According to U.S Census data, New York has one of the highest hotel occupancy rates in the country. Since the global economic crisis, people who move to the city are twice the number of people moving out of New York. There were an estimated 62.8 million visitors in 2017, of which 49.7 million were domestic. Hundreds of thousands of people have chosen to move to New York City, not only because of the fantastic experience it offers but also because it is home to a plethora of coliving spaces.
Why is coliving such a big factor in drawing people to New York? Coliving is a modern housing system that provides flexible stays, affordable all-inclusive pricing, and fully furnished houses, without the complex rental process that has plagued New York’s housing market for years. Colivers can rent from a few days, a month or months, and even up to a year. One of the biggest perks of coliving besides just the flexibility, affordability, and one-stop-shopping of the fully furnished, well-stocked home, is that coliving offers a built-in community. New York, despite its huge population, can be, especially to newcomers, one of the loneliest places. Coliving has solved that problem.
Who is Coliving for?
Coliving spaces are designed to accommodate everyone, no matter your age, gender, race, culture, or profession. However, some types of people have embraced this living system more than others. Remote workers (who are about to double in number due to companies changing policies for employees), nomads, students, interns, freelancers as well as others who just want freedom, are prime candidates for coliving. The coliving model has free Wi-Fi and co-work spaces or, for those who prefer to work in private, comfy bedrooms, that allow freelancers their own space to study and work. With furnished apartments, amazing décor, private rooms, and reliable security, coliving spaces are the answer to those flocking to New York who needs a place to call “home.”
This shared community offers a plethora of benefits to students. Besides allowing them privacy and freedom, which they might not get in the dorms or on-campus housing, coliving spaces save money. Price of rent is one thing, but when you factor in setup fees, utility fees, fees tacked on for living on campus, special deposits, not to mention the cost of setup-comforters, sheets, towels, coffee makers, microwaves, desks, kitchen supplies, gym memberships, meal plans, etc. coliving is definitely the way to go. Students can save thousands of dollars with coliving. Also, we have seen students actually do better in their schoolwork as they are less likely to be drawn into the party scene and coliving houses are much quieter at finals time than the dorms. Likewise, students can make valuable connections while coliving. Imagine a student is majoring in IT and his roommate at the coliving house is visiting New York for two months while attending an executive training seminar for Apple. What a match that would be! He would more than likely never get that opportunity in a dorm on campus. Such opportunities for mentors, advancement in careers, and opportunities, in general, happen every day in our coliving communities.
For freelancers as well as remote workers, coliving spaces offer a convenient coworking environment from which to work. Coworking creates networking and community opportunities as well as events for freelancers and remote workers. With the networking events, you can meet other creators and collaborate on new projects or share ideas. Coliving, by providing cleaning services, supplies on hand, maintenance, and on-site laundry simplifies life so that there is more time to devote to pursuing passion projects and experiencing New York.
During the COVID-19 crisis, SharedEasy was made aware of its essential role as a coliving company. Digital nomads, who called home “the road,” were left with no place “to shelter in place.” Coliving was, quite literally, their answer to a safe place to stay when the “road” came to a dead-end, borders were closed, and flights were grounded. The role of coliving and its relation to New York City’s population became even more apparent. Unsure of what will happen next with jobs, people need flexibility when in their rental agreement. Coliving offers that. Those who had to leave New York during the crisis will be returning, their circumstances will have changed. Maybe they lost a roommate who moved out permanently for some reason or maybe they were in a relationship but now are single. During the COVID-19 crisis circumstances changed, many leases were broken, living arrangements abruptly changed for many people and in order to continue living in New York, they need an option for a place to live. They need flexibility, affordability and they need to be able to move in quickly. Coliving is the answer. Students who lost their housing are finishing classes online-indefinitely. Coliving offers them a way to stay in New York City. Big corporations like Apple, Twitter, Zoom, and Google have announced they will keep many of their employees working from home. Coliving is the answer for these remote workers who will now want the flexibility to travel or move place-to-place with their newfound freedom.
Now more than ever, coliving continues to be a big factor in drawing people to New York and in keeping people IN New York. As a coliving company that LOVES New York City, SharedEasy is proud to be a part of this movement to allow New Yorkers and who love their city, safe and sound in the Big Apple.
