Co-living apartments or spaces is a new lifestyle, and no other word than “lifestyle” is enough to describe it. In the most straightforward words, co-living refers to three or more unrelated people living together in a household, complex, apartment, or any other environment. Since it is gaining popularity nowadays, many people are not familiar with it as well as people who are choosing this lifestyle.
That brings us to the topic of today, why co-living will share the future? It is important to know what co-living actually is and how it will look like in the future. If you are not familiar with the concept or would like to get to know it better, then keep reading and join the fantastic world of co-living.
The Definition of Co-Living – And Its Place in Remote Working
Co-living can be defined as the system of living with other people in the same place, which includes using common areas and shared amenities such as a kitchen, living room, bathrooms, workplaces, and so on. Depending on the type of co-living complex, the number of people and amenities used may depend, but the general name of this lifestyle is co-living.
You may think of co-living as living with your family, in two different aspects. One, you do not know other people (in the beginning), and two, you all are contributing to household costs and necessities. Moreover, co-living can take place whether you want to have your own private room or share it with another person.
One of the main characteristics of co-living is being surrounded by like-minded people. Even though co-living is quite different from having a roommate, you will still be living with other people, and it plays a vital role whether you are getting along or not. For this reason, it is important to research the atmosphere and specific features of the co-living place you prefer.
Another crucial aspect of co-living is its connection with remote working. Perhaps you figured it out up to now, but if you haven’t, co-living is a perfect lifestyle for digital nomads and remote workers. Traveling for work might be challenging and costly in some cases, and co-living can be a wonderful solution to those struggles, which we will talk about in detail soon. But how exactly does co-living play a role in remote working?
The thing is, co-living will never only be a place where you go to sleep. It will be where you work, relax, entertain, and live, as we mentioned earlier. In a remote working context, co-living plays a role where it also becomes your office and your workplace. If you know anything about remote work in general or are a remote worker, you perhaps know the struggles of finding a nice place to work, which isn’t your bedroom.
Remote working requires socialization, networking, and productivity. Unfortunately, they might not all be present in your home office or work area at home. It is not that you cannot be productive or social in the home environment; you absolutely can, but wouldn’t it be better if you are surrounded by factors that motivate you to do so?
In co-living, you will have abundant access to socializing, networking, and areas to be productive and focused in general. It can be said that a co-living lifestyle eliminates many downhills of remote working, including but not limited to lack of human interaction, networking struggles, productivity, and overall job satisfaction in general.
Benefits of Co-living for Digital Nomads & Remote Workers
Now that you know how co-living is related to remote working and digital nomads, it’s time to talk about what kind of benefits this type of lifestyle can bring. We mentioned several downhills of remote working and how a co-living lifestyle can be a solution for them, but let’s take a closer look. The following are some of the benefits of co-living for digital nomads and remote workers.
1. Socialization
The lack of an office environment may lead to isolation since you only need your laptop (in most cases) to work. Of course, you can still interact with your colleagues while working remotely, but the physical presence would make a huge difference. While this may not always be possible for digital nomads and remote workers, the nature of co-living creates the perfect environment for socialization with its shared offices and workplaces.
2. Networking
Networking in a co-living context is pretty much tied with the socialization part. A significant downhill of remote working is obviously networking becoming challenging. If you choose your co-living space wisely, the chances of you meeting with people that have similar career interests and paths are pretty high. You will be a part of the already existing community, which is the easiest way of networking.
3. Flexibility
One common feature of digital nomads and remote workers is that they need flexibility. The lack of commitment to a particular office makes it possible for those people to travel and be freer in general. The nature of co-living offers those people the flexible lifestyle they need. In most cases, you do not have to sign year-long contracts and are able to keep your duration of stay there as short or long as you would like.
Is co-living the same as coworking?
Another common concern about co-living is its difference from coworking. Basically, co-living is a form of lifestyle, and coworking is a way of getting work done. You can think of coworking as a part of co-living.
In a co-living environment, you will carry out all your daily routines. You will take a shower, make breakfast, organize your room while sharing common areas and amenities with other people in the co-living environment.
Coworking, on the other hand, is solely based on the “working” part of your daily routine. In the most basic words, coworking is a working style where you share one environment with other remote workers or your teammates.
In the co-living context, coworking can also be a thing. Since you will be using the common areas with other people there, the workplace would automatically be a coworking environment. So, every common area in your co-living space where you work with others can be a coworking space for you, one that you do not have to drive back home when you are done working.
Why is Co-living So Popular?
The rising popularity of co-living is at a level that it’s impossible to overlook. This makes people wonder why on earth such a lifestyle has to be preferred this much, and by following a specific pattern?
The thing is, co-living is a perfect solution for the contemporary lifestyle, which needs to be adaptable to constant changes, especially in the working environment. The rise of the remote working area made it inevitable for people to seek out change, socialization, and an environment in general where they can adapt to the remote working environment.
Besides, co-living offers a great deal for those who have to travel frequently and move out to another place. Since you will be moving into a built-in community, you will not need to worry about the stress of finding places, learning the city life, and being alone in general. Co-living can be one of the most efficient ways of decreasing urban loneliness and finding your people in big, crowded cities.
This is also valid for career path seekers. Your co-living place can be the best way of networking with people who went through what you are going through on your career path. In fact, there are some co-living spaces where this kind of mentoring is offered as a service. Moreover, the benefits of co-living to remote workers’ careers expand beyond that, too.
Many different studies show that co-living is an essential factor in job satisfaction and motivation in general. This makes sense since one of the greatest downhills of remote working is isolation and lack of motivation. A co-living environment offers a great atmosphere that would be a solution for remote work isolation since you will be sharing common areas (most likely will include the place you work) and be in touch with people at all times, even when your work is done.
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Originally posted on November 22, 2021 @ 9:25 pm
