Is there a solution to this problem? Definitely yes; and its “Co-Living"! Co-living is the best viable solution that enables you to overcome this issue. We shall now discuss what co-living is and why co-living is the answer to affordable housing.
What is co-living?
In simplest words, co-living means sharing your accommodation with others. Is that not what the students do when studying abroad? Co-living is not just sharing your dorm room with your college-mate, but it's also a rapidly growing trend amongst millenials sharing their housing at record level. You not only share the house with many other people but each person gets an individual room while sharing the living area spaces and the kitchen. We can look at co-living as a concept where we not only learn to live together but also work together while building a strong bond with people living with us.Co-living is not a new concept especially in expensive towns such as San Francisco. You have the single-room-occupancy hotel concept in San Francisco wherein individuals as well as families live in private rooms but share common areas like kitchen and dining rooms. The very fact that rooms for rent in San Francisco can be too heavy on your pockets and so people today should definitely look at Co-living as an alternative to owning or renting a house.
Benefits of Co-living
- Ready to move in – The most significant advantage of co-living is that the house is already furnished and ready when you move in. This relieves you from the biggest time and energy-consuming task of moving your furniture and other household items from one place to the other.
- Additional amenities – Usually, co-living locations come equipped with facilities like a common washer cum dryer, WiFi, fitness centers, and other living room amenities at no additional cost.
- Secure accommodation – In a co-living scenario, you only pay for the services that you utilize. Therefore, if your roommate or others living in the same house do not pay the rent, you do not have to worry. It is not your problem because the landlord is not going to evict you for the failure of the others to pay rent on time.
- Interesting concept – Co-living is an excellent idea, especially when you are living alone in a city like San Francisco. Yes, many people live with families in co-living spaces. It is an economically viable solution because of the high rental rates in the city. Business travelers benefit the most from this concept because they end up saving money.
- Emotional Support – When you share your accommodation with others, it is natural of you to make new friends. This friendship can provide emotional support to people in times of need. The co-living concept is such that the community tries its best to match people according to their interests. Hence, you end up building a strong emotional bond with those who share the accommodation with you.
- Affordable – An unfurnished rental accommodation can appear cheaper at times as compared to co-living. However, it is not so when you add up all the monthly expenses and the one-time security deposit along with the costs incurred by you for transporting your furniture and other household items.
- Co-working options – Many co-living establishments come with in-built co-working options. You save time and money in the bargain that you would have otherwise wasted in commuting to your office and back.
Co-living is becoming a trend
Finding rooms for rent in San Francisco is a challenge because of the high cost involved. The best solution to this crisis is to choose the co-living option. It is becoming a trend nowadays with more and more people preferring to share accommodation rather than rent an independent house. We have already seen the benefits of co-living. It serves as a modern form of affordable housing. Residents have the benefit of sharing values, interests, and living spaces, thereby establishing an emotional balance between people belonging to different cultures and backgrounds.An answer to affordable housing options
Yes, there are a couple of disadvantages of co-living as well. One of them is that you do not have the choice of your roommate. Introvert people can find it a challenge to adjust to unfamiliar faces. However, it also presents an ideal opportunity to build up new relationships. Secondly, co-living spaces offer a smaller space in comparison to an entire home for yourself. Nevertheless, it is the best affordable solution when the rooms for rent in San Francisco are expensive.
