Coliving vs Cohousing – what’s the difference? 

Coliving and Cohousing are two contemporary living arrangements that are often confused, but they cater to different lifestyles and preferences. Both modern concepts present unique approaches to communal living. Understanding the differences between coliving vs cohousing can help you in making an informed decision about which type of community living best suits your lifestyle.

 

Coliving: A Community-Oriented Urban Lifestyle

Coliving provides an urban-centric accommodation solution, ideal for newcomers to a city or those seeking an easy housing option. It simplifies the process of finding a place to live, especially in urban environments. Coliving spaces typically offer fully-furnished private rooms or studios, along with extensive common areas such as coworking spaces, terraces, and gyms.

Booking and Convenience

The booking process in coliving is usually streamlined and online, making it efficient and transparent. This contrasts traditional leasing, which often involves cumbersome paperwork and high deposits. Coliving also mitigates issues like acquiring furniture or dealing with fluctuating utility costs. This makes the move in process seamless and easy. 

Designed for Interaction and Convenience

Coliving spaces are architecturally designed to encourage interaction among residents. They provide well-thought-out shared spaces, fostering a sense of community. Residents enjoy the privacy of their own rooms, often with private bathrooms, while also having access to communal living rooms, gyms, and workspaces.

Integrated Services

Colivings often include additional services like weekly professional cleaning, laundry and various perks and discounts. This approach aims to reduce the hassle of daily chores, enabling residents to remain stress-free and focus on their personal and professional lives. It also improves affordability as all services are often combined into one single bill. 

Intentional Community Building

A significant aspect of coliving is the emphasis on community. Often, the selection of residents is based on complementary profiles to facilitate a harmonious living environment. This creates opportunities for social interaction, professional networking, and cultural exchange. Coliving typically targets younger demographics, often including young professionals. 

Length of Stay & Flexibility

In coliving spaces, the concept of flexibility is deeply ingrained, especially concerning the length of stay. Unlike traditional leases, coliving contracts may span from a few weeks to several months, or even more than a year. This all depends on the provider’s policies and the tenant’s requirements. This flexible nature allows tenants to adjust their living situations without the long-term commitment often demanded by conventional landlords. 

At Urban Campus, we embrace a highly flexible policy concerning length of stay. For lease terminations, we only require a 30-day notice period.

 

Cohousing: A Collaborative Approach to Shared Living

Cohousing, on the other hand, leans towards a more suburban or rural setting. It typically consists of privately-owned housing units clustered around shared spaces. Residents often self-organize and manage cohousing communities, collaboratively planning and running the community.

Shared Spaces and Mutual Responsibility

Cohousing communities feature common facilities like kitchens, dining areas, and recreational spaces. These shared resources foster a strong sense of community. Residents participate in the management and maintenance of these amenities, promoting a collaborative environment.

Privacy with Community Engagement

While offering private living spaces, cohousing encourages community interactions through shared meals, activities, and decision-making processes. It combines personal privacy with collective living, making it suitable for families and individuals who value community involvement in addition to having their own private space.  

Sustainable and Inclusive

Cohousing often focuses on sustainability, with shared resources reducing individual consumption. Communities are inclusive and diverse, welcoming people from various backgrounds and fostering a supportive environment.

 

Differences between Coliving vs Cohousing

Here are some of the key differences between coliving vs cohousing.

• Location and Structure: Coliving is more prevalent in urban areas with fully furnished spaces, while cohousing is often found in suburban or rural areas with individual housing units. Both emphasize high property quality. 
• Management: Coliving is typically managed by a company, offering services like cleaning and maintenance, whereas cohousing is self-managed by residents.
• Community Involvement: Cohousing requires more democratic participation in community life, while coliving provides a ready-made community with less formal obligation and more freedom.
• Privacy and Sharing: Coliving offers more privacy in living quarters with shared amenities, while cohousing balances private homes with communal responsibilities.

 

Coliving at Urban Campus

Urban Campus, established in 2016, specializes in crafting exceptional coliving environments in France and Spain, tailored for the modern young professional. Here’s an overview of what sets our spaces apart:

• Adaptable Lease Terms: Our leasing policy is designed with your convenience in mind, requiring just a 30-day notice for any lease modifications or terminations. This ensures maximum adaptability for our colivers.
• Community for the Long Haul: Colivers typically stay with us for 12 months, allowing for the nurturing of deep, enduring connections and friendships within our community.
• Convenience: Living at Urban Campus is a stress-free experience. All of our private and shared spaces come fully-furnished and equipped. Additionally, all of your essentials are included in the cost of rent: utilities, Wi-Fi, cleaning services, laundry and more. This means one consolidated monthly payment covers all your living needs. 
• Easy Application: Experience the ease of our digital-first approach with a straightforward and smooth online application process.
• Engaging Community Life: We pride ourselves on fostering a lively community atmosphere, enriched by a variety of monthly events. These events include everything from language exchanges and craft beer tastings to competitive sports tournaments, all contributing to an energetic and united community spirit.

Explore our dynamic coliving spaces here.