What Is Coliving? Types, Services, Pros & Cons and More

With the new Digital Nomad & remote work trend a new way of living has emerged: the coliving, creating communities among working people who also live (and might travel) together all over the world.

What is a coliving?

A coliving is a space anywhere in the world where people who work remotely live for a period of time while they build a sense of community.

In other words, a coliving is a space that is offered for digital nomads, freelancers, entrepreneurs or location independent professionals to be surrounded by innovative and creative people who work in various fields.

A seemingly simple idea: a place to share & live with like-minded people, where one can benefit from being part of a working community by getting inspired by others.

What does a coliving include?

Colivings provide the basic tools and amenities needed to starting working, such as a physical space to call one´s own and a wifi connection, but they differ fundamentally from coworking spaces in that they provide a rounded experience complete with living spaces, common areas, food and inspiring networking. All the facilities needed to just start living and working are included.

But as the coliving experiences keep growing in number and variety coliving managers are catering to different needs and including new and improved services such as:

1. Meals.
2. Excursions of different types, from adventure in the wildlife to explorations of the surroundings.
3. Different range of events to create a bond among participants, such as team-building, networking experiences, skillshare workshops and a variety of leisure programs.
4. If you are joining a coliving that travels to different places, transportation is usually included.
   Social activities and relaxation spaces such as yoga classes, spas, game rooms etc.
5. Some of them even offer community impact opportunities in which one can volunteer and contribute to the communities they are living in.

Why trying a coliving?

The main reason why colivings are highly attractive when being a digital nomad or location independent professional is the community and socialization. When travelling alone, loneliness and getting to know people can be hard, but being in a coliving can ease the situation and help you get on your feet.

Besides, in a coliving, you will have the opportunity to be surrounded by others that share not just the type of work and lifestyle but also the hunger for adventure. Being with like-minded people will help you in your journey and keep you company.

If you choose to go to a place that you have never been before, being in a coliving gives you the security and peace of mind that you are going to get everything you needed, plus some extras, without needing to worry about it.

And to add up, many colivings have trips, planned activities and much more that will help you connect and interact with others to make it easy for you. Coliving hosts want to make sure that you get the experience you are looking for and they will try to enrich your journey.

Itinerant colivings vs Location specific ones

Colivings can be found, as we said before, in different forms and formats. We differentiate between 3 different types:

1. 1. Itinerant colivings: these are communities that change scenery and travel together to different cities or countries, and they are perfect for those who want to combine travel and work with the same or similar group of people. Some examples are:
      • Wifi Tribe, where they offer an experience every month in a different city, and one can either stay for a month, or join them in their travel adventure for a longer period.
      • Remote Year, for those who are ready to join them for a whole year and stop in a different city every month
   2. Location specific: you can join anytime and as long as you want in a specific location. Users tend to stay for longer periods of time and they have a manager that usually offer extras such as courses, trips and they will get you running very quickly in the new country because they know the place like the back of their hand. For instance:
      • • Roam.
        • Outsite.
   3. Retreats: Those that have specific dates through which they operate, and not ongoing ones. These are usually organized by communities or people with a connection to digital nomads, and they are built around a theme or topic with a determined objective.They can be done with a certain event or course in mind, offering workshops to a specific audience, or simply having a common type of experience or even sport to develop together. Examples are:
      • DNX Camp.
      • Digital Nomad Girls, for girls only.

So, depending on the time limit you have or the type of experience you are looking for, you have a variety that best suits your expectations.

Pros & Cons of a Coliving

We have been asking coliving users one common question: what do you get out of the experience? And have found one common answer: community.

Take a minute and go through our list of pros and cons to get a better idea of the advantages and challenges of coliving.

Pros:

1. Excellent opportunity to come up with new ideas, business partnerships and, overall, the inspiration that comes from sharing projects and goals with different people.
2. Get support from the community (it takes courage and sacrifice to see a project through and sharing the tribulations and heartaches along the way with like-minded people can work to our advantage).
3. It prevents isolation: everything is done in a positive environment, to push yourself and push each other in an effective environment.
4. Basic needs, and much more, are taken care of so you can concentrate on getting the work done.

Cons:

1. Risk of a bad internet connection: one of the most important things that everybody asks for when travelling and staying somewhere new, is finding the right spot for a quick and correct internet connection. This is vital to allow you to work properly and it is an existing worry in some colivings that you should double-checked properly beforehand.
2. Expectations vs. reality mismatch: the possibility of not finding people with similar or complementary preferences, as well as a badly connected location that won’t allow you to explore the surroundings as you had wished can prove to make a bad experience.
3. Stay timing restrictions: you might want to stay before, after, for a shorter or longer period of time than the ones offered by itinerant colivings. However, this is not the case for location specific ones, since they are opened all year long.
4. Prices: colivings may exceed what you are used to spend in locations that don’t offer so many options, so be sure to choose the one that suits your budget requirements best.

Next up: Where to find colivings?

Check out our coliving section in Remoters, featuring all types of coliving communities around the world, including some of the hottest digital nomads and remote working destinations. You can select one that fits with your budget and preferences.

The rest is simple: Just sign up. Pack your bags. Reach for the stars! And by the way: if you need an ice breaking tip when going to a coliving, just offer a drink to someone and that will be the perfect move to start a conversation.

Have you been in a coliving? You can share your experience by answering these 3 easy questions!

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