The Humans Inside The Pods
By Morgane Oléron
After living three years in a self run community in the heart of Stockholm, and as many years working in the coliving industry, I felt it was needed to give a voice to the people who experience the community life, day and night.
We talk about their experience living with others, the challenges and opportunities that it brought to their lives and all the learnings in between.
Read more and join our mailing list so you don't miss an episode www.lifeonfifth.com/podcast
The Humans Inside The PodsApr 21, 2021
S3 - E14 - Ben & Fabienne - Digital Nomads by accident
What a joy to record an episode with Fabienne & Benoit.
First off, I don't know how they do it but they practically never cut each other when speaking, they somehow magical know when the other is done. It was a pleasure to listen to their stories. And they have many! They've traveled so much, met so many people, they were Digital Nomads before it was hype, and before they even knew it and ended up in a coliving because of crappy wifi.
Fabienne and Benoit in their own words:
We are Ben and Fabienne. We are both in our late thirties and grew up in Switzerland. We met back in 2008 and quite quickly we got bitten by the travel bug. After our studies, we decided to move to Vienna (Austria) and worked there for 2 years. In 2013, we left for what was supposed to be a 1-year backpacking trip around the world. The trip turned out to last 19 months and the least we can say is that this gave us new perspective on our life and careers. We were no longer attracted by the corporate world and started dreaming about a more flexible, filled with human interactions and entrepreneur life. Financial reality however made us go back to an office job after returning from the trip. We both took a job in a tech start-up in Zurich (March 2015). In August 2016, barely 18 months after signing our contract, we resigned and founded our own company and started travelling again.
After being fully nomad for a little more than 2 years, we pushed the doors of our first coliving in December 2018 (Nine Coliving). This has been a game changer and we started to spend about 50% of our time in coliving spaces across Europe (nine coliving, cloud citadel, Anceu, Re-Station, Bansko). In 2023, we're now opening our own space in the Swiss Alps.
We've been running our travel blog since 2013 and a wordpress-SEO blog (novo-media.ch) since 2016. We love writing hiking guides (books as well as ebooks)
Keep up with their adventures: https://www.instagram.com/alpiness_coliving
Check out Alpiness Coliving: https://alpiness-coliving.com/
S3 - E13 - Lisa - Stay in touch and keep moving
I'm not the one to claim the benefit of social media but I will admit this time around it is Instagram that brought Lisa and me together. Well, Insta and a common friend. We quickly connected through what seemed to be a never-ending list of shared interests.
Lisa in her own words:
I just turned 27 years and was born and raised in Berlin to parents from East Berlin. I left the city several times. Until now, I always returned but never felt like settling or being able to commit to this city. I was too driven and curious to explore the unknown. It refreshes my sense of self. Talking about CV milestones and community experiences, I did a corporate BA in Economics & Real Estate during which I worked at a big, international real estate firm, Jones Lang LaSalle. On an Erasmus exchange semester in The Hague, The Netherlands, I studied Sustainable Urban Engineering and loved it! It gave me a sense of purpose, motivation and belonging.
Afterwards, I worked in a private airline. It paid the bills and gave me time for orientation. In that period I hiked along the coast of Portugal and visited a friend’s off-grid hut in Aljezur. I felt free :)
In 2019, I got accepted to the program 4CITIES, a MSc in Urban Studies. This Euromaster takes place in four different cities. With 40 selected international students, I spent each semester in a different city: Brussels, Vienna, Copenhagen and Madrid. Here, I noticed that being an individual in a community is never easy yet very fulfilling.
Two of my semester breaks I spent at Masseria Cultura in the Zona di Trulli, Puglia, an art residency project of two friends. A magical place, where I could get my hands dirty restoring the trulli while gardening!
I graduated from 4CITIES in September 2021. Since the beginning of 2022 I was employed at Gründerinnenzentrale. During this time I hosted two online networking events for my Master program, realizing how much valuable knowledge and experience we as alumni carry and can share. During one of my vacations, I worked at a small, woman-led vineyard in Provence, France. Looking back, I realize I was (and still am) actively searching for community experiences, which reflects my search for a home and my big curiosity for self-organized, architecturally interesting projects. My recent discovery is the vacation village Borgo Batone in Tuscany, Italy.
I quit my job as a project manager at Gründerinnenzentrale (Female Founders Office) in Berlin this April. Since 2006, the project supports women in running their own businesses through knowledge sharing, networking events, and target group-specific consultancy. I'm currently reaching out to people and exploring projects/businesses to find out what's dear to my heart. The stories of people inspire and encourage me to navigate my own path and philosophy of life.
I'm searching for an occupation and physical surrounding that is simpler, more tangible, and "soul-filling“. I do love fast-paced, high-energy environments like Berlin. I love to discover urban areas, the unpredictable nature of them, the people and to be taken away by their rhythms. However, cities do overwhelm me as well and I’m mindful of the impact of e.g. anonymity and noises on the individual. So, I’ve got that very opposite side in me, which calls for silence and grounding. Being back in Berlin makes me feel like missing out on something more pure and to be building something larger for me. What’s calling and inspiring me? Vernacular architecture, the production of food, smaller communities & more reliable connections, and places nearby the sea.
Keep up with Lisa: https://www.instagram.com/theycallher.lisa
Explore Borgo Battone: https://www.borgo-batone.com/
S3 - E12 - Jeanne - It is what it was at one point, it will never be the same again
A few weeks back I had a lovely conversation with one of the amazing girls of the Chateau Coliving team. But Jeanne does much more than that!
Jeanne in her own words: I’m Jeanne, from France. I split my time between travels and Château coliving where I work as a community facilitator as well as freelancing in event management. I chase meaningful conversations, laughs, new experiences, and good food, pretty much anything that can be shared!
We talk about a lot of things!
We discuss her journey from full time employment to remote to digital nomad. From discovering coliving to making it a career.
We talk about the growth, learning and boundaries that we develop when living with others. We talk about the joy of the little moments and the challenge of never going "back Home".
We also mention a beautiful innitiave between Chateau and Burgas Coliving, the Wellness Coliving Experience for the digital nomads who love their lifestyle but struggle to make -Life-Work-Community work in a health and sustainable way!
https://burgascoliving.com/wellness/
S3 - E11 - Christy - If I cannot find it, I must create it
*Apologise for the background noises on this episode, it's worth pushing through as Christy's passion is contagious. Christy in her own words:
I am the creator of To Hani Coliving: A rural coliving in a restored historic building based in Cyprus.
To Hani is the first coliving space for digital nomads on the island.
Back in 2017, I had the opportunity to live and work in many corners of the world, leading Unsettled retreats and being part of building a community that refuses to settle in their pursuit of growth, meaning, and purpose.
As life happens and COVID hits (I know everyone has a COVID story!), I settled back to Cyprus... I knew exactly, that if I was to settle here, and call Cyprus my home, I had to connect, feel inspired, learn, and create a multicultural like-minded community, and so, To Hani was born!
To Hani started as an experiment, and now hosts 9 people from all corners of the world, creatives, entrepreneurs, digital nomads, and remote workers, that are looking to find a home whilst on the road...
More about To Hani: https://www.instagram.com/tohani_coliving
S3 - E10 - Ana - I want to be a good Ancestor
Ana in her own words:
I define myself as a connector who is passionate about nature and ‘all living beings’. I’m passionate about creating networks and communities that collaborate and deeply believe that a just, interconnected, and regenerative world is possible. In 2018 I stopped joining different sustainable projects around the world: an organic farm in Tasmania, an ecovillage in Vancouver Island, natural building space in New Zealand, etc... to join WEAll - Wellbeing Economy Alliance. Building bridges among those who believe a well-being economy is possible and supporting the local work through our WEAll Hubs, gives me the energy and hope I need every morning. Sharing values, philosophy, dreams, and projects in the company of these communities, it’s the reassurance that we’re on the right path. On a more personal note, since 2022 I’m living in a rural coliving in Galicia, northwest of Spain, to fully embrace my rural lifestyle. I’m determined to bring equality to rural areas and communities and raise awareness of their contribution to the changes we need to make.
More about Ana: https://www.instagram.com/bigana_1/?hl=en
More about WEALL: https://www.instagram.com/weall_alliance/
More about Anceu Coliving: https://www.instagram.com/anceu.coliving/
S3 - E9 - Anja - There is so much value in Community
I met Anja through 2 online communities we are both part of: Coliving Hub, an association sharing knowledge around coliving spaces for Digital Nomads, and Nomad Haven, a Nomad Female Entrepreneur online community.
We quickly realized we shared similar interests and values... bringing people together under one roof being one of them.
I got lucky and was asked to interview Anja as part of my work for Coliving Hub, and I turned it into an opportunity to record a podcast episode!
More about Anja in her own words: I am a slow-traveling nomad, moving my base from different countries within Europe.
I am excited about sustainable and slow travel and a deep connection to local culture and community.
I have lived in a few community/co-livings and eco villages and just launched my own coliving project in Italy.
I love to explore. I believe in community, continuous learning & growth, and sustainable living in harmony with nature.
I am driven by establishing an alternative, but still integrated lifestyle and opening new possibilities to the way we live and support each other in society.
Check out Anja's beautiful project, Agaia Coliving: www.agaia-coliving.com
And follow them on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/agaia_coliving/
S3 - E8 - Zoë & Yello -Friends on tap... and dogs
Zoē & Yello are a couple of lovely people interested in personal development, music, and community living. Self-confessed as going through a mid-life crisis/awakening, they're in the process of re-aligning work life with their passions, and living arrangements with their core values. They've just had their first experience of co-living at Selgars, and are interested in co-housing for their long-term plans.
Keep up with Zoē https://www.instagram.com/lesscitymorehippie
S3 - E7 - Sole - You can meet all of the world
Meet Sole, in her own words:
Hi, I'm Sole a digital nomad from Spain. I've lived in various colivings around the world and noticed the need for a platform that makes it easier for colivers to connect and find new nomad colivings. That's why Ramon and I created Mapmelon, an app that helps people find and connect with colivings community that fit their interests.
With Sole we spoke about how she discovered colivng and remote work and went against her first insticts that was...that she did not want to live with people.
We share about what truly matters, people, and community and how to continue to move around the world all the while deepening and strengthening relationships.
Check out Mapmelon Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mapmelon_app
And website https://www.mapmelon.com/
SE3 - E6 - Pablo - Planting a seed and nurturing it
It has been a long break this winter. Longer than intended.
I had a good excuse though. I led my very own pop-up coliving for 2,5 months in the British countryside with my partner, at www.selgars.org
It was unexpected and challenging. But it was also amazing.
Now that things have calmed down a bit, I am back behind the mic with more testimonials from people like Pablo, who believe in the power of Community.
Here is more about Pablo, co-founder of Vivarium Coliving, in his own words:
Since very young I have been a searcher and soon I realized that my quest: facilitating change (whether individual or societal), wasn't possible without strong and committed communities. At 21 years old I dropped my engineering studies (where I was being pretty successful) to embark on a journey that changed my life: traveling through Latin America with one sole purpose, to find communities, learn from and with them and create projects together that left a positive mark in the places I visited. When I came back to Valencia to continue my studies, I realized through conversations with people of my generation, that a lot of them could be benefited from this kind of experience, so after I finished college The Nomad Academy was born and I started organizing international learning expeditions and traveling with small groups of diversely talented individuals to different places in the world and creating small projects together. However, I was young and inexperienced and I became more and more aware that I needed to gain more experience and surround myself with people that knew more than I did. It was for this last reason that I decided to undertake a change, put the entrepreneurial path on stand-by, and work for and with other more established projects. Since then, I have worked for various companies, designing, managing, and collaborating on various projects in corporate and entrepreneurial environments, always with a clear vocation towards real and tangible transformation, sustained on continuous learning, community, and innovation. Last summer, after spending 6 months in a coliving community in the mountains I decided it was the right time to go back to the entrepreneurial path and I founded Vivarium, an experimental coliving space where I live now.
Follow Vivarium Coliving: https://www.instagram.com/vivarium.coliving
Website: https://www.vivariumcoliving.com/
S3 - E5 - Alex - It provides an environment for de-armouring
This is an episode recorded a month or so ago with Alex Chau, another K9er.
Alex was born in Melbourne about 33 years ago, he moved to Sweden about 7 years ago and has been at K9 for the last 3 of those.
Alex and I share a lot of similarities in our Swedish and coliving journey: we both came to this country for our partners, both separated on the way, moved into K9 and found something we did not really know we had been missing and looking for.
We talk about his personal experience sharing a home for 3 years with 50 people, sharing a bedroom with a stranger who will soon turn into a great friend and co founder of the now famous Studio 54.
We discuss expectations , responsabilities and roles in a self run community and the importance of being willing to take the challenges such a lifestyle throws at you in order to truly grow and ripe the benefits of shared living.
Keep up with Alex: https://achau.xyz/
Check out K9 coliving: www.k9coliving.com
S3 - E4 - Anton - It's a Dream Come True
A slightly special episode this week which was not planed but fits perfectly.
Anton and I met in 2017 in K9 Coliving and are now married and living in London with our dog Zuko.
It's safe to say coliving has impacted both our personal and professional lives tremendously.
In this episode Anton takes us from his K9 experience all the way to our brand new and exciting project: Selgars. A place for retreats and gatherings in nature as well as my very own personal dream: Life at Selgars, a 2-3 months coliving in the heart of Devon!
We talk about:
www.opendoor.io West coast based coliving in the US.
www.k9coliving.com the magical residential self run coliving in Stockholm, Sweden
www.hotspaces.org the nature inspired event space Anton opened 2 years ago in East London
www.selgars.org our new event and retreats in nature venue in Devon
www.selgars.org/lifeatselgars our little dream slow coliving home for January-February 2023 (join us!)
S3 - E3 - Emily & PA - becoming a better human in togetherness
Suddenly I found myself in Belgium, in this wonderfully magical eco-village called L'Arbre Qui Pousse (the growing tree), taking part in the first Hopestation of La Matrice, Multiversity Campus for Hope and Regeneration. A project within a project within a project born out of the dream, talent, skills, and hope of people like Pierre Alexandre and Emily.
After 4 days of beautiful exchanges, we recorded some thoughts in a 2 part episode on what pushed them to 'jump off' as they say from the city or 9-5 career and brought them to the countryside: a craving for belonging, more hopeful narratives, less competition, and more cooperation.
PA and Emily share very openly and with great authenticity about their journey and the challenges that arise bringing together 80 people around a school, a bakery, a vegetable garden, and many other projects.
A slightly longer episode that is worth taking the time to fully dive into if you are interested in new ways of living together.
Check out La Matrice Campus www.lamatrice.space/.
Check out L'Arbre qui Ppousse larbrequipousse.org/
S3 - E2 Denisa - the Digital Nomad Afterlife
Episode 2 is my conversation with Denisa, a UX Designer originally from Prague, working for a crypto startup. She is a digital nomad and outdoor sports lover.
We e-met through Swiss Escape coliving, one of my clients, where she stayed earlier this year.
It took us a while to organize the recording but we finally managed to find the time in the summer, just when I was visiting Swiss Escape myself.
During this chat, we talk about the difference between remote workers and digital nomads, expectations vs reality of this lifestyle as well as the difference between the 'real' colivings and the places overusing the name but not delivering on Community.
Denisa has experienced both and shares her thoughts and insights.
We also spend some time discussing the 'Digital Nomad Afterlife' as she calls it: what happens when you are ready to slow the traveling down but do not want to lose the feeling of community?
Follow Denisa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denisabrichtova
S3 - E1 - Jho - We do our best until we die.
We are finally back! After a much longer break than planned (because life happens) we are back with the first episode of Season 3.
We start with Jho again. Jho was my very first guest on the podcast back in August 2020, when we agreed to be my guinea pig for the idea I had to talk about community and record it somehow.
Two years later Jho moved out of K9 where we first met and now lives in Switzerland, in another residential coliving.
We met face to face in a destination coliving, Swiss Escape where we spent a few weeks with other digital nomads and of course, talked about Community, the life after experiencing powerful, seeking belonging again, and searching for ourselves within all of it.
The residential Coliving in Switzerland is called TomoDomo https://en.tomodomo.ch/
The residential Coliving we met at in Stockholm is K9 Coliving. www.k9coliving.com
The destination coliving we spent time at together is Swiss Escape. www.swissescape.co
Listen to the first episode with Jho here.
Get my book Have Your Cake and Share it Too
S2 -E 20 -Moh - I experienced more of life just by living in K9
Mo interviewing Moh felt like a good closing of the circle.
In his own words Moh used to be half Moroccan, half Egyptian, but now he added Swedish to the list. His favorite hobby is seeking and trying new technologies. He enjoys sci-fi and lately he's also been into philosophy.
All the while, he's been living at K9 Coliving in Stockholm (where we met back in 2018), for the past 4 years.
Moh opens up very honestly during this conversation, sharing about the good but also the bad of living with 50 people, in a self run community. We reminisce, talk about the consistency of change, the unexpected intimacy and, as always with Moh, we laugh.
More about K9 Coliving: www.k9coliving.com
S2 - E19 - Marta - Being alone is not the same as being lonely
I opened up about my podcast project and Marta volunteered :-) I am so glad she did because her story is worth sharing! It is an inspiration for anyone looking to start their digital nomad journey on their own.
Marta is an IT Project Manager and Full-time Digital Nomad for 3 years now. She started working remotely and traveling before the pandemic - or how she likes to say: "before it was sexy";) .
She loves traveling and she has always dreamt of being able to do it every day.
In 2019 her dream became possible once she started freelancing and working remotely for the US company. At the same time she was intensively taking part in Erasmus+ projects which enables you to travel for free around Europe.
After couple of months she decided to take a deep leap and see if she could equally well manage her work and travels from more remote destinations - and so she went to SE Asia where she spent 7 months traveling and, of course, still working remotely : )
Last year she discovered the world of colivings and immediately fell in love with the concept. For her colivings are all about the people - the great community of digital nomads, who share similar values, are open-minded, curious about the world, and who inspire her to develop both both professionally and personally.
At the moment she is living a life that she has always dreamt of, and she is proud to say that she created this life by herself and is the happiest that she has ever been. : )
Follow Mara's journey: www.instagram.com/karkosikmarta/
Erasmus + programme: erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/projects
Burgas Coliving: burgascoliving.com/
S2 - E 18 - Elspeth - I'm not alone in feeling different
I "e-met" Elspeth when she first came to Swiss Escape this winter with her partner Ari. We had a call so I could interview her about her stay and that is when I thought her story would make a great podcast episode. Indeed Elspeth is taking half a year to explore the freedom offers.
We talk about community of course, our need for it no matter what stage of life we are in but we also discuss if we define ourselves as digital nomads, remote workers or anything else. We talk about the image of digital nomads social media send out and how it can actually be a lifestyle embraced by anyone. Finally we share our thoughts on navigating being women in their 30s trying to live their best lives, in today's society, still full of injunctions.
Learn more about Elspeth and her work www.elspethchalmers.com/
Learn more about Swiss Escape www.swissescape.co
S2 - E17 - Gianluca - Willing to give and hungry to get
Gianluca is the founder of AI Academy, a company specialized in Artificial Intelligence education without code. He is the current chairperson of Nest, a non profit coliving space in Copenhagen.
After traveling from Italy to Belgium where he discovered entrepreuneurship and then to the US for his studies, Gianluca came back wanting to recreate that feeling he had built there, a sense of community with the people he lived with. Serendipity brought him to Copenhagen and that is were he found is new Home, Nest.
Being an intentional self run community of 21 residents, Nest has gone through a lot since it opened 8 years ago, from "Startup House" to "simply" a Home, but it is still thriving thanks to the care, love, personal effort and dedication of its residents and their share committment to a life filled with curiosity and belonging.
Check out Nest's website and Instagram.
More about Gianluca and his work.
S2 - E 16 - Agustin - Longer stays mean more local impact
I am really glad to finally be sharing my conversation with Agustin who I had the pleasure to meet in person during our Creative week in Romania for the pre-opening of Cobana Coliving in March. After more than 7 years of being a location independent worker, Agustin decided to start a coliving space in Galicia, the region where he is from. That is how Anceu coliving was born. From the start , Anceu was thought of as a way to stop the rural exodus in Galicia, focusing on community and local impact. We hope you enjoy the conversation and want to discover Galicia one day! Follow Anceu Coliving on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/anceu.coliving/
Learn more about Anceu here.https://anceu.com/
S2 - E15 - Maddie - The possibilities are endless here
We were both waiting for the coffee to brew in the first floor kitchen. I introduced myself and someone immediately talked about recording an episode.
We didn't get around doing it face to face that week but eventually managed to book a time online.
There is something quite surreal and magical about having someone tell you about the place you once called home.
Maddie was born and raised in the southern part of Sweden, in a town called Ängelholm, “Angel town”.
She has been living in Stockholm for 8 years now. She has a background as a assistant nurse and always had a huge interest for health and wellness. She recently finished a education in Selfhealing therapy and Functional medicin yoga... and a few month ago, coliving crossed her path...
Follow Maddie
Follow K9
S2 - E14 - Philip - Coliving has stolen my heart
Finally, a long chat with Philip who has been living in the pods at K9 for a while now, pods the podcast are actually name after. I guess you could say Philip is one of the Original Humans!
Philip is a resident at K9 co-living in Stockholm and a person so curious and passionate about human connection and relationships that he started his own company to design and develop tools that help us humans to more conscious and meaningful contact, Relate.
He is a fascinating human and listening to his reflextions and thoughts on his life at K9 made me reflect on topics I thought I had already exhausted... the proof that coliving makes you go deeper and deeper with each conversations.
Check out Relate
Their question game for deeper conversations or their self assessment test to find out if you are ready and have the self knowledge needed for a conscious and healthy romantic relationship! (in Swedish)
Check out K9
Follow Philip's journey.
S2 - E13 - Abhisheck - Good enough for now safe enough to try
Yes, another K9er on the podcast. As long as K9 lives I will make it my mission to talk with as many residents as possible. Each story is similar and different at the same time and I always leave the conversation with new things to reflect on.
Abhi moved in a bit after me and we've grown to become close friends, despite what he might say. We have debated K9 more times than I can remember, in our rooms, around the kitchen table, in the corridors, at the house meetings. We have also laughted until we cried and been there for each other when the tears were of sadness.
In this episode Abhi shares his own K9 story, moving from India in "search of a better life" as he explains it, focusing on his studies at first until he started looking for something that had been missing since he left "home", this feeling of belonging to something/somehwere/some people?
We talk about the ups and downs in a self run community, the progress the house made since I moved out 2 years ago, the importance of structures and how they can be source of conflicts themselves, the role of interior design, the fragile balance of "give & take" and, of course, the meaning of home.
Follow Abhi's adventure on Instagram here, and K9's here.
S2 - E12 - Hugo - Everybody comes here to have an experience
A few weeks ago I was connected through a common friend with Hugo, the co-founder of Vine 21, a co-living and coworking space, located in the hearth of Bucharest. We exchanged a few messages and jumped on a call. Half way through we realised we were both born in Paris...we had been speaking english until then. Sharing a good laugh is a great way to bring people together, especially when you are laughing at your own silliness!
I enjoyed hearing Hugo's experience as a founder who had also spent a lot of time as a resident in his own space and of course, I invited him to join the podcast. This is Hugo's story. From Lyon, France to Bucharest Romania. From not knowing what he wanted to do to running a succesful coliving and coffee shop which quickly became a place for people from within and outside the coliving community, internationals and locals to connect, meet, exchange and collaborate.
Learn more about Vine21 wvw.vine21.ro
Follow Vine21 on Instagram: @vine_21_bucharest
S2-E11 - Yoav - coliving is just a microcosme of our existence
Yoav and I could have gone one for a few hours. We tried to combined it under an hour but our passion for community living and the meaning of Home is one of the many things we seem to share.
We've never lived under the same roof and yet, we feel like we belong to the same tribe. That's coliving done well for you.
Yoav is a never ending source of knowledge and inspiration when it comes to community building, shared experiences, story telling and just beautiful companionship.
He is now traveling Europe (the world?) with his exhibition "Home: between a shelter and a cage".
He has also created a digital version of it that you can explore right here.
S2 - E10 - Lies "You feel so empowered as a human being because you feel connected!"
The second episode of 2022 is with Lies who is the concept creator of Coaliving, a beautiful short and long term coliving space in Belgium.
Chatting with Lies was an absolute pleasure and felt like being back in my own community, around the kitchen table, discussing the pros and cons of shared living.
Coaliving was design in an old building that used to be the home away from home of immigrants coal miners, people who worked hard and missed their families abroad. For them then and for the coaliving colivers today, that building is a place that offers safety, shelter and connections.
Lies tells us about how important it was for them to honor the story of the space and those who lived their before all the while embracing this "new age" of community living, multigenerational living and sustainable living.
We hope you enjoy listening as much as we did recording!
Learn more about Coaliving
Learn more about Lies and her work.
S2 - E9 - Ally - "I sometimes picture myself being the community manager of a coliving"
Guys, I wrote a book.
But enough about me:
Ally is from Ecuador but has been living and studying in Argentina for the past 2 years.
Arriving in a new country at 18, she wanted to find her new home in an environment that would feel safe and well located. That is how she discovered Casa Campus, a company offering appartements and coliving spaces in Argentina and Peru to students, young and young at heart professionals.
Ally's energy spreads throughout the episode and I was impressed by how open and honest she was about her experience: the different challenges she encountered in and outside of the home, her empathy for the community manager who has the difficult role to balance "feeling of home and logistics", and of course, the perks of living closer together, especially in the midst of the pandemic.
Learn more about:
Casa Campus
Ally
S2 E8 - Willo - Community: You need it, definitely need it, everybody needs it
Wilhelmina Ford is a single mum to two young children, and the Founder of ShareAbode. A platform that allows single parents to connect with one another for the purpose of reducing rent and expenses and benefiting from practical support and friendship.
Children and shared living is not a topic that comes up a lot here on the podcast and Im so glad it finally is! Multigenerational shared living is definitely part of my vision of the future and I am so glad more intiative around the world (Willo is in Australia) are pushing forward.
Check out Shared Abode's website and follow their instagram!
PS: My book is out!
S2 - E7 - Andreea - What makes me happy is discovering, exploring, jumping into the unknown -
Andreea is a 27 years old freelance Social Media Manager who can work from everywhere. She has decided to finally take that leap of faith and head to one of her biggest and scariest dreams: start traveling around the world with almost no money, but with a lot of courage!
Dive with me into Andreea's story which started at Anceu Coliving in Spain but has already taken her to a new country, Switzerland and soon, France... Andreea is embracing the nomad life one coliving space at a time, sharing her hard and soft skills and learning about herself on the way!
We talk about giving ourselves time to follow our dreams, learning from experiences, about accepting to listen to our inner voices telling us there is another way than the one Society seems to impose on everyone, about different ways of being a leader...and more!
Follow Andreea's journey on her Instagram and Youtube Channel. https://www.instagram.com/andreea.rrusu?hl=en https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreeaIuliaRusu
S2 E6 - Joeri - HEEM - Just knowing that they are around is enough
Cohousing for a living ;-)
Joeri is a 46 year old psychologist interested in people and real estate who has been an enthusiastic cohouser for the past 15 years.
He enjoys working and living together with other people and unleashes his creativity developing cohousing projects through his company HEEM. When he is not working on cohousing you'll find him in the air, paragliding.
HEEM based in Flandres, Belgium. They are pioneers when it comes to cohousing projects!
They see cohousing as the housing of the future and one of the answer towards sustainable housing through sharing more, strenghtening social cohesion and making ecological constructions and renovations more feasible.
In this episode Joeri takes us on his journey from 'it would be nice to live with friends...' to running a 15 people team working on dozen of projects around the country, bringing people and buildings together!
It's always a real honor to speak with someone who has been 'living the talk' for many years.
Learn more about HEEM via their website: www.heem.be
Or their instagram: @heem_cohousing
Linkedin: HEEM Cohousing
S2 E5 - Delphine - K9 Coliving - It's so amazing how the House can transform as much as we do -
Episode 5 already. We are heading back to "the mothership", K9 which has been my home for 3 years and is has now been Delphine (and her dog Cherry)'s home for more than 3 months. She shares about her personal life growing up in different countries and cultures, deciding to move to Stockholm where she feels more balanced and embarking into the coliving life with Cherry. Delphine shares personal experiences and great insights on a life shared with others, communication, personal needs and boundaries as well as what makes a home. She also tells us about her work and how K9 is like a live lab research for her project!
Delphine is a third culture kid with French and Thai parents, who was born in Germany and considers her homes to be Paris, Singapore and Geneva.
Her mission is to advance humanity through social innovations that help elevate consciousness and deepen human connection. She excels at creating environments where people feel safe to be themselves, express themselves and welcome different perspectives, so that together, they can co-create the world we all want to live in.
She currently works with Warmspace, a social platform that gets people in touch with their humanity through authentic connection with others and co-hosts Warmspace at Work, a show that explores how to authentic communication is key to making workplaces more human, connected and productive.
Apart from studying and researching human connection, Delphine is passionate about growing herself, finding opportunities to laugh out loud, exploring new ways to move her body and performing on stage.
Experience Warmspace with a loved one using this link!
Follow Delphine on her personal journey.
S2 E4 - Maria - Anceu Coliving - It's so healthy being with people, but when you are by yourself you forget that -
María is an interior decorator who loves working with her hands (painting, restoring furniture, diy...).
She is from Galicia, northwestern Spain, and has been living at Anceu Coliving, a rural coliving in Spain, for the past year. She started her online business as an interior decorator 3 years ago, working remotely full time for the first time in her life. She loves the freedom it gives her but she also craves company so she is on her journey to find the sweet spot in between :)
It's been a real joy sharing and exchanging experiences with Maria.
We talk about the need to find balance between urban and rural surroundings, about the impact of short and longer stay on your coliving experience and on the community, about emotional safety and discovering ourselves more extroverts than we thought.
We also touch upon the slight anxiety of living such safe spaces, the power of community on personal and professional growth as well as the health benefit of being around others, as a single and as a couple!
Learn more about Maria's job via her website and her Instagram.
Discover Anceu Coliving: website & Instagram
Here is the Instagram account of the therapist, Esther Perel, Maria mentions.
And here is Grace Kim's Ted Talk about cohousing.
S2 E3 - Alex - SOTA Coliving - Coliving is part of the infrastructure of the future -
Oleksiy came from Ukraine where he was a succesful entrepreneur to LA about 3 years ago and went from resident to Head fo Growth at SOTA Coliving, one of LA's main coliving operator with 5 locations from 24 to up to more than a 100 residents.
I woke up a bit earlier (I was on vacation, don't judge) and Aleksiy stayed up late so we could discuss the process of starting a coliving, surviving COVID when the applications stop for 2 months as the pandemic hits the US, how to cope with perfectionism when you are living where you work , the benefits of community for people starting over and how it can positively impact the wider community.
Olek is also the author of the first-ever TEDx talk without a single word & Forbes "30 under 30".
Learn more about SOTA Coliving. (Make sure to check out their blog with great articles)
Follow them on Instagram.
S2 E2 - Cecilia - Hus24 & Villa24 -"A whole new world opening up"
Cecilia started her own coliving house - Villa24 - a couple of years ago. She had been living with friends in Hus24, a coliving house located in the city center of Stockholm, for several years and it was time to take the step and move closer to nature and get more personal space. They "moved on with their lives" but made the conscious choice to take their community with them.
Cecilia works as a project manager at the Swedish bank SEB and has a background in computer science.
She has a boyfriend, dog and a horse. She discovered first coliving while on her first date with her partner Shea and never really left either ;-)
Cecilia shares her story from the urban coliving Hus24 to dreaming of more space and nature without giving up on the growth and joy coming from living with other people, Villa 24.
Discover Hus24.
Follow Villa24.
S2 E1 - Katia - Chateau Coliving - "Everything you expect and don't expect from a castle"
In this first episode of the second season we're chatting with Katia who's partner unexpectedly inherited a french castle from the 12th century in Normandy.
Both Katia and her partners have been "slowmads"for the past 10 years, taking their work and cat with them as they establish themselves in a new location every year or so. They like to create roots for a little while, build a routine and get to know people and the culture of their new temporary home.
When the Castle came into their lives, their whole world changed.
How would they make a "Chateau" fit their minimalist lifestyle?Then came COVID and a coliving experience....
Listen until the end and get a little surprise!
Learn more about Chateau Coliving
Follow them on Instagram.
37 - Lynn Morstead - "I'm seeking desaster free neighbourliness"
Did you notice that people nowadays tend to come together when there is discomfort, something to fight against or survive from?
What happens when things go "back to normal", why do we retreat then to the secluded comfort of our private homes?
This is one of the question Lynn Morstead, co-founder of Cohousing Houston, asked herself and one of the reason she decided to jump into the cohousing adventure: "to find desaster free neighbourliness".
Check out the progress of the project on their Website and Instagram.
Read more about The Humans Inside the Pods
36 - Fanny Caloz - "Success is who you surround yourself with"
In this episode I chat with Fanny Caloz, a serial entrepreneur, co-founder Swiss Escape, a coliving and coworking space in 2016. Over the years, she has hosted thousands of entrepreneurs from all over the world, gotten inspired by their energy and ideas.
Last year, she decided to leave her role at Swiss Escape to evolve the coliving into an incubator to help young professionals start their own business. Swiss Escape Incubator was born in early 2021, helping millenials turn their dreams into an impatcful business.
I'm lucky enough to be working with Fanny remotely on several projects and it's was great fun to dive deeper into her personal experience of coliving and entrepreneurship and how those 2 topics are so linked and intertwined in her personal and professional journey.
We talk inspiration, education, the power of community, coliving for a living and the lessons and challenges it brings, that feeling of never being enough, failure, and of course, turning dreams into reality.
We hope you enjoy it!
More about Fanny.
More about Swiss Escape.
More about Swiss Escape Incubator.
35 - Linn Ohlson #1 intro interview - "I can actually choose my lifestyle, I don't have to stay in the norm"
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I'm particularly excited to share this episode as it is going to be part of a bigger project.
Linn who moved into K9 in February as agreed to let me follow up on her as she goes through her intentional coliving journey.
This week we are sharing her "Intro-onbarding" interview and we will touch base again a few months to see how things are evolving.
It's been such a lovely chat I cannot wait to hear more about her life in a an intentional Community.
But a bit about Linn first, she is a very creative and outgoing 29 year old swede who works as a Learning and Development partner in Stockholm. After a year living on her own she realised this was not the life for her. So she made the conscious decision to leave her flat and moved into a bedroom in a house with 50 other people.
We talk about what makes her feel at home, how she came to the conclusion that living alone was not for her, she shares the rollercoaster that the past few months have been, getting used to the processes and the constant flow of energy that both brings magic and challenges!
Stay tuned, we will be back in a few month for more.
34 - Dani Gaillard-Picher - "Radical inclusion, a really good principle to live by"
Today I share my conversation with Dani, one of the most recent addition to the K9 family in Stockholm.
Dani is from the US originally but spent the biggest part of the past 20 years in the south of France. She works on water, climate and sustainable development issues, she is a musician and now, a coliver.
She shares her story of moving to a new country for work amid the pandemic, the decision of leaving her family in France and the joy and confort of getting a "built in" community as she joins K9.
We talk about embarking on a life change at the mid-century mark of her life, the joy and growth we get from helping others, the first few days in the house, music and the concept of Wabi sabi...
We hope you enjoy it!
33 - Leah Ziliak - The best experiences that you have in your life are those that are unplanned
Today I'm sharing a conversation I really enjoyed recording with seasoned coliver, digital nomad and coliving consultant Leah Ziliak.
We get into lots of different topics. We compare living on a boat with coliving life, talk about the difficulties of making friends "in real life" after being used of living in a coliving, the experience of long and short term coliving, pros and cons, the impact of the pandemic on her lifestyle , making real connections and empowering the residents to create genuine communities rather than over servicing and turning into a hotel.
We hope you enjoy it.
If you want to know more about Leah and work with her to create a thriving community you can find her on Instagram or via her website.
32 - Gina Joseph - Unapologetically me
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Today I share my conversation with Gina Joseph who has lived at Haven Coliving in LA for the past 6 months.
We talk discovering coliving and learning about yourself, setting bounderies and the impact of community living (and covid) on well being. We discuss her experience starting her Digital Marketing business, a BIPOC-led social media creative agency that helps brands & influencers elevate their content, while living at Haven. Gina also shares very honestly and openly about her personal experience as a black woman in coliving as we discuss diversity and inclusivity.
A very inspire and powerful episode!
Make sure to check our instagram stories this week as Gina is offering a 1h Digital Marketing consultation to 1 person who will answer our question correctly :-)
Make sure to follow Gina on her personal account as well as Digital Babe's account and website www.digitalbabeofficial.com
More about Haven Coliving here.
31 - Lea Hermanns - "The people that want coliving today are not going to outgrow this"
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Im excited to share my conversation with Lea Hermanns co-founder of Poha House in Germany. This chat is what happens when two coliving geeks meet.
Lea and I both discovered long term coliving and fell in love with it, so much that it has defined our career. After living abroad and experiencing different type of community living, Lea came to Germany to start her own with her family.
We dive into her personal experience, the need for different options and longer term stay, the importance of the vocabulary you use when talking to your residents and how much space impacts community. Lea shares the questions that follow her daily as the CPO and the values that are guiding her and her team to deliver the best possible product.
We hope you enjoy it!
This is Poha House and their Instagram
30 - Oksana Okhrimenko - Do bravely, do with love
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Today I share my conversation with Oksana Okhrimento, Business tramsformation consultant and co founder of the online (and hopefully soon, offline) community Joyty, bringing together those who love to explore, ask questions, create and find their own path.
We take a deep dive into Oksana's roots and background. She is "only" 25 but has lived many lives in 6 different countries and knows where she is going in life.
We follow her through Germany, Austria, Japan and more as we explore the different type of communities one can encounter and how to find your place and maybe make your own.
We questions quite a few things, we talk about the creation of Joyty of course and Oksana keeps on sprinkling knowledge.
We hope you enjoy it!
If you want to know more about Joyty, check out their Instagram @joyty.co and Website.
29 - Franziska Spoddig - "A desk, wifi and people"
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Today I share my conversation with Franziska Spoddig, my firt digital nomad on the podcast.
Franziska is a digital nomad who is launching her own startup around coliving & communities. She is an advocate of real and deep talks.
During this conversations we talk about her passion for traveling the world on her own but never feeling lonely, discovering communities in the places she visits.
We go through the diferences between couchsurfing, staying in hostels and coliving spaces, between backpacking and being a digital nomads and the evolving needs from traveling as a student to becoming a remote worker.
We also talk Online vs. reality and the importance of communication & privacy while constantly pushing your boundaries.
Learn more about Franziska via her instagram
Her startup Social Bookers
Read her articles on Linkedin
Apologizes for the sound quality which isn't at its best in this episode.
28 - Axelle Seutin - I am not paying for a flat, I am paying for an experience
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Axelle Seutin is a french/chinese language teacher turned entrepreneur who spent several years in Asia and actively looked for a community after coming back to France. She was one of the very firsts coliver at The Babel Community in Montpellier in the South of France.
She shares her experience of feeling like a stranger in your own country after a long period abroad and of looking for that "Erasmus feeling" again. After a year at Babel, Axelle talks about the learnings and small conflicts that in time, turn into personal growth.
Today Axelle is the Digital Magazine Editor of Doona Intelligent Business,on which she interviews Experts in Education and Entrepreneurship.
You can read the interviews (in French) of successful entrepreneurs at https://emagdoona.wordpress.com and follow her Instagram @emagazine.doona
27 - Josh - A year in Haven
Today I share my conversation with Josh, founder and CEO of No Static Projects and former coliver at Haven Coliving in LA.
In this episode we reflect on the Josh's coliving journey that is one that a lot of people experience:
Moving in for the services and amenities, staying for the community and ending up living in search of more privacy.
I love Josh's honesty in sharing his experience, exploring life in community in time of COVID and learning about himself. We talk minimalism, relationships, coliving management and storage issues!
We hope you enjoy it.
More about Josh:
Josh Litchman is the Founder and CEO of No Static Projects, a multi-service talent/creator management company based in Los Angeles, CA. Josh has a passion for the intersection of data and design and enjoys reading, working out, photography, architecture, and his new foster dog Grit! Josh is always looking to connect with other entrepreneurs and artists to help take them where they want to go in their careers.
Personal Instagram: @thelitchman
Business Instagram: @nostaticprojects
Website: www.nostaticprojects.com
26 - Sami - We create spaces for people to create Communities.
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In this episode I chat with Sami a martial art instructor and software developer who, as I like to say "colives for a living".
Indeed, Sami is both Vice President of Product Experience AND a resident at Homefully a german based operator with 240 flats across 8 cities and 2 countries. It is the first time that I get to hear from the resident's point of you but through the eye of the operator as well.
A very interesting way of putting yourself in the shoes of your customer! We talk tech, mindest, processes, design, genuine community building, the crutial role of communication, the subtle art of matching people, the role coliving is playing to promote diversity and fight prejudices and more. Sami switch from one hat to another effortlessly and it's a real pleasure to learn from his experience!
Check out Homefully for more info on what they do and where they are!
25 - Ludvig - From 55m2 to a bunk bed.
Ludvig is a tech entrepreneur who left a safe job to start his own business...more than once, so it was not such a strange move for him, to go explore beyond the frontiers of his comfort zone.
After 5 years of community living and with all the learnings and challenges that brought, moving back to live on his own allowed him to find a balance that finally perfectly fits him.
Ludvig is the CEO of Narratory, a smart bot builder.
24- Per & Isabella - Living the Life of Riley
Make sure to never miss an episode or join as a guest here: http://www.lifeonfifth.com/podcast
In this episode I talk to first canine of K9. @k9coliving
Riley and his humans moved in at the same time as I did into the 50 people collective in Stockholm.
Today the 3 of them share about their experience as dog owners and a couple in a House full of people. We talk about the power of food, the joy of helping others, the kindness and trust that gave people wings in the house. We discuss the importance of learning how to communicate and the difficulty of making friends after moving out from such a place. And of course we dream about a future living with others.
Follow Riley's adventures on instagram @rileyvoff
Check out Per's design work @Formtale
Check out Bella's love for stationary and taking notes @insponote
23 - Josefin - DOING LIFE IN A DIFFERENT WAY
In this episode I chat with Josefin, a nomad, a psychologist and a new K9er.
We get a bit more personal this time around, perks of interviewing a psychologist, somehow you become the one being interviewed at some point!
We talk about the interconectedness of it all, the importance of timing in life, about the social norm and its pressure, concerns about moving in and life in a coliving in time of Corona.
Tune in.
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