I spent a month in a co-living in Montreal -- here is what I learned!

But first… what is co-living?

Google tells us that:

Co-living is a residential community living model that accommodates three or more biologically unrelated people living in the same dwelling unit. Generally coliving is a type of intentional community that provides shared housing for people with similar values or intentions.

So how much of this is true?

Our space, at Nomad Coliving houses just under 20 people at once. Everyone has their own room, and either a private or shared bath. In addition, we have shared spaces, such as a large kitchen with industrial-sized fridges, a movie room, a multi-purpose room, and a co-working space.

Every Sunday we host a shared dinner, where everyone is either on the cooking or cleaning team. One or two members of the house take the lead in planning the meal. The last Sunday I was there, we did Italian night -- shoutout to our chef Ricardo Francoli!

Beyond this, the community works organically. We have a WhatsApp group where we communicate as a house, and share plans and ideas. For example, Mallaury Berland likes to organize Friday brunch. We also have past house members, like Ameya Bongale, that still live in Montreal, and continue to organize events, like frisbee or boat rides.

My favourite part though, is that by joining a co-living, you essentially have community built-in to wherever you go. As a digital nomad that loves exploring, I was incredibly surprised by the amazing humans that inhabited Nomad Coliving. Maria Kinoshita, the owner and leader of the space, interviews everyone before they join! She ensures everyone has a project they are working on and that they have a real interest in contributing to the community -- her care in the process shows.

I appreciated spending my work days alongside people from Spain, France, Colombia, the US and other parts of Canada. In terms of professions, we had everything from developers, to designers, to marketers. For example, Erica Cosentino and I talked quite a bit about design and branding, and our shared experiences working with great leaders!

If you are thinking about co-living, my two main questions to consider are:

• Are you comfortable sharing space with others?

• Are you open to contributing to a community (helping someone with their resume, working on a new language together, cooking dinner)?

If yes, I encourage you to give it a try!

My month in Montreal flew by, because there were so many amazing humans to share the experience with.

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