Coliving and Coworking: The Perfect Combo for Remote Workers

Coliving and coworking aren't just compatible. They were made for each other. Coliving is shared housing for remote workers: private or shared rooms, communal kitchens, social spaces, usually sold as all-inclusive monthly packages. Coworking is shared workspace: desks, meeting rooms, fast Wi-Fi, coffee, and zero colleagues stealing your lunch from the fridge. When the two are combined, you get a single roof that covers your sleeping, working, eating, and social needs in one go. According to Buffer's 2023 State of Remote Work report, 22% of remote workers cite loneliness as their biggest challenge. Coliving with integrated coworking directly addresses this. You work surrounded by people with the same laptop-and-passport lifestyle, then close it all down and walk to the kitchen for dinner. No commute. No awkward "is this a desk I can use?" situation. Just one setup that handles most of adult life.

What's actually the difference between coliving and coworking?

They sound similar. They're not.

Coworking is a workspace you pay for by the day, week, or month. You show up, you open your laptop, you drink acceptable coffee, you leave. Some have phone booths. Some have ping pong tables. Some have both and feel proud about it. It's transactional by design.

Coliving is where you live. Shared accommodation with communal spaces: kitchen, living room, sometimes a garden or a pool. Built around the assumption that you're going to run into your housemates a lot. Some coliving spaces include a dedicated coworking room in the building. Others don't. They're betting that the nearest café is close enough.

The overlap happens when coliving adds proper work infrastructure: stable fiber internet, desk setups with monitors, quiet zones, call booths. At that point you've got everything in one place and the line between "home" and "office" blurs in the best way.

The worst version is a coliving that puts a few dining chairs in a corner and calls it coworking. Spoiler: it's not. Four chairs and a ring light do not a workspace make.

Why do remote workers choose coliving over just renting an apartment?

The math, mostly.

Rent a decent apartment in Lisbon: €1,200–1,600/month. Add a coworking membership at a good space: €200–350/month. Wi-Fi setup if you're unlucky: more money. Furniture, kitchen equipment, that weird deposit the landlord insists on: more money still.

A mid-range coliving in the same city might run you €900–1,400/month. That covers accommodation, fast internet, a functional workspace, and shared kitchen access. For stays of one to three months, it often comes out cheaper. And it definitely involves less IKEA.

But cost isn't the only thing. A Deskmag survey found that 89% of coworking members said it improved their wellbeing. Coliving extends that logic beyond the workday. You're not coming home to an empty flat and eating pasta alone at midnight. Well, you might still be eating pasta at midnight. But you'll have company.

Is coliving actually cheaper than renting?

Does every coliving include coworking?

No. Check before you book.

There are roughly three types of coliving when it comes to workspace:

The full-stack option. Accommodation plus a proper coworking space either in the building or through an exclusive arrangement with a nearby space. This is what most people imagine when they google "coliving and coworking." Desks, monitors, meeting rooms, maybe a call booth so your standup doesn't echo through the whole house.

The "trust us, the Wi-Fi is fast" option. A common area with decent internet and some tables. Good enough for focused work if you're disciplined. A disaster on heavy video-call days when three people are on Zoom at the same time and the bandwidth starts feeling like 2009.

The "we have internet" option. You'll need to find your own workspace outside. Not ideal if you have to actually work. Fine if you're mostly independent and just want the community part without a dedicated office setup.

At Casa Basilico we don't bullshit about this. Our chapters include tested workspace infrastructure because we've had enough "the router is on the second floor, it might be fine" situations ourselves to know that slow Wi-Fi is a dealbreaker. You're a remote worker. Your connection is your livelihood.

What's included in a Casa Basilico chapter?

Is the coliving-plus-coworking model actually productive?

Can you really get work done when there are interesting humans around?

Honestly, yes. More than you'd think.

Open offices can be distracting. So can working from your bedroom with a view of your unmade bed. The difference in a good coliving is that the people around you are also trying to work. The social contract is mutual. Nobody's playing Mario Kart while you're on a client call.

A study from the Global Coworking Unconference Conference found that 74% of coworking members reported being more productive since joining a shared workspace, compared to working from home. The structure of a dedicated work environment outside your bedroom matters, even if that environment is fifteen steps from the kitchen.

The other thing nobody talks about: impromptu office hours. You get stuck on something. You mention it over dinner. The person across the table has been doing exactly this for three years and solves your problem in eight minutes. That doesn't happen at WeWork.

Why remote workers are choosing coliving over solo travel

What should you actually look for in a coliving with coworking?

Not all setups are equal.

Internet. Fiber. With tested upload AND download speeds. If they can't tell you the Mbps, that's a no.

Dedicated workspace. A table in the living room isn't a coworking space. You want a room or zone specifically for work, with the social noise contained somewhere else.

Call-friendly options. Phone booths, quiet rooms, or outdoor spaces where you can take a call without the whole house knowing your salary expectations.

Timezone reality. If you're working US hours from Europe, check when the rest of the house is awake. A coliving full of European 9-to-5ers is a different vibe from one built around North American remote work schedules.

Community fit. This one's harder to google. Read how they describe their members. If every sentence mentions "networking" and "synergies," it's probably a conference that also sells beds. If it sounds like a group of people who like each other, that's closer to the real thing.

At Casa Basilico we build chapters around a specific kind of person: remote workers who like food, actual human connection, and ending the workday with a proper dinner instead of a protein bar. If that sounds like you, our next chapter in Oaxaca, Mexico might be your kind of thing.

The bottom line

Coliving and coworking together solve the core problems of remote work: isolation, productivity drift, and the overhead of setting up a new life in a new city every few months.

They're not a magic fix. A bad coliving with a pretty website is still a bad coliving. But the right setup gives you a workspace, a social life, and a home, all in one monthly payment, in a city you probably wouldn't have chosen to live in on your own.

It's the closest thing remote work has to an office with good lighting, decent food, and people you'd actually want to have a drink with at 6pm on a Tuesday.

We've been running pop-up coliving chapters since 2024. Over 180 remote workers across Brazil, Spain, Portugal, and beyond. Some of them have come back four times. A few are now close friends. None of them complained about the Wi-Fi.

Come find out for yourself. Join the next chapter.

FAQ

Is coliving and coworking the same thing?

No. Coworking is a shared workspace you pay to use during working hours. Coliving is shared accommodation — where you sleep, eat, and live. Some coliving spaces include coworking in the same building. When they're combined well, you get one place that covers your work and living needs in a single monthly payment.

How much does a coliving with coworking cost?

It depends on location and what's included. Budget options start around €500–700/month in Southeast Asia or Latin America. Mid-range in Europe runs €900–1,500/month. Premium urban options in cities like Lisbon or Barcelona can reach €1,800–2,500/month. Most prices include accommodation, internet, and workspace access. Always check what's actually covered before comparing numbers.

Is coliving good for productivity?

Generally yes, especially compared to working alone at home. Research consistently shows that shared work environments improve focus and reduce the isolation that quietly tanks remote work motivation over time. The key is finding a coliving with real workspace infrastructure — fast internet, dedicated desks, call-friendly zones — not just good vibes and a dining table.

How long are coliving stays typically?

Most coliving spaces offer minimum stays of one week to one month. Longer stays of one to three months are common and usually come with better rates. Some, like Casa Basilico, run time-limited chapters with fixed start and end dates — which creates a more cohesive community experience. You arrive with the group, you leave with the group. It feels more like an experience than a sublet.

Can I stay in a coliving permanently?

Some people do, technically. But most coliving experiences are designed for one to three months. After that the economics usually favor a proper lease, and the rotating-community aspect starts to feel less exciting. The sweet spot for most people is one to three months: long enough to feel settled, short enough to stay curious.