Living with roommates has been a rite of passage for ages now, but as the industry evolves, a new name for the convenient practice is emerging.“Co-living” encompasses the technologies and trends surrounding sharing space, roommate matching and sharing amenities.
Examples of co-living range from something as simple as cohabitation in a traditional apartment to having a single room occupancy studio with shared bathroom or utilizing community rooftops or media rooms in luxury buildings. These practices are becoming more commonplace, especially in cities like New York where space is at a premium.
Here are four companies that are pioneering the co-living industry:
- Roomi – Roomi is a mobile app that allows users to find a roommate based on interests, values and lifestyles. The free app wants to revolutionize the rental-sharing industry by making it easier for users to find people they’re compatible with. Users can browse verified listings and also look for roommates in the same way they would use a dating app like Tinder.
- Common – Common made a big splash this summer when they raised $7.35 million in funds through investors like Lowercase Capital and Slow Ventures. Members of the Common community have the ability to live in “curated spaces” with a wide range of amenities like free onsite laundry, Wi-Fi and private gardens, all for a flat monthly fee. The service is flexible, offering members month-to-month service and no long-term commitments.
- Perfect Strangers of NYC – Founded by Sarah Beth Hill, a young NYC broker and advisor, Perfect Strangers of NYC offers roommate “match-making” services, bringing together new roommates to co-sign on apartments together or to help fill roommate vacancies. Hill stresses personal service, educating young apartment seekers and affordability as the company’s mission. “We find great, reasonable landlords and understand that no one should have to pay as much as the standard broker rates are in New York City,” she said.
- WeLive – An initiative of WeWork, a company that offers co-working spaces for creatives and entrepreneurs, WeLive will offer micro-units with shared amenities at 110 Wall Street. Expect WeWork’s signature brand of youthful design and community building in this new project.
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