Breaking the preconceived notions of coliving

I’ve noticed something when speaking with people who know nothing about coliving: they have a lot of preconceived notions and are usually always negative. I want to use this article to clear up some misconceptions about what coliving is, specifically for Outpost Club (I can’t speak on behalf of other coliving operators).

Here are some things I hear people say:

“Oh, It’s a dorm!”

No, it’s not a dorm. Dorms usually don’t have kitchens and sometimes don’t have shared rooms. In most dorms, you don’t get to pick your room accommodation; you’re almost always sharing a room, and only sometimes do you choose your location. At Outpost Club, you can pick whatever style room you want (shared or private) and move around after you arrive.

“If it’s not a dorm, it’s still only for college students”

Incorrect. Yes, we have members who are students, but we also have members who are professionals in their field, entrepreneurs, travelers, freelancers, and from all other walks of life.

“Oh, well then it must be a hostel!”

Still, that is not the case. Hostels are places for short stays. You might make some friends at a hostel, but it lacks community. At Outpost Club the minimum stay is a month, allowing members to get to know each other and become a part of our community. We provide common areas you’d want to hang out in, hold events, and have a house leader at each location to facilitate this community.

Source: Outpost Coliving – Coliving.com

“You guys share things, so it’s gotta be a commune!”

Yeah… that’s a significant oversimplification. Sure, we share essentials but other than that, we share only space. We cook our own meals (other than at potlucks) work independently and take our own showers (you’d be surprised what some people assume about our members).

“There’s no way it stays clean”

Each house has a cleaner that comes once a week. The cleaner “resets” the house by cleaning all common rooms, changing the sheets on your bed, and restocking all the essential items we provide. The cleanliness of your room, like always, is up to you.

“It must be loud all the time.”

Quiet hours start at 10 pm, and they are observed.

“If I lived there, I’d never get any privacy.”

You can always find a place to be alone in any of our houses. If you work from home, the only other people at home will likely also be working. If you share a room, roommates take vacations and sometimes sleep over at friends’ houses. You can also communicate with roommates about privacy, it’s up to you to make those accommodations.

“I’ve never done coliving before, so I don’t know what it would be like”

The thing is, you’ve probably done coliving before and don’t know it. Outpost Club’s definition of coliving is “A shared housing model with mid-to-long-term stays” that’s it. Have you ever shared a house with someone? If so, you’re already halfway there.

As I mentioned at the beginning, most preconceived notions people have about coliving are negative. But there is a bright side to this: almost all of these negative assumptions evaporate the moment someone holding these assumptions walks into a coliving space. My advice to anyone interested in coliving is this: see a coliving space in person. There have been so many times when I show someone an Outpost Club space, and they say something like, “Oh, it’s just an apartment with people in it.” I’m not sure what these people imagined beforehand, but showing them the physical space removes all their doubts about living in these spaces.

Thanks to Outpost Club for making this article.