The cost of having your own home is rising every year. There’s always a constant flow of people looking for cheap living space. For the older folk living on their lonesome, it’s becoming a serious issue.
That’s where co-living spaces come in.
How Does Co-Living Work?
Co-living spaces are the upgrade to your college dorm room. Adult dorms and shared housing in retirement village Singapore are the upgrades to your college dorm room. Communal living, co-living space, is when people decide to live together under one building with their private bedroom. Amenities such as bathrooms and kitchens may be shared.
From strangers to like-minded people, these communal spaces can be a place for all types of people needing their bedrooms. Anyone can avail of the co-living area if they pay for the proper amenities, such as cleaning services, or provide their effort in the upkeep.
Pros of Co-Living
1) Relationships Can Be Built
The beauty of shared living spaces is that it builds social connection. Communal living allows constant interaction with people, which helps create new relationships. Older people benefit most from community spaces since it keeps them company and build community with fellow elders.
Young professionals and people with shared interests use co-living spaces for affordable housing and for the chance to build networks that can help them in their careers.
2) Rooms are Furnished
Compared to living on your own, co-living offers fully furnished living spaces. Private rooms are still available, but the shared amenities are fully provided by the co-living company or owners responsible. Communal spaces are equipped with furniture, TV, and an entertainment system. Sometimes, these can be co-working spaces where people can work remotely.
3) Perfect for Short-Term Accommodation
Transients are the ones who use communal spaces often. Many young professionals are moving to expensive cities like New York or San Francisco, with little in the way of rent paid for their place. So they’ll take up co-living spaces while on their apartment search or until they have enough money to afford their home.
4) Affordable
With everything getting more expensive as time moves on, finding affordable housing is a must. With places like New York having some of the most expensive real estates in the entire world, it’s no wonder that co-living and housemates are such a commonplace practice. Co-living spaces offer housing at a more reasonable rate for big cities like San Francisco while not skimping on basic amenities like private bedrooms, shared kitchen spaces or communal dining areas.
5) Housekeeping, Utility Bill Payment, Maintenance, and Lease Contract Renewal Would Be Easy
Rent payment, professional cleaning services, electricity and water bills, and paying the lease are more accessible and more flexible under co-living. With shared housing, the upkeep is distributed to more than one individual, meaning more people will shoulder the burden, making it less difficult for everyone overall. This is best for big city living since these places are costly and often require apartment renters to sign leases that last for months to years.
6) Co-Living Areas Provide Safety and Security
Communal spaces offer a safety net for vulnerable groups of people since it involves different members of the community working together for the collective benefit. older people will greatly benefit from a co-living space since they can take care of each other. Since seniors and the elderly are at greater risk of household accidents and break-ins, having a group of people living together can provide more protection than an individual with safety measures.
Cons of Co-Living
1) It’s Not A Guarantee that You’ll Get Along with Your Housemate
Not everyone you room with will be amicable. Shared values and similar interests are not guaranteed in any communal space, even in private rooms like co-living. It’s a given that you will end up with housemates you do not see eye-to-eye with. This can create tension in the household since you’re living with someone you do not like.
2) Lessened Privacy
Everything here is shared. Beyond your private bedroom, there’s a huge chance you’ll rarely get any privacy. The kitchens are available for everyone. The dining and living areas are community spaces. In some co-living spaces, they have shared bathrooms. If privacy is something you value, you won’t get a lot of it in co-living.
Tips for Choosing A Senior Group Home
1) Prices Should be Affordable
When apartment searching, remember that a co-living space should offer affordable housing rates. Always check how much they offer for monthly stays, yearly stays if they include the utilities in the pay, etc. One of the benefits of co-living is the reduced cost, so your stay should help save money, not spend it.
2) Moving in Process
Moving into a senior group home can sometimes be tricky for co-living spaces. Some co-living housing requires a background check on its incoming tenants. Depending on the type of living space, these can range from basic questions about why you chose their space to whether co-living housing provides the amenities and experience a senior will need.
3) Activities for Its Community
Community events are part of senior co-living, as part of the idea of “graceful ageing”. Find a community that provides the engagement you desire. Whether it’s a community with many outdoor activities or one that lets their senior residents relax in their own homes, find one that’s appropriate for you.
4) Flexibility
Flexible leases and light security deposits allow any type of resident to join the community. If you only need to spend a limited amount of time in a certain place, then a co-living area is suited to your needs.
5) Location
Co-living arrangements are usually found in places with high demands for a workforce. Usually major cities or large businesses in the countryside. Therefore, co-living is more common in urban areas. Know where
6) Furnishing and Design
All co-living spaces are fully furnished. It’s simply a matter of what works with your price range and what you’re looking for. There are co-living areas that have basic amenities like shared kitchens and living rooms. Others provide their laundry room or other essentials. Some even go far enough to provide paper towels, dish soap, toilet paper, and other communal needs.
7) Easy Interaction with Other People
Socialisation is unavoidable with co-living. Know what type of socialisation you’re willing to engage in. Most co-living spaces just allow people to exist in the same building without encouraging events or programs for the residents to join in. However, if you’re a bit of a social butterfly, find a co-living space with lots of communal areas for the residents to gather.
Final Words
Co-living is the new approach to housing. For seniors, they can provide all the necessities of the home with the benefit of a tight-knit community that can provide them with their emotional and social needs.
