Communal living has always been around and it’s the most cost-efficient way to live for every generation—not just millennials.
Co-living isn’t anything new. It’s been around forever. It just has a cool and hip new name now, if you ask me!
When we first moved into Priya Living, our relatives thought it was a little funny. They joked that we were becoming like millennials. My own children didn’t understand our choice to shift to a co-living apartment after decades in a house.
I didn’t understand all the fuss then and I don’t understand it now. Communal living has always been around and, as a matter of fact, it’s the most cost-efficient way to live—for every generation. It’s no surprise that 70 million people across the United States live with roommates.
Millennials have become fans of cohabitation almost out of necessity (a financial necessity). Theirs isn’t the booming economy that we enjoyed, that’s for sure. Nowadays we all need to find smarter ways to live. And the issue of affordability affects us all. Baby boomers like me aren’t exempt!
Finances weren’t, however, the only factor that made our decision to move to a co-living space an easy one.
Our friends are here! Knowing that they’d be our neighbors was a great incentive. And now I see them more frequently, literally every day. We learn together in the various classes and excursions here at Priya, we eat together and we party together. We’ve also made many new friends at Priya that might never have crossed our paths—like our young friend Tony, who has taught us all about carbon footprints and the environment. Our lives have been enriched by co-living in ways I never considered, and our communal meals and community garden help connect us toward a common goal that benefits the whole.
Communal living has always been around. My parents and their parents, and my wife’s parents: they all lived in multi-generational homes surrounded by their extended families. The towns they lived in were just an extension of that home. In the case of my wife’s parents, their home was in a larger city. But even so, their neighborhood was full of intergenerational homes, and everyone was surrounded by family and friends.
For me, communal living is a homecoming! I’m just going back to our ancestors' tried and tested way of living. It’s a return to those aspects of social life that I think we’ve lost somewhere along the way.
Co-living is here to stay because it works for many different types of people in today’s world. As we become more global, we look for ways to simplify our lives by eliminating unnecessary space and expenses. We also look for more sustainable, eco-friendly and innovative ways to live and connect. Communal living will continue to grow.
Are you curious about joining a co-living community? Contact us to arrange a tour!
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