Co-living was a revelation for Kelly, originally from the Lorraine region, who lived for many years in the United States and Canada before becoming a digital nomad. In 2021, while she was spending the confinement period alone in the Caribbean, a friend asked if she would like to join her in a co-living home in Mexico...
“I loved the experience. The place was superb, spacious and the decor was tasteful, everyone had their own bathroom. But what I appreciated above all was the companionship. There were people staying from all over the world who were there to work. At weekends, we hired a van and went off exploring the area. It was brilliant” enthused this new fan of a lifestyle of living closer together,
Kelly set up the podcast Fill'Expats, in which she interviews women who have reinvented their lives far from their countries of origin. For her, apart from being the perfect solution for a nomadic lifestyle, co-living is also a very practical turnkey solution when settling in a new country. You don’t need to open an internet or electricity account or buy any furniture and it’s an excellent starting point to forming friendships and building networks.
In the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, home sharing is a well-established habit among young professionals.
Indeed, real estate pressure causes prices to rise so much that, quite often, living alone is not an option. As a consequence, the website combien-coute.net whose database is user driven, indicates that the average cost of a studio apartment in the city centre is €1600.
In this context, a home-sharing market in Luxembourg quickly developed. The market is sometimes quite erratic and each available square metre is made use of to generate greater revenues.
“10 years ago, owners would divide the lounge with a partition to create two additional bedrooms. Outcome: you hear your neighbour coughing, and the house is no longer a living space for social gatherings” explains Nicolas, one of the founders of Cocoonut which offers a new Co-living solution in Luxembourg.
It is the opposite approach that motivates the two partners who pay particular attention to the common spaces and decor. “We create spaces where we would want to live” explains Nicolas. Each room is fitted out to a high standard and comprises an office for working and a private bathroom. Other projects even offer a kitchenette in each room. As regards the common spaces, in addition to the living room, kitchen and dining room, their co-living solutions also offer other meeting spaces, such as a garden, a fitness room and a theatre room. “We wanted to create a family atmosphere where quality of life takes precedence”. In the same way as comfort and space are able to radically transform “tribal” life, co-living is also a means of simplifying life.
The living room of a co-living home in the district of Neudorf in Luxembourg
Who is the leaseholder? Who is responsible for the cleaning this week? Who makes sure the bills get paid? Questions such as these that arise in a traditional flat-sharing situation are addressed by Nicolas and his partner Aurélien with their new rental solution.
Consequently, in their co-living homes, each resident has an individual lease that he/she may terminate whenever they wish (with prior notice of one month). And all of the charges are included: water, gas, internet, cleaning etc. It is a hybrid model between hotel and home sharing, which positions itself by offering high-quality services offered at a low price due to the sharing of resources.
“All you have to do is put your bags down” enthuses Nicolas, who specifies that the entire process is facilitated by digital technology: virtual tour, electronic signature of the tenancy agreement, it can all be arranged remotely before your arrival in the country. This is a welcome relief for new arrivals who are moving to Luxembourg to start a new chapter of their life.
It’s a growing trend according to the two entrepreneurs. By spring 2022, two of their projects were already in operation. One in the district of Neudorf (adjacent to Kirchberg) and the other, Place de l’Etoile, in the district of Limpertsberg. By 2023, 200 new rooms are expected to be available in the country. And co-living also wins the approval of cities, where there is a desire to rethink urban development by promoting collective housing solutions. This is the case in Differdange with the Gravity project which combines shops, offices, housing, a nursery and 125 co-living rooms to be completed by 2023.
The principle is that for less than the price of a studio apartment, you can rent a co-living room inclusive of all charges with pleasant common spaces. Consequently, at Cocoonut, the prices range from €1100 to €1450 depending on the location of the home.
Does the idea appeal to you? As a general rule even the home insurance (building + furniture) is included in the rent. For the more cautious, it is however recommended that tenants insure any valuables (jewellery, watches etc.) and are insured privately for third party liability.
All that remains is to wish you a happy move to Luxembourg!