Even though they had a great first year, they want to continue growing and supporting local Galicia even more. That’s why iSlow will offer a number of new experiences in 2023 and we’re super excited to see them!

Read below the program of one of those new experiences and discover what awaits you in iSlow this year.

iSlow Coliving, 2023 season

Ines: It’s going to be one year since we opened our doors in April 2022. This has been a year full of challenges, but also full of rewarding and fulfilling experiences for us as hosts as well as our community.

During this 2023 season, we would like to use the experience we gained in 2022 to continue to focus on the family-centered approach to coliving.

This time adding specific packages that we hope will be of interest to the two main groups of colivers that make up our big coliving family:

• Solo travelers
• Families with kids

Focusing on the first group, we will be shortly launching our first pop-up coliving experience.

Hiking and Pop-up Coliving experience in Galicia

This is an all-inclusive hiking experience for 1 or 2 weeks from April-June 2023 with fellow digital nomads along the 8 stages of The Camiño Dos Faros, A Costa da Morte. The hidden gem of Galicia, Northern Spain.

The Camiño Dos Faros is a captivating hiking trail that passes all the iconic lighthouses and landmarks along A Costa da Morte in Northern Spain, a place where the sea holds a prominent role.

Who is this for?

This is a retreat-like experience for outdoor enthusiasts, avid hikers, and all those seeking to explore the wild coast of A Costa da Morte with a like-minded community of digital nomads.

Our participant’s profiles occupy a diverse range of individuals including frequent travelers, remote workers, and digital entrepreneurs.

What you’ll do

1) Hike Camino Dos Faros

You will have the opportunity to embark on an 8-stage hike along The Camiño dos Faros in the untouched coastal area of A Costa da Morte.

2) Experience coliving in Galicia

Your hiking adventure will be enriched with a community of fellow hiking enthusiasts and digital nomads.

While you enjoy the outdoors, you will be able to immerse yourself in full-board accommodation at iSlow Coliving and spend time with like-minded individuals.

3) Get Some Work Done

During your stay, you will be able to combine relaxation with productive work, without leaving your job or clients unattended. To support this, we have provided you with:

• 600 Mbps fiber optic internet connection;
• WI-FI 6 technology all around the house;
• Quiet Coworking rooms;
• Video call rooms;
• Bedrooms equipped with en-suite desks, chairs, and internet access.

4) Explore A Costa da Morte

Uncover the hidden gem of Galicia, its great food, slow and relaxed way of life, and untouched coastal landscapes.

What is included?

• TOP-LEVEL HIKING 
• PRIVATE OR SHARED ROOM IN A COLIVING ACCOMMODATION
• COWORKING SPACES
• TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM HIKING SPOTS
• TASTY GALICIAN FOOD
  • Breakfasts
  • Picnic lunch on hike days (Cooked lunch on rest days)
  • Dinners
• GROUP ACTIVITIES TO CHOOSE FROM:
  • Yoga/stretching sessions for muscle recovery between hikes;
  • Laugh therapy;
  • Organized group visits;
  • Craft’s workshops;
  • Show cooking;

Program

*Prices vary depending on the room type and the length of your stay. Check out the link for prices.

Package options:

• Private room (en suite single room all for yourself) or Shared room (single bed shared room, 2–3 people)
• Length of stay: first week, second week, or full 2-week experience

In case you missed our Instagram Live Takeover with Ines Silva (owner of iSlow Coliving). You can find it below. 👇👇👇

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Travel & Tapas (@travel_and_tapas)

Other Coliving Events in Spain

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• February 6, 2023

• • Coliving Events

Networking events in Las Palmas for Digital Nomads at Coliving 1907

• ByMarko
• March 7, 2023

The post Camiño Dos Faros – Exploring Galician Hiking Routes with iSlow Coliving appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.

With all the possibilities and the opportunities around us today, life sometimes seems too short to achieve all that we’re meant to. Because of this, society makes you think that you have to push harder every day so you wouldn’t find yourself behind your peers, colleagues, and neighbors.

And rushing into the day to achieve the maximum we can in those 24 hours we’re granted, we often forget to observe the moment. The truth is that we definitely cannot achieve everything in life. Chasing to accomplish it all will only make us lose the moments that truly count.

Taking your time to do things right and enjoying the process is definite to bring results that will last longer, have better quality, and be more stable. Living slowly doesn’t mean not trying hard and putting your time and heart into something. Living slowly only means acknowledging every step of the process as an important one, even taking a break.

Life doesn’t have a goal, there’s no finish line, so there is no reason to rush with anything. Taking your time to choose your path is what will secure the most wholesome path for you.

Slow living means taking the time to prepare your food and taking the time to eat it. It means taking the time to play with your kids and taking a walk on the beach, and knowing how to enjoy just sitting and chatting with your friends.

Ines and Julio, the founders of iSlow coliving, have embraced this philosophy and decided to share it with the world by making a coliving that will celebrate it. The name – iSlow – sparks interest on its own, and since they’re just at the beginning of their coliving journey, we decided to visit them and share their ideas with you.

Disclaimer: This piece of content may contain some affiliate links. If you decide to make a purchase or book through one of our links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

From living fast to iSlow

Ines and Julio lived several years in the UK and most of that time in London. Even though they loved London and still speak fondly about it, they moved back to Galicia in 2021. Rural Galicia might not have London’s lively atmosphere, but it has something very valuable – the tranquility and the philosophy of slow living.

This atmosphere is definitely better for kids, so having 5-year-old twins was another reason for Julio and Ines to choose Galicia over London.

Now, after Ines’s childhood house is renovated, and the traditional farmhouse from the area received a modern makeover, the whole family can enjoy and open its doors to all the traveling families out there.

By opening the doors of its coliving, the family is also opening the doors of Laxe to the world, and letting people learn about the beauty of this small town on beautiful Costa da Morte.

Laxe – a village for all tastes

Laxe is a municipality and a town in northern-west Galicia, on the Costa da Morte. It’s a small village with no more than 3000 people that becomes a popular local-tourism destination in the summer.

With its moderate climate and impeccable beaches in the area, Laxe is a destination that madrileños gladly choose to spend the summers in. The Bay of Corme and Laxe shelters Laxe’s beaches and the exit to the ocean from harsh oceanic winds which makes the beaches great for families and kids.

The beaches are ample and have nooks all over. They are the perfect amount of urban and wild. Besides the beaches, the village is surrounded by greenery and hills and has some great hiking spots. That’s why we say it has something for everyone.

If you’re not particularly fond of the rural charisma or prefer city vibes, iSlow provides you with a modern shelter a bit outside the village. If that is your cup of tea, coming during summer can be a great option because the town becomes more lively, the restaurants open, and nightlife wakes up.

Laxe is truly a gem and definitely worth a visit, especially when your home for the time is the iSlow house.

How to get to iSlow?

Speaking of bigger cities, you can come to iSlow from Santiago and La Coruna. La Coruna is closer, but it’s more or less the same where you come from.

Santiago’s airport has a bit better connection than the one in La Coruna, so you might find a flight to Santiago before La Coruna.

When in Galicia, it’s best to have or rent a car because the public transportation connections are not the best, especially in small villages.

From Santiago to Laxe

A bus from Santiago to Laxe and vice versa goes only on Mondays, so if you miss that day, you’ll need to find other options.

Our option was to ride a bus to Baio, a town 10-15 minutes away from Laxe where Julio picked us up in his car. The trip from Santiago to Baio cost us 4.5 euros per person.

From La Coruna to Laxe

Buses from La Coruna to Laxe are a bit better connected and go every day.

The iSlow neighborhood

The iSlow house is located about a kilometer outside the town of Laxe. In our personal opinion, the positioning is great. It is close enough to the village to go by foot but not in the center of the village which makes it very private and silent.

If you arrive by car, you’ll only need 2-3 minutes to get down to the town and grab a drink or go to the supermarket. It took us around 15 minutes by foot. The only downside is that the whole way down (and back up) you’ll be walking right next to the main road, but there’s plenty of space to go by.

When you reach the village, you will have two supermarkets available. The bigger one, Eroski, will have everything you need. It’s very well equipped for a small town.

There are also quite a few bars and restaurants to choose from in Laxe, so it shouldn’t be a problem to find a spot to sit down and have a drink or grab a bite. What was interesting to us is that we found Wifi access in some bars, which is not typical for Spain. Well, maybe it is for this region, but it’s definitely useful for foreigners.

The town beach is in the town center, so also about a 15-20 minutes walk from the house to it, and only a few minutes by car.

The house also has a huge backyard that they’re still working on but has huge potential.

The iSlow house

The house is a renovated traditional house from Laxe. The complete renovation took a few years but mostly because of the slow living philosophy of life. The time spent for the house to be what it is today is noticeable in every corner. That only proves that the slow living philosophy gives valuable results.

The history of the house

The first papers of the house indicate the year 1915, but it is probably even older than that.

It is a house Ines spent a good portion of her childhood living with her family and her great grandfather. She has some dear memories about the place and her family’s history with it, and she tries to incorporate them into the coliving experience.

For instance, the rooms carry special names telling their past stories, like this room called A vaca (the cow) which was Ines’ room when she was a child living in the house. Back in that time, a part of the house’s ground floor was a place where the stables for cows were and sleeping in a room a floor up, Ines could see the cows from the small crack in the floor.

Ines and Julio decided to renovate the house in such a way that they kept the traditional characteristics of the area that tell a story, and paired it with a modern natural design.

With such a proud history of the area, they thought it would be wrong not to keep the history in the concept of their coliving. And we couldn’t agree more with that.

The house (coliving) today

Today, the house carries a magazine-worthy look. The design combines the traditional yellow stone walls and old pillars, wooden doors, and antique farmhouse decor with the industrial elements and modern elements.

The coliving space currently has six common areas (kitchen, living room, common toilet, coworking area, a terrace, and a laundry room), and six private rooms. Both the number of common and private rooms will probably go up soon. Ines and Julio are preparing the huge piece of land behind the house for a few more spaces.

The kitchen

The kitchen is one of the most important parts of a long-term rental, and especially a coliving. For long-term stays, it’s important to have a good enough space to eat as you would at your home. So, having all the necessary amenities to cook and store food. For a coliving, similar to a hostel, it’s crucial to have a space where multiple people can eat and prepare food at the same time.

Well, iSlow did crazy well with the kitchen design! I think it might be safe to say that kitchen is one of the best features of the house!

The space is huge and comes with two cooking areas, two refrigerators, and sitting space for around 15-20 people. The room receives natural light from a window wall that opens to a common terrace.

When it comes to kitchen appliances and amenities, it’s fully equipped. It has loads of cooking equipment (pots and pans), a microwave, a toaster, an electric kettle, tons of utensils, plates, glasses, mugs, etc. There are also two sinks and a dishwasher.

The size of the space and number of basics make the kitchen convenient for multiple people to prepare the food and/or eat at the same time.

And above all, the size of the space and the beautiful design make the kitchen one of the best areas to hang out with other colivers.

Workspace/Coworking area

Workspace is another common area that can be very interesting to visitors. It has four big desks and provides working space for 6-7 people, but other than that, it is an office like you have never seen before!

Divided from the rest of the house with a glass wall, this space is a working oasis. The room receives a lot of natural light during the day because of two side exits to a patio and the backyard.

The industrial design mixed with the rustic and traditional stone makes this place tranquil and inspiring, but the best feature is a completely natural wall. This part of the house is leaned on the massive green rock that the owners decided to keep as an accent wall.

Its raw and completely natural state gives undescriptive energy to the space. It’s so natural that there’s even a plant growing from the rock inside the office. For the past two weeks, my favorite thing was to check on how the plant is growing. It’s beautiful.

The space feels like the outdoors, but you’re completely sheltered. Do you know that energy you feel when you’re deep down in the woods close to a small natural waterfall? This wall gives that energy to the office. It feels very natural, inspiring, and healthy for the soul and the mind.

If you are working long hours on your computer, I think this is the perfect place to do it because nature’s presence in the office will give you a healthy balance.

Other than that, the space comes with good wifi and plenty of office gadgets like a monitor, a kneeling chair, and a projector. So it’s like a fully equipped office space in the middle of the woods.

The rooms

The private rooms have that modern farmhouse design. They come with very comfortable beds, great storage for your things, a desk and a chair, an AC, and the best of all – super nice private bathrooms. Every room has its own bathroom with a rainfall shower.

On top of that, the rooms have electronic locking systems for extra security. So, if you like the idea of coliving, but also want to have your privacy, these rooms give you that for sure.

Coliving activities you can expect in iSlow

Many colivings offer special activities to their colivers to connect with the community. Coliving is not only living with others but also making a valuable community and sharing interests.

iSlow only opened a few weeks ago, so they’re still planning their activities and testing the options. We were lucky to be part of some and hear their ideas for the upcoming ones.

So, here’s what you can expect from iSlow in the upcoming period.

Language exchange

Based on the experience Ines and Julio had while living in London, they find that language exchange sessions can have a valuable impact on community bonding as well as long-term personal growth value.

As a family-friendly coliving, they want to provide these sessions for adults and kids. They know how beneficial it can be for young children to learn foreign languages, and they want to embrace that.

Language exchange is not only good for learning languages but is also a great way to introduce one’s culture and personality.

For more information about the idea, check this article where we covered it in detail.

Yoga classes

Yoga classes are a very popular coliving activity, so it’s good that Julio’s sister Sandra is a yoga teacher. Even though they have not yet decided how they’ll organize these classes and whether they will be free for the colivers or not, we had a trial session – and it was so good!

These classes also might be open for the local women to join. This is another way of supporting the local community and connecting colivers with it.

In the future, the backyard space could become a yoga spot during summer, but until then, the coworking office is amazing for small group yoga sessions. Its natural energy flows through the room so it has that meditative effect.

Camiño dos faros

There is a popular lighthouse hiking route in the area with eight stages that go through multiple villages. One of the stages is in Laxe and is a great activity to hike the stage. Nature is beautiful, and the hike is easy and accessible.

Being one of the things that visitors should do while in Laxe, this hike will definitely be one of the activities that iSlow will organize during warm days.

iSlow wrote about the Camino dos Faros as well as the stage in Laxe on their website. Be sure to check the blogs out!

Traditional Galician parties

Behind the house, there’s a barbecue place that Ines and Julio are still working on but once that is complete, a plan is to organize traditional Galician parties there.

These parties will gather colivers and the local people and be something like jamming sessions. Whoever wants to join and play something, sing, or dance, can. And those who want to chill out and enjoy the music can also do that.

We experienced something like this when Anceu coliving with 15 of its folks came to visit iSlow. It was truly a fun community experience.

The philosophy behind iSlow

iSlow grows its coliving on three main pillars – family, slow living, and the local community.

Family-friendly coliving

As a family themselves, Julio, Ines, and their 5-year-old twins want to make a safe and supportive place for traveling families.

Not many colivings and places for digital nomads are for families, and many are generally not kid-friendly. iSlow wants to change that and provide a comfortable place for parents with kids to come and enjoy the perks of nomadism and remote work. The house has many corners for kids but also spaces like coworking where adults can be alone and in peace.

Slow living

When it comes to slow living, iSlow wants to encourage colivers to embrace slow life and enjoy the moment. The house itself has that tranquil energy and provides a relaxing environment to do it all at your own pace. Less rushing, less stress, and more living here and right now.

Local community support

The third pillar is the support they want to provide to the locals of Laxe and the area. Laxe gets quite popular in the summers, but during the colder days, locals don’t have many options for leisure and fun. iSlow wants to provide this through events and connections with colivers. The locals have so much to offer to travelers but also have so much to receive from them.

iSlow is only at the beginning of its journey but they have so many things planned and we’re super excited to see where it will take them. We spent two weeks with them and met so many nice adults and kids and we’ll definitely come back!

We appreciate your support!

Thank you for reading our content and following our journey! We are working towards becoming full-time content creators and being able to share stories with you even more frequently. If you’d like to support us to be one step closer to that goal, you can do it through Ko-Fi! 👇🏽

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.

Learn more about coliving

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• • The Coliving Spain Project

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• ByGala
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The post Coliving Spain 2022: #2 iSlow – Family-friendly coliving on the beautiful Costa da Morte appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.

This family-friendly Galician coliving welcomes all who want to try a slow way of coliving, coworking, and connecting. And all that while surrounded by the raw nature of the Galician coastal front and enjoying the sustainable countryside life.

iSlow is opening the doors of its modern and fully equipped redesign of a traditional country house this spring (2022), and we took a moment to sit down with one of the founders, Ines, and hear more about their idea and vision.

How it all started

“Smile, breathe, and go slowly.”

-Thich Nhat Hanh

1. When did you decide to open a coliving space of your own, and what was the driving force behind your decision?

– We had been rebuilding the house where ISlow is based for a while with the intention of opening it as a retreat center for some time before learning about coliving and considering it as an option.

I (Ines) have always been into nutrition and wellbeing and even trained in naturopathic nutrition as a second career, and although I spent ten years living in London and other cities in the UK, I always valued the power of what a slow and rural lifestyle has to our health.

It was at the start of the pandemic when we learned about the coliving movement and realised it would be a great opportunity for us, as it would combine both our passions for a healthy and slow lifestyle along with my career in technology and IT.

Being based in a remote setting like Laxe, A Costa da Morte, our driving force is around rural development.

We would like to offer our visitors an experience of integration with the local community as well as allowing the local community to link with colivers from around the world.

Living a slow life while being connected with international and multicultural communities.

2. Have you ever had the opportunity to stay in some other coliving space or any type of shared accommodation before you decided to open your own place?

– We experienced shared accommodation during our years as students and working years both in Spain and abroad in the UK.

We also visited Anceu when they first opened and connected with other rural co-livings in Spain but we haven’t had the chance yet to stay in one long.

This is mainly because we are a family of 4 and not many colivings are designed for families. This is one of the reasons why we would like to focus on families as well as other types of colivers like remote workers, slow travellers, or digital nomads.

3. You are about to open your place to the public very soon what is the thing you are struggling with the most in this final phase?

– The pandemic has made an impact on the construction sector in our region so it has been very difficult to stick to a timeline and finish the building works at the pace we would have liked.

On the other hand, we have been lucky to have support from our family and close friends which has allowed us to manage the project closely and make every decision.

We invested a lot of effort in adapting the house so it fits the needs of a group of people living together that share common spaces while keeping their own privacy.

Shared spaces are designed so adults and kids are able to keep entertained in the same space with autonomy. All rooms are ensuite and some of them can be used as shared dorms or private family rooms.

In terms of activities, we are planning to offer a range of activities that will be of interest to all ages.

4. Is there something that you wished you knew before starting this project?

– When it comes to construction, things always take 2 or 3 times longer than planned.

As a product manager who has worked in IT projects for years, I tried my best to define what a minimum viable product would be for our project to try and launch as quickly as possible.

It is difficult to prototype when there are works involved and there is no easy way to inspect and adapt. Once something is built in a way there is no easy way to go back and rushing only makes things worse. So taking it slow and thoughtful was the best approach.

5. Did some other coliving places in Spain influence your approach, on how to set up your own?

– The idea of running our own coliving got us excited from the first moment as we see it as the perfect setting for building meaningful connections in a multicultural environment which is something we really miss from our time in London.

Although we were concerned that being a family would make it difficult for us to balance out our time with our community of colivers.

But we were happy to have learned that some coliving spaces were inquired by families but were not designed for that type of users so that helped reinforce.

It will be great to host other families and offer the best experience for them as well as for us.

While designing the space we have instinctually kept families at the center because it is easy for us to relate to their needs.

Play areas, outdoor spaces, activities for kids to enjoy with other kids while parents are working or would like to enjoy some time alone.

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

– Choosing the location was a no-brainer for us. We did not pick a location the location picked us.

The house where ISlow is based is the family house where I (Ines) was raised. It belonged to our family, from our great grandfather was passed on to my parents and then on to us.

Since the begging we were very clear on all the positives both the area, the local community has to offer to anyone interested in experiencing what is like living like a local at ISlow.

The food, nature, slow lifestyle, traditions, all play a big role at ISlow.

7. What are the advantages and disadvantages (for you as owners) of building a coliving at a remote rural place?

– The cons are always around services, the internet, public transport but those are also the facts that make the experience different from the one you get in a city.

The slow pace of living, having time and opportunities to interact with the local community, no crowds of people, being surrounded by nature, fresh air, sea, and nice food, freedom for kids to explore around, and a pollution-free environment.

iSlow Community

“Having kids is a reason to travel, never a reason to stop.“

-Unknown

8. What profile of people do you want to attract with your coliving place?

– Anyone who has an interest in experiencing A Costa da Morte and its lifestyle is welcome.

In general, we would like to encourage long stays as we believe is best to get to know the area and have the chance to create connections. Unless you are on a sabbatical, remote workers will have it easier to stay longer than just spending a holiday.

We would love to connect with freelancers and entrepreneurs as we are going through our entrepreneurial journey and understand their struggles and offer support in form of workshops, networking and training programs.

As a family, we would love to host other families.

9. Will your place be dedicated exclusively to families and people with kids?

– Not just, but we have put a lot of thought into designing the space so it is adapted so both kids and adults can share common areas.

10. How long do you expect your future colivers to stay at your place?

– During the month of April we will be running a trial period where we would host as many people as possible and after that, the minimum stay is going to be 1 week with discounts being applied based on the length of the stay.

11. What additional activities will be included for people who decide to stay at your coliving?

– We believe the activities need to be driven by the community of colivers staying at a given time but from our side some of the things we would like to run are:

• Hiking the Lighthouse Way
• Organise workshops around slow food, traditional cooking, and other wellbeing activities such as yoga, pilates.
• Foliadas – Which are a form of traditional festivals in this region.
• Explore the area via geocaching.

We are collaborating with a number of people that will be able to run professional workshops and training sessions on different topics around entrepreneurship.

12. Which unique activity do you think iSlow will offer compared to other coliving places in Spain?

– In general, we are going to organise events that bring opportunities for interaction between colivers and locals.

We believe this is particularly of interest to families.

13. Are you going to have some special offers for family bookings?

– Activities for kids during the week so parents can relax or do some work while their families are having fun.

Special prices for staying during the school year and long stays.

About the Coliving Movement

”Luxury travel may be glamorous, but not always meaningful. Local culture may not always be glamorous, but it’s always meaningful.”

-Nyssa P. Chopra

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

– For us living in a coliving for some time is the best option for those looking to connect with the region and the locals and experience what is like to live in the area as locals do, as opposed to spending a few days of their holidays just sightseeing.

The longer you stay the better the experience so in that sense the type of work you do might influence the freedom to live in a coliving long term.

Those who have the freedom to work remotely like freelancers and digital nomads of course might find it easier as their work allows for mobility.

But the essence of coliving is the experience around creating those meaningful connections you can get from sharing a living space with like-minded people so colivings can so be a great option for slow travellers, people on sabbaticals or anyone who is looking to relocate in the area and would like to join a community that will offer support and a warm welcome when first landing.

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

– The terms of coliving, coworking, cohousing are very much linked together, and sometimes it is difficult to define them.

We understand coliving as the interactions of like-minded people who share a living space so theoretically the coworking could be optional but often what makes people connect are things like having common interests, the need to collaborate in projects, and seeking support from a community, especially for families.

All those connections take time so having a shared space to connect professionally allows for more opportunities to connect.

16. What do you think is going to be the best value ISlow will offer for people who decide to stay there?

– Interaction and integration with the local community, contributing to rural development and raising awareness around the value of living a slower, more present, and generally healthier lifestyle for us as individuals and families.

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! You will find more than 3500 native speakers are waiting to help you with your Spanish.

Disclaimer: This article contains some affiliate links.  At no additional cost for you, we can earn a small commission if you decide to make a purchase.

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The post iSlow: A time-stopping coliving for digital nomads and their families appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.

In the beautiful rural Galicia, you will stumble upon a peaceful oasis called Anceu coliving.

Inspired by life-work balance and giving back to nature, Anceu invites you to embrace what they call a “slowmad” lifestyle – and that is to travel, work and live slow and mindfully towards yourself and the nature around you.

Fascinated by their values, we spoke to Anceu coliving’s founder Agustin about how they started, what they offer, and the story behind the Anceu coliving.

How it all started

The most powerful thing we can do is get involved locally. Help our local community and become community activists in our own smaller circle.

–Gavin Creel

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

I‘m from a region in Spain, Galicia, where people are leaving because of lack of opportunities, so I thought that creating a coliving space would help to give visibility to my region, and even make people want to move to it.

Also establishing a company in the region would create new opportunities for people living in the area.

Besides, after more than 6 years working remotely I wanted to have a home base in the region where I’m from, so I started to look for rural villages where I could establish the coliving space until I found Anceu.

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

I hadn’t visited any coliving space when I decided that I wanted to open one. I knew about this kind of model, and in fact, with some people from my company, we had lived together while working remotely for a few years, so I kind of lived the coliving life before opening the coliving space or even thinking about opening one.

On the other hand, when I already had the place to open Anceu, I went and visited two coliving spaces (Cloud Citadel and Nine Coliving) where I learned a lot about how these kinds of spaces work.

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

Well, I opened in July 2020, just after the big lockdown of covid, so the biggest difficulty for me was COVID-related stuff.

That, and all legal stuff when you sign up a property in rural Galicia, where most of the properties are not 100% registered and there is so much paperwork involved in it.

4. Is there something that you wished you knew when you started with coliving?

I’ve learned a lot in this year and a half of Anceu coliving, so even though there is some stuff I would have liked to know, everything is a learning process, so we are where we are because of what we didn’t know.

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

Yes, since Anceu coliving opened, I’ve had the opportunity to visit Quinta da Quinha in Viana do Castelo, Portugal. I’ve been invited in the following weeks to visit iSlow before their opening, and next month I’ll be traveling to Italy to visit Tertulia Farm.

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

Basically, it is where I’m from. I know the language and how everything (more or less) works.

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

I’d say the biggest advantage is that the community grows faster and stronger because people spend more time together.

For example, in Anceu coliving, all dinners during weekdays are communal, we randomize groups every week, and each group is in charge of cooking dinner and cleaning. This may look trivial but creates huge bonds between people.

Also, the fact that everyone knows that after a working day you’ll be seated at the table with all the colivers simplifies everything. This kind of activity would be harder in a non-rural place, where there are restaurants, bars, museums, etc., all around.

About the disadvantages, I wouldn’t know what to say, because even though Anceu is super rural, in 30 minutes by car, there is a mid-size city of 80,000 people where you can find everything, so we are pretty much close to both worlds.

Our community

I remind myself that I’m always more satisfied by human interaction than by a digital connection.

–Maulik Pancholy

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

People who work remotely; love nature; and are looking for a stable community.

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

People in their 30s.

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

The average stay during 2021 has been six weeks. For 2022, with the current bookings we have, that average stay is toping up to 11 weeks.

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

So far, 80% of the bookings for 2022 are returnees. So I’d say yes.

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

Not really. Until today most of the colivers are European, but we are living in weird times now travel-wise because of restrictions, so I couldn’t tell.

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

Communal dinners and the skillshare/sharing sessions are the main things that Anceu coliving offers as activities. We also set weekly or biweekly visits to different projects in the area (music association, dog shelter, flea market nearby, etc.)

Apart from that, we like to say that activity-wise, we are facilitators of our colivers.

We show to the surfers where the good waves are, to the hikers the most famous hikes in the area, and to the ones who like to experiment with Galician gastronomy, the places to visit.

About the Coliving Movement

The spirit of co-working always you to find coworkers who are worth working with.

–Cynthia Chaim

14. 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?

The short answer is yes.

The long one, I think there is that possibility, as long as they can work remotely. In my opinion, a digital nomad and a remote worker are not exactly the same. I’ve seen that there are more and more people who can work remotely but they don’t want to travel very often. So what they are looking for is a community where they can do their work while being with like-minded people.

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

Nowadays, I think a coliving space needs a coworking because people need to have a way to pay the expenses of being in a coliving space. So, they have to work.

If the model is different, as cohousing, where people have already bought their piece of the land, and the expenses are lower, maybe that case allows not to have a coworking.

Disclaimer, I’m just speculating here. I’m no expert in this in any way.

16. 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?

That’s a big part of the situation, meeting like-minded people to share time, conversations, and who knows, even new partnerships.

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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The post The story behind Anceu Coliving – a rural escape with strong community appeared first on My Coliving Space: Spain.