There are many different ways to go on a workation. Alone, with a friend, with your partner, with a colleague, with a group trip or to a coliving. I have now tried all these ways and in this blog I like to tell about my last experience, the one in a coliving. I really wanted to live and work abroad again for a while and look for the sunshine there, but not so much alone. The destination became Valencia. Not only do I think that is a great city, this time I had the goal of going on site visits and meeting collaboration partners for my new company. I am a companion person and so I opted for a coliving. I really recommend going to one particular place for a bit longer, this way you really have the time to properly explore your destination. You then get to know much more about the real local culture, their habits and way of life. This is something I find enormously valuable in traveling. You don’t just visit the tourist highlights, but can really discover what it’s like somewhere else. You are also less rushed and can enjoy your trip much more.
What is a coliving?
To start at the beginning, it is good to explain what a coliving is. You have them in all shapes and sizes and can now find them all over the world. Partly because of the increase in remote workers, this way of staying abroad is increasingly popular and there are more and more of these types of accommodations. The common denominator is that you live and live together with others. Sometimes that’s in the same building and you have your own room, sometimes it’s shared housing. You share common areas and are part of a community. If you want, because you can decide for yourself how you will spend your stay. There are some things that are important when choosing a coliving that suits you:
- The destination and location
- Quality and price of accommodation
- The facilities
- Community
- Fellow residents
Destination and location
For me personally, it is always important that the weather is nice somewhere. Summer in the Netherlands is always over just too quickly, so for me, looking up the sun is always a must. I don’t want too much of a time difference so that means staying in Europe. Spain and Portugal are at the top of most people’s list. Because I’m alone, I don’t want to be in the middle of nowhere. Then you can easily go out on your own. It has to be a safe place so you can walk the streets alone with peace of mind.
The facilities
What is just as important as the destination is the type of coliving you choose. I like having my own bedroom with desk, but am fine with sharing a bathroom and kitchen. I also think it’s important to have nice common areas. I have regular video meetings and want to do them in a quiet place, so then having my own desk and good office chair is nice. A shared workspace can also be nice during the day, so you can have a chat in between.
Coliving community
If you choose a coliving I do it myself because I don’t want to be alone and get to know other people easily. You also have colivings where you have your own apartment, which is not necessarily in the same building as other colivers. Personally I find that very unfortunate, because then you only have contact through a group app for example, while it is also very nice to run into each other spontaneously, or to sit together on a roof terrace.
A community usually organizes all kinds of activities, from sports to drinks evenings to language courses. You can choose to join anything.
The difference between colivings does vary a lot I have noticed. I myself was in MyCO (no spon) in Valencia, in the Cabanyal district. This is a brand new building with fine facilities, only the management is very mediocre. Communication is difficult and almost nothing is organized so you are very much on your own so it doesn’t feel like a community. Fortunately, there are always a few people who are social and so you still make contact quickly, but you have to be a bit assertive to do so. Considering I am an event manager and know Valencia well I quickly became the tour guide haha, much to the delight of my roommates. ColivingValencia is also a nice organization.
Quality and price of accommodation
You are, of course, in control of how much money you spend. If you want to go more luxurious or in high season, you will pay for it. Personally, I think comfort is important, but it doesn’t have to be fancy. Obviously, a big room or apartment costs more than something smaller. Also, you usually pay less from October onwards, while I myself like to go abroad in the winter so that works out nicely. I myself had a 12 m2 bedroom with a double bed, large closet and desk and paid around € 1000 in September and € 800 in October.
Your fellow residents
One of the best things about traveling is getting to know different cultures. Of course, those of your destination, but also of the people you meet there. In a coliving you find people from all over the world. My roommates were from Colombia, Israel, Sweden, UK, Germany, Macedonia, all sorts of things. And of course there were also a few other Dutch people, you meet them everywhere. Especially in Valencia. The average age was around 30, some in their mid-20s and some in their 40s. There were about as many men as women.
Almost everyone was a remote worker and most were salaried. There were also a number of expats or people in-between jobs. They often work in the same time zone, but a number of people worked at different times because of time differences. So you see that remote working is more and more accepted by companies and in some countries it is already much more normal than in the Netherlands. A few people had taken 1 or 2 months off and came to learn Spanish. They went to school 4 days a week. In general, you notice that most people work until about 5 to 6 p.m. and then find each other to do something fun. For example, I regularly went to play beach volleyball at Playa da la Malvarossa after my work day. And of course there were also the necessary dinners together. Sometimes it got a little late spontaneously, but it was certainly not a party mansion because everyone got up early for work or school. It is not obligatory to socialize, you can do your own thing.
What you don’t know beforehand
No matter how well you prepare your trip, or maybe not, what it’s really going to be like you only find out one way. By doing it! Beforehand, I had in mind to work especially hard. I wasn’t going there to make friends, but to focus on my business. Well, that turned out to be completely different. To be perfectly honest, I was working way too hard before I left because of my enormous drive to perform. In Valencia I found the balance again. Enjoy your (work) life. Radiant sunshine and cozy roommates made me put my laptop away more often and enjoy Spanish life. Not making friends didn’t work out at all. In fact, saying goodbye to my roommates was extremely hard for me. I was going to miss these people, remote work, this great way of life so much. I’m sure I will still see some people, wherever they are in the world. Do you also want to go on such a remote work adventure, but aren’t sure how to go about it? Or would you like to spar with someone with a lot of experience? You can! Check here the information about the personal consultation with Alieke. Is a coliving not for you and would you rather just have your own apartment? Then search for a nice accommodation in Valencia on Booking.com. There are more than enough of them. Make sure it includes wifi and check the reviews for complaints about the accommodation. That way, you will not encounter any unpleasant surprises.
