Over the past 5 years, with the rise of remote work and digital nomadism, coliving spaces have become a widespread answer to the needs of the new type of travelers.
Colivings have reinvented the live-work-play balance by creating a versatile space that can be your workplace, your home, and your social place. This all depends on the situation, time of day, or your perception.
As the above suggests, a coliving space is a shared living, working, and socializing space, and it is most typically made to be shared between 8 and 15 people at a time, but the size of the community can vary.
This size range proved to be great for this type of community, as it gives residents enough people to find who fits them the most, but also a small enough group that sparks connections.
However, as we mentioned, there are also coliving spaces with communities smaller than 8 people. And. let us tell you – they can be an incredible gem for those seeking slower and deeper connections.
For example, small coliving places can be a great fit for those who like to observe and take time for connections to unravel; or those who like a more personalized or co-governed experience.
All in all, smaller colivings might not get all the attention, but they can certainly have unmatched benefits for those who are willing to try them.
Let’s see what these benefits are!
The Personalized Touch of Staying in Smaller Coliving Spaces
As we mentioned above, small coliving spaces allow the coliving to create tailored and unique experiences.
While most colivings do have a set of activities up in their sleeve, in smaller colivings these social activities are more fluid and can be inspired by the group’s dynamics and wishes.
For example, if the group enjoys yoga – a pre-planned visit to the beach can become a beach yoga session. Or if the group is particularly interested in sustainability, we might lead the conversation on sustainable food practices during the local dinner party.
When the groups connect, they will be much more open to suggesting activities outside of the coliving’s original plan. This not only drives new ideas for the space but also connects the colivers with the surroundings even more. An approach like this will open new opportunities for exploring the localities, enjoying some unique experiences, and of course – better connections and community.
Smaller Colivings Allow More Time for Meaningful Connections
Coliving spaces with smaller communities usually attract people who stay at least 1 month or even more. This is because people who want to stay longer don’t typically look for a high-tempo experience or accommodation (like hostels). After all, they plan to balance out their time exploring the city/area, working, socializing, etc.
Slow traveling has become very popular in the past few years (which is amazing to see), so more people are interested in mimicking “real life” when they settle in their new temporary home rather than boosting it with new high-tempo activities every day.
Smaller colivings tend to match this energy and typically provide a great solution for colivers who look for that. Even if someone decides to stay in this kind of coliving but only for a few days, there are much fewer chances that they will be accepted, as coliving operators know they need longer stays to build the community.
All that gives colivers much more time to connect and lets them do that slowly and lean into it as they would in real life. Ultimately, this makes the connections stronger and more natural. Speaking of which…
Smaller Coliving Spaces = Stronger Sense of Community
Even though a smaller coliving would not give you a big choice in picking your crew among 15 or 20 people – that is also a part of its charm.
As long as everybody in the coliving stays together for at least a few weeks and is interested in slow connections and exploration, the differences between the colivers can make real magic.
While in bigger colivings you would get closer to people who already match your interests and maybe background (because it’s easier), in smaller coliving places you have a bigger chance of learning something completely new and changing your perspective, which is an amazing tool for community building.
Getting to know your mates on a deeper level while trying to understand their perspectives and backgrounds can do wonders for feeling a part of a community. With time being spent with these people in a tight-knit group – that sense of community is growing every day and can become much stronger and last longer than in bigger coliving spaces.
Lastly, smaller colivings also allow you to connect with the operators and staff on a deeper level, which opens new doors for suggestions, concept development, and even for long-lasting friendships or collaboration.
Peaceful and Productive Atmosphere
One of the obvious advantages of a smaller coliving is its quiet and less crowded environment.
With fewer people, there is less noise and more tranquility.
For some, this atmosphere can be too peaceful and not what they are looking for, but for others, it can be a perfect little heaven. These quiet days, during working hours, are typically compensated with nightly activities, outings, and different hangouts.
We also see that when spending their days in peace, colivers tend to be more rested and eager to spend quality time with each other in the evenings or during the weekends.
While bigger colivings typically need to have a separate, strictly managed space for working to achieve tranquility, smaller colivings often manage to have this work-life balance within their communal spaces and can work better with open concept spaces.
This kind of setup that smaller coliving places offer can be quite beneficial for remote workers, as they can provide an oasis for focus and relaxation during the mornings or the day.
Day-to-day social aspects are also more tranquil and typically focus on talking, sharing stories, and having food or coffee together, while more high-tempo activities are reserved for special occasions and evenings, letting the colivers prepare and rest for them. This means that during the days spent in the coliving, colivers are much more likely to connect on a deeper level as they will have more time to chat when they seem to like it.
Immersion in Local Culture
Lastly, one of our favorite benefits of small coliving spaces is that they are often more integrated into local neighborhoods and the local community.
First, a smaller coliving typically means that it is not located in a huge property but rather in an already established community, such as a village, a neighborhood, or even a building. So, naturally, a coliving like this is already a part of its local community and needs to interact with it.
Locals tend to be curious about newcomers and the new business, so colivings often see that there are a lot of advantages of opening their doors to their neighbors and including them in the value of their offering.
Smaller colivings will also much more often try to collaborate with the locals for their coliving needs, as well as explore different partnerships which can serve as activities for their colivers.
Lastly, smaller communities understand that their size is sometimes their downside, so they often turn to locals, local organizations, or different partners, to enrich their community and events.
Of course, a seminar is better with more than just a few people in the audience, and a networking event is better if there are at least 15-20 people who can join. So, having that in mind, smaller coliving places work hard to find creative ways how to extend their community, which means a lot more cultural and local immersion for the colivers, and a lot more diversity for the locals.
How do we do it in EcoIsleta?
As a small coliving, Ecoisleta takes great care of its community experience.
With only 7 rooms, we take special care in making sure people who come to us are looking for what we are offering. We understand that people have different needs and we always try to be very transparent about the experience our small coliving offers.
Our space
First, we have a versatile space and terrace that work both as a working space and a communal area.
During the day, this space is mostly reserved for working, casual chit-chats, snacking and eating, and chilling. During the evening of our events, this space easily transforms into a dinner party, a small auditorium, or just a space for networking.
Although during the day, this space is mostly tranquil, in case some of the colivers need extra focus on some days that are socially more active, all our rooms have desks where they can find their bit of peace.
Dynamics
We like our colivers to feel at home – safe, sound, and peaceful, so we make sure the coliving IS their home, with no disturbance, outsiders, or a lot of staff passing by.
Then on previously agreed days, we will invite locals and other digital nomads from the island to join us for an event, but we always want our colivers to feel like it is their house party. The guests occupy the upper part of our coliving, leaving the room area secluded and again – in peace.
We propose events to happen from 1 to 3 times per week, whether that be inside or outside of the coliving.
This seems to give the colivers enough time to make their own plans (which they often do together), have some private time to decompress and relax, enough time to work peacefully and without distractions, and yet gives them a great amount of social activity to get to know the area and really immerse themselves into the culture.
Our colivers
We have had so many different profiles of colivers come through our doors – travelers, digital nomads, those settling down in Las Palmas, those on sabbaticals, even those on vacations.
However, one thing connecting those who fit the best is that all were looking for longer stays, and had their own daily dynamics but wanted to try to slow traveling, meet new people, and meet Las Palmas. They were not rushing into their experiences and yet managed to experience so much.
If that resonates with you – you would probably find our coliving or other small coliving places a great fit for you.
Written by… Gala from MCS: Spain, she and Marko spent a wonderful 2 months in Ecoisleta, closely living and collaborating with the Ecoisleta community…
