Will co-living be the new normal?

Do we need to go back to ‘the village’? Are there ways to re-create the village life style in our modern cities? How much space can we share and what would be an ideal group size for co-living?

With the world growing more and more individualistic it is good to see trends like co-living on the rise. We must have realized we need the connection with others to feel happy and whole. Many of us have some experience with co-living in the past, during our student years or after moving to a new city and job. And I can only speak for myself but my experience was mostly positive.

Sharing meals, taking turns in cooking and exploring new foods that way. Or, making dishes together and dealing with the compromises in seasoning and ingredients (some turned out really salty or very spicy as multiple people tried to make it ‘tastier’ without the others knowing!). These are all great lessons! We did not know it at the time but all these little interactions and late night conversations made us better and more understanding people.

Not only for the young

We regularly see articles about how big developers create co-living buildings that seem more like a long-term hotel with some shared spaces. These kind of projects are in big and expensive cities where this can be an affordable way to live within the city and is not necessarily for the benefits of living in a group. And this seems to be mainly for the younger crowd, singles or young couples without children. But, we believe co-living would benefit all age groups.

It is like going back to the village, remember the one we all needed to grow up? Living in a group can be tricky though. There is a need for clear rules and expectations for all the different personalities to work together smoothly. Some groups in The Netherlands have existed for quite a while and have elaborate systems in place for disputes and managing expectations. This way of living has been popular there since the 80’s and includes mixed groups, student groups, single parent groups, artist groups, senior groups and student groups. There is an established system with not-for-profit organizations advocating and regulating groups.

Would this be possible in Canada? Well, there are already several projects running! Take a look at cohousing.ca for more info. Or subscribe to our mailinglist to be one of the first to match and connect to groups worldwide.