I get where you're coming from. I just recently graduated and moved into an apartment complex with fewer college kids which definitely helped as things are quieter. I think whats ideal is to work out of a small house where you can live just with your co-founders. But the issue is cost.. Renting a house is usually considerably more which will increase your burn rate.
I think it is pretty key to work out of the same place where you live though. Separation of living and work is not ideal for a startup, and PG even talks about this some. Your life needs to BE your work; They need to coexist.
As far as distractions go, I think this is another reason why living with a co-founder is so important in the early stages. Its kinda like a checks and balances. You both keep each other in check and on track.
I can see pg's point about making startup your life. But I think you can still have startup as your life even while you work out of your office until 11pm, come to the apt, grab some food over some TV and work few more hours before hitting bed.
That's how it is for me anyway and it has been more productive than staying in apartment all day.
Again this is something that must vary from person to person. So I'm not necessarily out to do a philosophical debate about whether one is better than the other.
I think it is pretty key to work out of the same place where you live though. Separation of living and work is not ideal for a startup, and PG even talks about this some. Your life needs to BE your work; They need to coexist.
As far as distractions go, I think this is another reason why living with a co-founder is so important in the early stages. Its kinda like a checks and balances. You both keep each other in check and on track.