Co-living might be a foreign concept to some, but to many students in LA, it’s the answer to many complicated questions. If you’re a young adult who is spending a good amount of their time in classes, working ceaselessly toward the goal of a degree and eventually that dream job, you don’t have a lot of spare time on your hands.
That makes it challenging to form connections outside of class and even more challenging to create opportunities that will help you find employment in your chosen field after you finish school. And you still need to eat, sleep, and have a little time to relax on top of all that!
Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels
Since adding extra hours to the day is not an option, you need to find a way to get everything you need to do into the tiniest possible window of time; that’s where co-living comes in.
What Is Co-Living?
Before we go any further, let’s define what co-living is. Cities like Los Angeles draw enormous numbers of students from all over the world yearly. These students are introduced to a new way of living that offers personal space, communal space, safety, convenience, and human connection at a far more reasonable rate than they would otherwise find in the city.
Co-living means sharing one large apartment or home (with high-quality amenities) with several like-minded individuals — in this case, students. They may be strangers, but they come to LA with one common goal: to learn all they can, make as many connections as possible, and further their careers through networking.
Co-living in Los Angeles is the hottest new trend, taking the real estate market — and people looking for a practical way to live — by storm.
Are There Different Kinds of Co-Living?
Yes, there are! Check out how an advertisement or company defines co-living before signing a lease. Here are some helpful definitions:
- Informal Co-Living: This is the more traditional version of the concept, where people know each other or meet strangers and rent an apartment together. They usually each look after their needs and bring their furniture, or they may arrange some necessities as a group.
- Adult Dorms: This is similar to living in a hotel. Each person has a private room along a communal hallway. Common areas like kitchens, bathrooms, and lounges are shared.
- Co-Operative Living: Members of a co-op commit to sharing duties in one house in a democratic fashion. These houses can hold anything from 15 to 100 residents and often include communal businesses.
- Co-Housing: This became popular in the 1960s when many families would share homes to make the financial burden a little lighter and share home duties.
- Communes: This form of co-living often occurs in rural areas and is geared toward off-grid or self-contained living.
Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels
How Co-Living Is The Solution
So, by this point, you’re no doubt asking a few questions. Firstly, why would I want to live with strangers? Well, that’s an easy one. Most students live with strangers no matter where they house themselves while they study.
Whether you’re in a dorm or finding a roommate through a classified advert, you’ll likely not have a space all to yourself. Co-living buildings are set up in a safe and practical way.
The companies that run these start-ups assess the information of those applying for housing. They do this for two reasons: firstly, to ensure that the applicants have clean backgrounds and that they can pay for their accommodation, and secondly, to ensure that the people sharing the space have similar goals or interests.
This is a huge step up from renting with people you know nothing about!
Next, you might be asking why living with many people is a good idea for your career. Wouldn’t that only make it more challenging to study and focus? Absolutely not! Since the people you share homes within a co-living space could have similar interests or are on similar career paths, you may be able to create valuable connections that can help you and the others in your space.
Connecting with people who are on the same path as you can take the loneliness out of studying and living in a big, busy city, and it can also help rather than hinder your studies and drive.
Alternatively, if your co-living connections have different interests, you could find yourself in new career environments and learn helpful things to further your own career in a novel way.
With so many people in one apartment, you may wonder how things will stay clean and tidy. The co-living people have thought of that, too! Most co-living spaces offer their renters a lot of perks. You’ll get access to mostly furnished apartments with top-quality amenities.
Cleaning services are also often part of the rental agreement, freeing you and your housemates to live your lives and not sweat the small stuff. While co-living may sound like just renting with other people, it’s very different and a far more practical way to embrace living in LA.
Photo by Ivan Samkov on Pexels
Wrap Up
Co-living in LA is the best way to create a personal network, manage your personal and financial life practically, and get the most out of your time in the city of angels.
Keep being AllDayChic!
