What is Coliving?

A Digital Nomad’s Guide to the Benefits of Coliving

Coliving is like a college dorm except everyone has jobs and money. You arrive in a new city, unpack your bags in your room and head to a common space to meet your roommates. These roommates, like you, have wandering feet and flexible jobs. This common ground makes it easy to click and make friends fast. By choosing to colive you are able to have a short term lease, affordable housing, a coworking space, and luxury amenities.

But what exactly is Coliving?

Coliving is a new rental trend for communal living. Residents typically have their own bedroom with shared spaces such as a kitchen, living room and coworking space. The concept of coliving has become increasingly popular among digital nomads for its flexibility, affordability and sense of community.

I tend to think of coliving as a glorified college dorm experience – meaning you usually have a larger, nicer space, but you also have the community aspect that made college dorms so much fun. I spent 3 weeks at a coliving in Lisbon and after two days I felt completely at home. Although the residents consisted of individuals from all over the world, it was easy to connect and become friends due to the openness and community environment. Below I have outlined the major benefits to coliving and why it has become so popular.

Benefits of Coliving

Short Term Lease
Most coliving companies provide booking by days or by months. This is ideal for digital nomads because you do not have to commit to a location for a year. It gives you the flexibility to explore a city for a few weeks or months and then move on to the next destination.

Affordable Housing
As a digital nomad it can be expensive to book airbnbs or hotels for a few weeks. Coliving often costs less and provides you with additional amenities. All coliving communities are also completely furnished.

Coworking
Being a completely remote worker, I sometimes lose momentum working alone. I found that working in a coworking environment motivated me to be more productive while also being around like-minded individuals. Having a designated working zone allows me to also establish a better work-life balance.

Amenities
Many coliving companies provide cleaning services, social events, free meals and coworking spaces. I have also seen dozens of places that provide pools, gyms, outdoor areas, classes and workshops. By living with more people you are able to afford luxury benefits that you typically don’t get in an airbnb.

New Friends
The opportunity to meet like-minded individuals from all over the world is my favorite aspect of coliving. It was unreal to meet so many people who had the same sense of adventure and lust for life. After immersing myself in the coliving environment I know I am able to text some of my new digital nomad friends and ask “who wants to meet me in Costa Rica in September,” and receive genuine interest in joining or suggestions for the best places to stay. Coliving makes solo travel way less intimidating because you are sure to meet some amazing people.

The nomadic lifestyle may be the road less traveled, but coliving makes it easy to find the few bold and adventurous enough to walk it with you.

If you are curious to learn more about me and my travels check out this post! 🙂

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