there and overall consider that experience to have been very positive, in particular for my social life.
that's not comparable to SRO in the city, where you'd be sharing living space with far more diverse and vibrant characters. no one in their sane mind would choose to live in one of those, unless they were on the brink of homelessness.