“Home” means different things to different people. For some, it’s a student dorm, the hub for all aspects of life–social, educational, cultural and financial. For others, it’s life on the road. In the age of nomadism and remote work, many people have traded homeownership for traveling place-to-place with their work or as a world traveler. Today’s sharing economy has made much of that possible and we are a proud contributor to the sharing economy as we base much of our vision on the community and sharing work and living space. So, what do we do when community and social gatherings seem in direct opposition to the mandated policies of staying at home and social distancing essential during this challenging time? When the COVID-19 hit New York, we asked ourselves: how can we stay relevant and keep on-message and provide social distancing in a world based on community?
First, we understand that we owe it to our members to do all that we can to keep our doors open, to keep our homes in full operation, and to keep our cleaning staff and house leaders in place. Without us, there would not be, for many of our members, any place to “stay home.” So it is important to us that we continue to be the safe harbor for the coliving community who have called us home. Immediately we began to put policies and procedures in place to allow for social distancing, spaces to work, designated spaces for special cases, community rules to keep common spaces clean and in some cases, closing community areas like our gym or coworking space to protect our members.
Displaced Students
Canceled classes are usually reasons for college students to celebrate. But in the case of cancellations caused by the coronavirus, being asked to vacate could mean they are homeless. Even in good times, there are economic challenges for students. With their food, lodging and, oftentimes, their employment, tied to living on campus, where do these displaced students go? The fear they will be homeless hangs over them and, even if they find an apartment somewhere and can work a deal to afford it, what about furniture, supplies, bedding–all of the comforts of home? Coliving is the obvious solution. We are here for displaced students who need a place to stay, a place to prepare their food, an alternative to their dorms where furniture and essentials were available. While we are not a dorm, we can save the inconvenience and expense of having to stock and furnish a living space. We have free wifi, free utilities, and no security deposit. It’s a 24-hour process, in some instances, and our homes are move-in ready. Just show up with your box of books and your suitcase and settle in. To help during this crisis, we have waived all security deposits and lowered prices on all leases. Stay for a month, stay for a year, we’re flexible.
Traveling Healthcare Workers
Recently, we have bridged another gap in affordable rental options exacerbated by the COVID-19 Crisis. In the wake of this crisis, we are doing our part to assist traveling nurses, doctors, and first responders by designating three of our houses for medical professionals. We have added policies and procedures to ensure our homes are extra clean and to ensure there is ample room for social distancing and places to work that do not involve large groups or gatherings. For healthcare workers traveling to New York, we have designated spaces inside the homes so that they can rest easy. We offer prices up to 50% off of the regular price and we have designated homes in convenient locations for easy access after a long shift. We offer you flexibility in your contracts, waived security deposits and our gratitude for your service.
Digital Nomads
For some,” home” is life on the road. The flexibility of remote work and the ability to work from anywhere in the world, has allowed the more nomadic among us to choose the road as home. They travel place-to-place dividing their time between cities or countries around the world, many of them without a home base. When the unimaginable happens, like the Pandemic that caused a global shutdown, what will these wanderers do? WorkAways have been canceled, tickets and visas are no longer valid, plans for months in Ireland and an internship in Spain are gone. These nomads are “our people” as about 70% of our members fall under the category of digital nomads, world travelers, and students visiting here for just a semester or two. SharedEasy is home to these nomads, and we realized we had to ensure they continued to have a place to live. We began to put plans in place early on, even before the “Stay at Home” mandates were handed down. We have taken measures to ensure that we remain a safe, secure, shared landing space for travelers, dependent on the support of the SharedEasy Community. We are here, and like our beloved New York, we are stronger together.
No Security Deposit
It’s a well-known fact that finding affordable, safe housing and not getting “taken for a ride” in New York is difficult, at best. We pride ourselves on hassle-free living in modern fully furnished homes in convenient locations in New York. Our role has grown during this crisis as we feel a responsibility to ensure we provide safety, security and healthy environments. Additionally, we
know flexibility, affordability, and help for those who need a break during this time are important. We’ve waived our security deposits, we’ve extended the best price point to everyone signing a lease no matter if it’s short term or long term. There are no hidden fees, no upfront costs, no bills to worry about each month. It’s just the rent, the rest is up to us.
Safe, Healthy Living
Our house leaders and community managers are on point and they are tasked with keeping things clean and safe and ensuring that anyone who needs assurance or help has it. We continue to offer our fully furnished modern homes with private and shared rooms, (retooled for distance and space) completely stocked with essentials like bedding, towels, kitchen essentials, cleaning supplies (including toilet paper and paper towels!!) We offer free wifi and no utility fees. One price and no hidden fees.
If you need a place to live, a place to call home, we are here for you. Visit our website or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
We are here to stand together and we are here to support you. The SharedEasy Community is tough together, like our beloved New York, we are strong. That is what community is for and we welcome you to join the SharedEasy Community.
