In the last years, a new term has been introduced to our world – coliving. If it is the first time that you hear it, you might be quite surprised or even annoyed. Humans have been, after all, always living throughout history. Why should we need another term for it? Of course, coliving is about living with other humans, but it’s not just that. Let’s explain it in a few lines!
Author: Drejc Kokošar
Coliving is a modern form of shared housing in when you share your home with other like-minded people. A strong community is a key to this concept, as it’s not just about sleeping and working but also enjoying free time together, talking about interesting things and social belonging.
It’s very much associated with the generation of millennials, who want to live a different lifestyle from their parents – more relaxed, combined with a lot of travelling. Many residents in coliving spaces are normally between 19 and 40 years old and often work as start-up employees or are entrepreneurs themselves, freelancers, and sometimes students. It’s also related to the common trend of relative reluctance to marrying or starting a family. So coliving is perfect for those relocating to a new job, studying for a degree, working remotely, starting a new company or simply exploring a new area.
As many people, who live in coliving, also work remotely, normally, these places have co-working places, which are organized as a part of the facilities. There is also a distinction between apartment flats, in which normally only a few people live and share all commodities, and bigger coliving facilities, led by a manager.
Benefits of coliving
There are many benefits to coliving. Many residents normally stress the community-driven experience which is typical for all coliving places. It’s a modern answer to the »loneliness epidemics«, when people feel lonely, especially in big cities. There are also other benefits, compared to normal housing – rent is sometimes lower, with the minimum stay normally just 1 month (much less if we compare to the average housing contracts). An owner of the coliving facility normally keeps the space in order, so there’s no need for any furniture or maintenance works, roommates are already there, and in the end, you just pay rent without any separate utility bills.
The main benefit of coliving is that it can be cost-savvy. As it is normally associated with digital nomads, coliving spaces are often located in areas which are not so expensive to work and live.
Coliving in a countryside
COVID-19 pandemics have brought many changes. An interesting and also much-pronounced trend has developed which focuses more on remote work and escaping the city. Due to many regulations, many people started to work from home and felt they were trapped in the city. A new hype emerged – escaping/moving to the countryside where life is much more peaceful. The ones who could work remotely started to combine working with travelling and vacations, so-called workation. Although this trend was recognized already before the COVID-19 pandemic, it has grown very quickly since 2020.
The European countryside already has many coliving centres in the countryside. Each of them has its specifics and rules, but there are 2 common approaches – the return back to nature and the focus on a strong community. People normally stay at least 1 month, which brings to these destinations sustainable tourists, who value the ideal of a strong community, want to live a village life and represent a trend contrary to problematic massive tourism.
If you’re interested more about the coliving, watch this video by a digital nomad Andreea Rusu, who lived in 3 different coliving spaces in Spain, France and Switzerland:
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