Is it your aim to find coliving communities in a specific country, city or neighborhood? Do you want them to have specific qualities and align with certain values? Then, this short guide is for you.
The coliving global movement is on the rise in many ways. Thus, it can be challenging to identify what you are after. Perhaps you are looking to move into a new home 🏡. Or, you might be looking for inspiration to create and optimise your own coliving communities.
Either way, let’s dive in!
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Use Google Search, Google Maps & other search engines
Firstly, we share a few common tips to make the most of search engines. All these tips will work well with Google, Ecosia and other search engines. And, to go beyond these tips check out Lifehack.org’s guide to using Google Search efficiently.
How to search for coliving communities
To start with, usual search queries include “coliving near me”, “coliving community”, “coliving homes”, “coliving space”, “coliving apartments”, “coliving brands”, and “coliving companies”. Then, take a look at organic results, as well as the ads that might come up. To be sure, do check beyond the first page of results you get.
For example, your ideal community might be waiting for you on the 3rd or 4th set of results, since search competition can be high.
Also, you can try using the other common variants: “co-living” and “co living”. With these, you will see local search results. Thus, be mindful that where you search from will also impact the results you get.
How to expand your coliving community search
To keep it simple, there are 2 main ways to expand your search:
- Geography & location: The more specific you go, the better. For example, “coliving in [city]”, “coliving home [city]”, “coliving communities in [city]” and so on. You can replace [city] for the country, region, city, area or specific neighborhood you are looking for.
- Lifestyle & needs: Usual queries include: “coliving for digital nomads”, “coliving home for students”, “coliving community for young professionals” and so on. You can use the words that best describe your lifestyle and check for aligned communities.
And of course, you can go even more specific and mix both ways. For example, “coliving in Los Angeles for digital nomads” or “coliving in NYC for students”. You get the idea 🙂
Searching beyond "coliving"
There are still many locations where there are not too many coliving options (yet). But, there are also cases where they do exist yet they are too hard to find. In these cases, their sites might not be optimised to come up in related search queries. Thus, you might not find what you are looking for while using the actual word in your queries.
If this is your case, then you can try widening your search beyond “coliving”. These are some of the terms that expand can expand your search. For example: “furnished apartments [city]”, “fully furnished housing in [city]”, “rooms to rent in [city]”, “rent a room in [city]”, “rent a double room in [city]”, “housing [city]” and “short terms lease in [city]”.
Checking for authentic coliving communities
If you take a quick look, then you will notice most of these queries have no mention of “community”.
We know that the most fulfilling coliving experiences are those that foster an authentic community. But, this is not something a search engine can guess for you, so make sure you know what you are looking for.
For instance, does the coliving space talk about community facilitation? How do they approach sustainability? What is the shared living space like? You might want to use the Conscious Coliving Manifesto as a reference framework to look for aligned spaces.
Searching on mobile, laptop & other devices
Will you see the same results in your mobile, tablet, later or desktop device? In this case, the answer is very straight forward: No. Search engines are built to deliver the best results to the user. This includes how good the experience is on each device.
Thus, if a coliving community’s website is fast and intuitive on mobile, then it will be prioritized by Google or other search engines. But, if the site is slow, clunky and not intuitive on mobile devices, then it will be penalized.
At the same time, the same site might be providing a fast, sleek and intuitive experience to users on desktop or laptop devices. If this is the case, then the search engine will give this site “extra points” in these devices.
Discovery & roommate matching platforms
There is a lot of value on curation. At this time, there are many sites doing a great job at that. So, it will be useful for you to understand what each of them look into when considering a new application from a coliving community to be included.
One way is through discovery platforms. In brief, you can usually look for a living space based not only on location but also costs. In contrast, roommate matching platforms can support you find a space based on values, interests and hobbies.
Since being on multiple platforms allow coliving communities to gain more visibility, you might find them in more than one Let’s explore them.
Discovery platforms for coliving communities
- Anyplace: Supports remote workers, digital nomads, travel nurses, interns, and anyone who wants flexibility and great WiFi. Curated furnished apartments with a focus on productivity, comfort and flexibility (no long-term leases are required). Featured locations include Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego and NYC.
- Young Global Living: Platform that aims to make coliving more popular by making it easy to browse, select and book options. People looking for a coliving home can put in their check in and check out date, preferred city. Then, they will get a list of options to choose from.
- Coliving.com: Discovery and booking platform for short and long term accommodation. It includes 16,000 bedrooms in 1,100 properties across 200 cities and 52 countries around the world. The platform allows potential residents to search for spaces according to location and then filter by: dates, price, room type, and amenities.
- Convivo: Online discovery platform for coliving communities, rental homes, and hostels across India.
- FlOasis: Platform geared towards digital nomads to book local stays in nature with good wifi. Popular locations include Portugal, Spain, Greece, and France.
- Socialbookers: Platform that allows people to find spaces by creating a profile and filtering options. Personal preferences include: type of space, vibes, activities, age range, and room size. Current locations include spaces in Portugal and Spain.
Roommate matching platforms for coliving communities
- Roomster: It has listings in more than 192 countries and 18 languages and connects potential roommates using personality traits, and keyword searches. Members can match based on testimonials from friends, hobbies, interests and questions answered through their profiles.
- SpareRoom: What really sets SpareRoom apart from some other roommate apps is that it has a team of people that screen every ad. Thus, you can ensure listings are safe and verified. This app also hosts events where you can meet up with people in your area.
- Whoomies: Available in France and London. Whoomies is a shared accommodation platform that allows users to publish their listing. Also, it supports the process of receiving and managing applications.
Lastly, a note on Airbnb: while sometimes used by coliving spaces, we do not recommend using it for listing a coliving community. The reasons for this are outlined in this article by Carlos de la Lama-Noriega, CEO and founder of Startup Embassy. Overall, some of these reasons are: penalizations, short-term inquiries and difficulties around communicating community living values.
Search on LinkedIn and other Social Media Channels
A great way to get to know colliving options is by knowing who is behind the brand. Firstly, you can check out their LinkedIn page, as well the staff members’ profiles. By digging a bit deeper, you can even understand why the founders decided to create these communities.
Secondly, you can explore Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and other social media coliving communities might be using. By understanding how they express and communicate, you can get a sense if there is a match on values for you.
Ask friends & colleagues for recommendations
Coliving is becoming more and more popular. Thus, chances are a few people you know (and/or someone they know) might be aware of the ideal coliving home for you. But, they just don’t know you are looking for it.
So, you can ask yourself: “What would my ideal coliving community look like?”. Then, write a short paragraph and a few bullets. By seeing this in writing you will gain awareness and perspective. Once you are clear on what you want, make it public!.
Describe the kind of common areas you dream of. For example, what would your idea communal life feel like? You can share this on your LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or other ways to spread the word. Or even better, bring up the topic in conversations and see where it goes.
Expect the unexpected 😉
Finally, do you have any additional tips and tricks to find coliving communities? If so, please do reach out and let us know as our intention is to make this page as useful, relevant and simple as possible.
All the best on your coliving community search!,
Juan
This guide has been authored for you by:
Juan is a Communications Strategist, Project Manager, Systems Engineer, Team Coach and Executive Coach with an ontological/systemic approach. Co-author of the <a href="/coliving-apps-tech-guide/">Coliving Apps, Software & Tech Guide</a> and contributor of <a href="/the-community-facilitation-handbook/">The Community Facilitation Handbook</a>. He facilitates connection for individuals, teams, and communities.
If you found this guide useful, please consider sharing it with others 😊 🙏
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