Co-living

Millennials are trading traditional housing for cheaper, more flexible shared communities. Is this the future of urban living?

As flexible offices transform how we work, start-ups like Common, PodShare and WeLive have their sights on a different opportunity: transforming how we live.

The idea that people are willing to trade traditional notions of what a home is for a communal experience, known as co-living, is being tested in major cities across the US. These ‘grown-up dorms’ are shared rooms or apartments that offer occupants the basics – a bed, a curtain for privacy – and plenty of roommates. Amenities vary depending on the developer, but most include an industrial-sized kitchen and shared bathrooms.

Rents are rising as more people move to cities: 40% of Americans are struggling to afford housing. This is particularly true of millennials hit hard by stagnant earnings and rising living costs. Co-living prices, while generally lower than traditional rentals, do vary. A WeLive private studio in New York, for example, can run to $3,800 (£3,000) per month. Monthly rent on a PodShare bunk bed is about $1,200 (£950). But it’s not just pricing.

Users are attracted by the flexibility, convenience and community of co-living. Spaces can be rented weekly, and include utilities and cleaning – an attractive set-up for millennials on the move.

There are about 3,000 such beds in the US, but numbers are expected to soar. Continued urbanisation will mean finding new ways to live, and soon. Whether co-living is a viable long-term solution or a tech-enabled 21st-Century version of tenement living remains to be seen.

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Image credit: Piero Zagami and Michela Nicchiotti.