WeWork
BuzzFeed Tech's Nitasha Tiku reports on the rise of co-living spaces. Neuehouse, another co-working space, is exploring a "hotel and extended stay" option, BuzzFeed reports. In Williamsburg, Brooklyn, millennials are paying $4,000 for a month-to-month room rental in communal living spaces like Pure Heart.
WeWork is busy launching its co-living apartments - known as WeLive spaces - in places like San Francisco's Mid-Market and Washington DC's Crystal City.
In the case of WeWork's Crystal City WeLive location, the company will ultimately be renting out 360-square-foot "micro apartments," which sit on top of WeWork's co-working spaces. WeWork will offer more than 250 micro-apartments at that location, along with amenities like bike parking, an herb garden, and a library.
WeWork's co-living space in San Francisco - which it has not confirmed - will be located in a "five-story plus penthouse" on Mission Street in Mid-Market, BuzzFeed reports. It's only a short walk from the offices of tech giants like Pinterest, Twitter, and Uber.
It's Silicon Valley efficiency taken to the extreme: you give up a normal work-life balance to eliminate your commute and live with all the amenities you need nearby. If you already hire people to take care of your other chores for you - you use Uber to drive you around and Wash.io to do your laundry - why not take it a step further and take care of your living arrangements through a startup too?
A mocked-up co-living space in Chicago, which League of Extraordinary Coworking Spaces president Jamie Russo tried out, included a glass wall in the bedroom. During the day, this can be used as a transparent whiteboard while you're working. At night, you can stream Netflix on it. Co-living spaces blur the line between your work life and your personal life until the two are indistinguishable.
"People think the word 'balance' isn't necessarily true. Where does work stop and life start? It's kind of all one," Russo told BuzzFeed. "I guess one downside might be is if you live in a live-work space you always feel like you might be working."
You can read BuzzFeed's full report on the rise of co-living spaces here.