What is coliving?
Coliving may be the latest buzz word in the housing market, but the idea of shared housing is nothing new. Whether it be living in the dorms in college or splitting rent with a couple friends or strangers from Craigslist, many of us have experienced some form of shared living at some point in our lives.
Societal norms have led us to believe that the optimal path is to rent your own apartment or buy your own house. However, with rising living costs in urban areas like Orange County and an increasing sense of isolation among the population, more and more people are re-discovering the benefits of living in community.
There is, without question, a financial upside to living with others. Splitting time and cost for things like utilities, internet, food, and cleaning, coliving can reduce your living costs significantly when compared to what you could spend living alone. Coliving also provides more access to larger living spaces and other amenities when compared to renting a studio on your own.
For us at Casa Urbana, coliving is also about taking away the pain points that make living with others difficult so that residents can fully enjoy the opportunities and benefits that sharing a home provides:
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All of our residents have their own private bedroom when they want some quiet time to themselves
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Our homes are professionally cleaned every month; while residents are expected to chip in and keep their homes clean, we take care of things like scrubbing down the bathroom, mopping the floors, and degreasing the oven
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Utilities and other fixed expenses like electric bills, water, high speed WiFi, and trash are taken care of with our all-inclusive coliving fee so our residents don't need to worry about collecting payments from their housemates
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Our houses come fully furnished and stocked so our residents can move into a complete home from day one. For example, our bedrooms include bed frames and mattresses, our living rooms sofas and TVs, our dining rooms tables and chairs, and our kitchens tableware and pots and pans
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In addition to the expansive shared living areas within each of our homes, our residents also have room to stretch out in our private community backyard and dining patio (shared only among the houses in our community). Tons of outdoor space is a luxury that is rarely afforded in renting a studio
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* Estimated rent and costs for shared apartments (2 bedrooms) and studio.
Casa Urbana rent estimate at cheapest bedroom offered..
A common misperception of coliving is that it's code for "hippie commune". There are certainly concepts that are shared between the two - community-focused living, shared space and responsibilities, etc. To us, the distinction is that coliving is actually about the personal growth of each of our residents individually by living in community.
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Our residents are interesting and inspiring people who aren't satisfied with just somewhere to lay their head down. They are looking for a life with purpose by sharing space, ideas, and knowledge with a community of like-minded individuals.
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At Casa Urbana, we see our role as not artificially making a community, but guiding the creation of one:
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Sharing meals together has been found to be a cornerstone of bringing community together. Residents are encouraged to plan, cook, and enjoy regular meals together with their housemates and with the other houses in our community
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We do not offer short term leases in our homes. Intuitively, a community cannot be created when there is a turnstile of residents moving in and out
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Our residents are expected to share responsibilities in maintaining their home. Although we help with things like monthly cleanings and taking care of the utilities, residents are expected to coordinate their own chore schedules and food share programs
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We encourage residents to plan and schedule their own events and gatherings in the community, be it informal happy hour meet-ups at the local bar, movie nights under the stars, discussion groups and panel talks, or small music concerts in the community backyard
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Residents are expected to take part in regular house meetings to coordinate the sharing of responsibilities and provide a setting for conflict resolution
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