Co-living brings the ‘sharing economy’ home

Co-living brings the ‘sharing economy’ home

You may have heard of a new type of office space: coworking. In a coworking office, individuals and small teams rent desks or small offices on a month-to-month basis, instead of signing a long-term lease. The spaces are usually well-designed. Individuals can rent a single desk, while small teams can rent a cluster of desks or offices. They usually include printers, coffee, and Wi-Fi. You might also get access to a receptionist or conference rooms, sometimes for a small extra fee.

There is a social aspect, too. Workers can spend their days around other freelancers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses, where, in theory, new ideas can blossom. The coworking businesses lean into the social aspect. They offer snacks, organize events, and sponsor happy hours, all to build a sense of community.

Coworking offers advantages to individuals and small companies. A typical office lease requires a long-term commitment, usually five years or more. But coworking lets you pay by the month, and cancel any time. Then there’s furniture and utilities to consider: setting up an office is about more than just rent. And even if you get all that, it can seem depressing if you have just a few people coming into work. It’s better to be around the energy of other like-minded people, and let another company handle the basics like furniture, utilities, and dealing with landlords.

Sounds good, right? Now take that same concept and apply it to your personal life. That’s the idea behind co-living.

Co-living is for apartments the way coworking is for offices. In a co-living setup, people rent furnished rooms—or sometimes entire small apartments—inside a shared building. The leases can be for a full year, but they’re often for smaller, flexible terms.

For those who move from place to place, it can be hard to make friends and build a network. Co-living has the answer. These buildings offer generous common spaces like game rooms, party rooms, workspace, and cafés. They organize social events, where residents can get to know one another. And the building designs are perfect for people who don’t mind sharing space, being social, and connecting with others.

Most co-living arrangements are mid- to high-rise buildings, with small apartments and shared bedrooms. But some are designed as large houses. One house might have eight bedrooms, two kitchens, and a few shared living rooms that everyone can use.

Residents of co-living don’t like being tied down. They can move from place to place—or city to city—on short notice. And because co-living spaces are furnished, residents don’t have to move heavy furniture or worry about connecting and disconnecting utilities every time they move. London today, Frankfurt tomorrow, Dallas, New York, or Tokyo next year.

Co-living is also good for people who need flexibility for other reasons. If you’re in a city for a temporary assignment or a medical residency, you might not want to invest money in furniture or sign a long-term lease if you know you’ll have to move again soon.

Co-living can also be a lifesaver for people moving internationally. If you need a place to live, but don’t have a credit score or co-signer—not to mention a couch or a mattress—co-living can be a good way to get started.

But the flexibility of co-living comes at a cost. Co-living spaces cost more—and sometimes much more—than an equivalent unfurnished apartment. These buildings are designed around shared spaces and community areas. That’s great for extroverts. But introverts might not be comfortable with the limited privacy and small bedrooms.

Co-living enjoyed a burst of popularity in the 2010s. WeWork, the big coworking chain, launched a co-living brand called WeLive—before the whole business went bankrupt. In America, a brand called “Common” billed itself as “a roommate house” with sleek designs and community events. The UK had “The Collective,” a lifestyle living brand for young creatives and professionals. Medici Living was popular in Germany.

In Asia’s huge—and hugely expensive—cities, co-living became a higher-quality alternative to boarding houses and other shared arrangements.

But the concept seems to have peaked in the 2010s. The concept never caught on quite like its promoters envisioned. It turns out that people like their own spaces. And co-living really only works for singles. So most people will age out of co-living spaces after a few years.

Common, the biggest chain in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy in 2024; the Collective in the U.K. met a similar fate. Medici’s American venture, Quarters, closed. And when I tried to check Medici’s European website… it didn’t even load.

Co-living is more popular in Europe than in the U.S. Habyt, based in Germany, is in 24 cities. Cohabs is popular in Belgium. In the U.S., there are still some co-living options, but they tend to be just single locations. One opened almost a year ago in Houston, and is still only half full. The vision of creatives bouncing from place to place in vast networks of co-living…that just didn’t pan out.

Jeff’s take

I chose to talk about this topic because I’ve used co-living twice—once when I moved internationally, and once when I was in a city for just a short time.

My first experience with co-living was in Mexico. I had been working in Chicago and I had almost definitely decided to move to Mexico City. But I’d only ever been to Mexico on vacation, so I wanted to live there for a month and just see what daily life felt like.

The co-living space I chose was a large building—maybe seven or eight stories high—and had only studio apartments. So I had my own space. There was a coworking area in the lobby, a really nice roof garden, and some other common areas.

And that worked out really well; it was cheaper than an Airbnb, but still flexible.

The second time I did co-living was just recently. I had to go back to Chicago for just a few months, so I rented a bedroom in a shared co-living apartment. This obviously offered less privacy, but it was in a good location and I needed it quickly. And this was, overall, a good experience. I worked and spent some time in the common areas. My roommates were fine. But after almost four months of this, I missed the comfort of having my own space.

Both times, co-living filled a specific and temporary need. It wasn’t a long-term lifestyle. But it helped me when I needed it.