Ruralco – The Rural side of the Spanish Coliving movement

Marko — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 11:40:02 +0000

Close to the Mediterranean sea and surrounded by typical Spanish rural scenery, Ruralco coliving offers the best of both worlds – the silence of the mountains and the buzz of creative minds.

With its meditational location, this place allows digital nomads to disconnect from the voices of the city and connect with their inner creative selves.

Interested? Keep reading to find out how this amazing rural escape came to life.

Also, this is the last interview from our January set of interviews that with did with coliving owners all across Spain. In case you somehow missed out on our first two interviews with Anceu and Cactus, you can find them here.

How it all started

“At some point, a city must stop consuming land and start renewing communities.”

–Anonymous

1. When and why did you decide to open a coliving space of your own?

– It all started in 2018. We were meeting our friends and talking about abandoned buildings in town and we realized there was one unfinished. My sister and I decided we had to do something with it.

After thinking for a few days, the best idea we had was to start a Coliving. The place was perfect for it, and therefore, it would serve to fight against rural depopulation.

2. Have you ever stayed in some other coliving space or any shared accommodation before you decided to open your own?

– Yes, before starting the rebuilding, we visited some colivings to take inspiration.

3. Do you remember beginnings and what was the most difficult for you when you started your coliving?

– As for many people, the beginning of the pandemic was the hardest moment. We opened at the beginning of 2020, and two months later, the world stopped.

Coworking space at Ruralco

These were difficult months for us, but we managed to survive.

4. Have you had the opportunity to visit other coliving places since you opened yours?

– At the moment we haven’t had the opportunity to visit other colivings because we have had a big amount of work to do.

5. What is the story behind you choosing Spain as the location for opening your coliving space?

– We were born in Culla, where the coliving is, and there is no better place to start it than home.

6. What are the advantages of having coliving at a remote rural place, and are there any disadvantages?

Nature around Ruralco

– It’s a very quiet place without neighbors, and we think that’s the biggest advantage. It is also surrounded by nature where you can do lots of activities.

Our community

“Living in a rural setting exposes you to so many marvelous things – the natural world and the particular texture of small-town life, and the exhilarating experience of open space.”

-Susan Orlean

7. What is the profile of people who are most likely to stay at your place?

– Mostly people who enjoy working in the mountain and being surrounded by nature.

8. What is the average age of people who are visiting your accommodation?

– The average age would be between 27-30 years.

Ruralco colivers hanging out in the chill area

9. How long do people usually stay at your place?

– People usually spend around three weeks at our coliving.

10. Do your visitors have the tendency to return back to your place?

– Yes, they do. Some people have already visited us three times.

11. Is there some trend where people from specific countries come to your place?

– No, they come from all around the world.

12. What additional activities are included for people who stay at your coliving?

For the moment, we offer our visitors many routes to go hiking and cycling. Every week we do yoga classes.

Fully equiped gym space at Ruralco

– Colivers can also visit beautiful places closer to Ruralco. We also do “Paella day.”

About the Coliving Movement

”People you meet during travel become your family for a short while.”

–Lailah Gifty Akita,

13. Do you think that coliving is only dedicated to a specific group of people such as freelancers, digital nomads, and startups, or do you think there is a possibility to gain popularity beyond that group of people?

– We believe it is open to more groups of people. Thanks to teleworking, many people take advantage of it, by visiting other places and working from them.

14. Do you think that coliving cannot exist without coworking?

– No, at the coliving you can do more other activities like yoga, pilates and more.

Example of other activites you can do at Ruralco

15. One of the main selling points for coliving is the possibility to meet new people, share experiences and maybe even develop new partnerships. Is that really the situation?

– Yes. At a coliving, you can meet different people from around the world that you maybe never would meet in other situations.

Secure yourself the best coliving experience

italki – Why not learn some Spanish before your trip and make your coliving even better? italki is the perfect platform for that, where more than 3500 native speakers are waiting to help you with your Spanish.

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