“Co-” is a prefix (a group of letters at the beginning of a word that makes a new word) that adds the idea of “together with” to the words it begins, words like “cooperate” and “coworker.” Recently “co-” has taken on a new job – changing the way we think and talk about working and living.
Two new words – coworking and coliving – are quickly becoming part of the vocabulary used by many millennials (young adults under the age of 30) and others. You’ll hear them most often in cities where there are a lot of startups (new businesses), especially startups that use technology in new ways.
Coworking, the older of the two ideas, describes a workspace that is shared by a group of people who usually work independently (by themselves) or remotely (away from the office). Workers rent and share office and meeting space and equipment and services, such as copiers and copying. For many, community building – getting to know other people, sharing ideas, and working together with them – is an important part of coworking.
Coliving is a newer idea. It extends (adds) the use of “co-” to living arrangements. The Coliving website describes coliving as shared housing and as a kind of life that values (makes something important) openness, sharing, and collaboration (working together). Building personal and business relationships is often an important part of coliving.
One way to think about the housing part of coliving is to imagine renting a hotel room or suite (a larger hotel room that includes a couch or comfortable chairs, a desk or table, and sometimes a small kitchen). In addition to your room, you share living, dining, and meeting rooms, a kitchen, and other rooms with the people who live in the same house or building.
Coliving is often more cost effective (good results without high cost) than renting or buying, especially in large cities like San Francisco, New York, or Boston, where there are a lot of startups. The service OpenDoor charges tenants (people who rent) $1,000 to $1,200 a month, depending on the room and the house. Another coliving company charges $1,500 to $2,200 a month, which includes everything you would find in a hotel room plus a well-supplied kitchen for everyone to use.
OpenDoor operates several coliving locations in California. In a recent interview, one of the owners said that they see themselves as more than landlords (some who owns and rents property). They work hard to maintain a family-like environment in their locations. Applicants (someone who wants to live at one of their locations) are asked what they could contribute to the house, what kind of environment they’re looking for, and other questions to make sure they fit into the group of people who already live there.
What about where you live? Have you seen examples of coworking or coliving?
~ Warren Ediger – ESL coach/tutor and creator of the Successful English website.
Photo by Brian Harkin for the New York Times.
Hello Warren.
I had never heard about coliving and cohousing before and I did not know that it’s also done in my country (Italy)
After a brief Google search I was able to find out about a couple of examples in Milan and something different called rural coliving.
That’s done in rural towns where people left to move into cities for jobs.
A part for a handful of exemptions this is probably a small thing in Italy.
I bet that if I ask to my coworkers they do not even know what that is.
Thank you Warren! We always learn about new interesting things from you guys.
Bye.
Sorry me again,
Just to add that out of curiosity, I was checking out the list of words prefixed
with ^co^ and o was surprised to see how many there are.
The list is almost endless!.
Hello everyone
Hey Peter. The tittle of the song is “We are the World”.
As far as I know, Michael Jackson led a funraising initiative called USA for Africa consisting in getting together the most relevants pop and rock singers to sing that song in order to try mitigate poverty problems. More or less.
That is what I remember. I suppose it is possible to check it on any search engine or similar reliable source of information.
All in all, though the song is lovely and beautiful, I am afraid it didn’t solve the problem completely.
Bye
P.S. Related to the refrain that I mentioned, it says “We are the world, we are the children…(etc)”, instead of “You are the world, you… (etc)”. You know, it is so long time ago, that I didn’t recall the lyrics rightly.
Thanks
Hey Dan
Refer to ur question for me on your last note on this week Eslpod guide,I prefer paperback copies. They are cheaper ; they are lighter.
I like reading the print media or paperback books. I like the mechanical aspect of it. I feel more involved like that.
However , reading them while riding public transit in rush hour is a whole different ball game that I certainly try to avoid.
U know ,I travel to work and back home in rush hour during which there is a sharp spike in the number of commuters on buses and subways trains.
Accordingly , Finding a free seat on the crowded bus or packed subway is like wining the lottery, almost never happens.
In most cases you end up standing on the bus and the subway train while grabbing on a corner trail ,handle or a vertical pol to keep ur balance.
Well ,no problem , life is beautiful!! 🙂
u have ur easy-to-manage ,pocket size smart phone with u that u can easily be navigated with just one tip of finger.
Now ,imagine, for some reason u don’t have ur phone with u .
So,u decide to bring along the next best thing : a cumbersome ,bulky book or even worse a sectioned newspapers to read on the route to work or back home.
U r on a jam packed subway train with a tiny room to maneuver one hand grabbing on an overhead bar and on
The other hand is the book or an newspaper article ur reading with the rest of newspaper tucked in under ur armpit. Life is no longer beautiful ,s it i ?:)
If anything ,it is awkward and uncomfortable :))))
No picture three hour of it.
So
Tell me Dan
Do Still wanna bring a book or papers along ?
A learning guide member
🙂
Pete
Thanks Mari
I will look it up
A Learning guide member
🙂
Pete
I guess that in order to work coliving you need to have people sharing the same values or ideas.
It would ne interesting to see how these groups are formed. The more I think about this the more I grow skeptical.
I do not know, it’s something that needs to be lived in order to know what it is like.
When one has to share something with others, it’s not always easy.
See Peter’s commute for instance. Isn’t that coriding?
But at the end of the day, aren’t we all sharing the same “small” Planet?
Bye. Thanks!
Hi,
Can you believe me? On Tuesday, JIMMY WALES was in Romania for “McCann/ Thiess Conferences” to reveal
us his newest projects.
Jimmy Wales is the co-founder and promoter of the online non-profit encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA.
Thanks Dan, Mari, Pete, thanks for you all for the ideas you have introduced here. We always have something to teach, although we are either too young or too old.
Aecio from Brazil, the country below the Equator line, where there is no sin.
Aecio
Dozens of people lost their lives and many more injured in three separate bomb attacks aimed at innocent people.
The Cowardly attack left Europe reeling.
It is poignant that in this time and day we are still witnessing barbaric act of terror and war.
It was not long before that people in Turkey experienced the same agony and pain.
I stand in solidarity with people across Europe especially France ,turkey ,and Belgium and condemn all these unjustified act of terror and violence.
My heart goes out to people who felt the grief , the terror and the pain first hand.
Stand strong
A learning guide member
Pete
Hi Dan,
My sentiments exactly
Well put bro!
A learning guide member
🙂
Pete
Peter, you are right and my heart is also we all these persons, my European persons, that have been
killed here.
My European brothers that I feel very close, it is a sad day for me and I feel myself as a citizen of
Brussels.
Last June I was visiting Brussels and some other cities of Belgium, even I was walking the same
street where the subway bomb exploted.
Even Turkey, Paris. London, New YorkG and of course Madrid are my countries and cities as I know their
persons and I love all of them who suffer so many mad attacks.
Again, thnaks Peter for remembering thesee our killed people and their families and friends.
Where are we going?
I don´t really know
Yup
Emiliano
It is absolut madness
I visited Brussels myself. It is Avery beautiful city
They have two official languages.
Fleming and French
I remember
Because I cans peak a bit French, survivor French mostly.
Down there , to my surprise , some people didn’t speak French. Later on , I learned there are two official languages in Bulgium : Flemish and French.
Like Cabada
French and English
In Canada , if u travel to Quebec province , u will see there are a lot of people who don’t speak any English.
i personally think ,
Countries in EU should collaborated closely so they can put an stop to it fast
A learning guid member
🙂
Pete
Yes Peter, that´s true and may be that´s the problem about policemen in Belgium
as they don´t colaborate each other about the problems of language and separism
reasons.
Year ago when here in Spain we have the terrorist separatist vasc group ETA
Belgium was like a sanctuary for them.
The terrorist came here to Spain, specially to Madrid and other big cities, they put
bombs and killed up till one thousand persons all round Spain.
I lived those years and it was horrible, still they are lot of persons that have
lost some member of their family killed by these people.
So, yes here in Spain there are experts in Terrrorist fight, as we had have to survive
withe this problem for years and years but not in Belgium where coordination are
so bad and they have been like a free place to be safe for lot or terrorists people.
Now it is really a pity for them that are paying a high price for the years when
they were so laizy about other countries problems with separatist and terrorist
attacls out their country.
Now they have the problem but also France or England, even Germany by
the bad, very bad work of Belgium secret service.
It is a long long story that unfortunally I know quite well.
Despite all of this I could tell you I am very sorry about what is happening to
the Belgian people who are suffering the attacks in their country.
Even killed people are from other different countries who were over there
as tourist.
Belgium it is a nice beautiful country with quite a lot of history, incredible
medieval cities and so forth. I enjoyed my time over there quite a lot.
Brujas, Gante, Amberes and so many cities the quite a lot of years were from
the Spanish Kingdom.
In fact one of our great kings Charles the first of Spain and the five of Gemany
was born in Gante on the year 1500.
He was the grandson of Isabel and Fernando kings of Spain being Isabel
the Queen who gave Colon the money to buy the ships for going and discover
America.
Colon thought he was in India, so he called Indios to the native of that lands
by mistake.
Big mistake as they have been called indios for hundred of years, not being
natives of India.
Well enought for today, as you may see I like history a lot.
Be in peace all of you.
emiliano
Hi Pete.
Just a brief comment on that just because I think this is not the right
place to talk about those kind of events.
Unfortunately and that’s the most infuriating/depressing thing is that
most politicians (leftist) do not even name the problem. They are traitors of the west and civilization.
I am deeply disappointed by the POTUS. He too refuses to name the problem and keep always saying the same memorized speech.
I am going to stop here, again, we are here for learning not to talk about this stuff. This is my opinion.
Thanks
Sorry about my English mistakes, but I write very fast and don´t read again
which ever thing I have written before.
Try to have a nice day despite so many sorrows. emiliano
Curious way of thinking Dan, may I ask you which is the right place to
talk about these events?, home, in the work, in the street, at the bar?
Which is the right place for you dear?.
11 M 2004 was the bombings constituted the deadliest terrorist attack in Spanish
history and among the worst in the history of Europe. It was the worst attack to occur
in Europe since the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.
Have in mind Dan I take one of this line trains to see my mother several days, and
the platform I was remaining frequently was one that was exploded.
So yes, what happens in Brussels affect me just a lot, the same that affects me
what happened in Paris, London, New York, or every place round the world it could
happens.
Is this the right place to talk about it?
I don´t really know but I do think Peter has the right to talk about his feelings,
or the events he likes to comment the same like you or me.
Doing that we learn English? Even better my dear Dan.
emiliano
Hi Emi.
I do not know if you noticed but someone took the effort of posting something for us on the top of the page and even asked a couple of questions.
I think that coming here and start talking about other subjects it’s not what I would consider polite and ignoring the questions is in my opinion not respecting the work of, in this case Warren.
I personally talk a lot about what happened in Brussels, and not just there,
on online paper’s comment sections.
This is a blog for English learners and common sense would suggest not to touch politics or religious topics.
Then, if we want to talk about it, at least let’s use the weekends where it’s more like “free style” nobody posted a subject to comment on.
That’s it! My concern is just out of respect and politeness toward the figure
of the teacher.
Thanks.
Sure Dan you have a good sense of proportion than Peter or emiliano
haven’t.
Sorry Warren if I have disturbed you with my coments out of the
subject and just the same for you Dan.
Have a nice day all of you.
emiliano
Talking about the subject Warren I could say that here in Madrid there are lot o people that
obliged by a low salary need to colive with other in the same flat sharing bathroom and
kitchen.
Up in my house there were three couples that colive in the same condominium than my
wife Cuca and me.
A flat with two bedrooms and a living room, a kitchen and a bathroom.
The rent of the flat costs 800 euros and each couple pay 200 hundred, sharing the cost
of electricity, gas, and water.
In fact, my daughter Laura colives in Copenhaguen for some years by the same problem,
too expensive flat to be paid by a single girl.
All of this have nothing to be with doing a same work o nothing similar it is just the crisis
and low salaries.
My best and sorry again. emiliano
My funny friend Dan,
I had heard about those words Warren discussing on the post before.
So , I figured to touch on the recent disrupting event that raised vigilant and security concerns throughout Europe.
A learning guide member
Pete
Hey guys.
I think I am on my way to becoming a great blog’s moderator.
Yeah I would enjoy that power. Hahahaha.
Just kidding!
Welcome back Emi it is a pleasure hearing from you again.
Thanks and have a good weekend and Easter everyone.
Dan, I am always in the blog as my spirit is here, but I need to be stimulated with something
that get me out from the shadow I am going through, that´s all.
I use to read all your comments but to be sincere they don´t shake me enough to participate.
May be I have said nearly all and have few remarks to add in your conversations.
My best dear Dan, you know I am fond of your humor always and now you has been
just a bit serious what shake me up strongly and have to say something, that´s all.
Again I will be still for a while.
emiliano
Hey Emi
I understand your frustration.
What I do in order to kind of vent off my anger is, I said earlier, leaving
comments on the comment sections of online papers.
Unfortunately most of those are monitored and some of it gets cut out.
Especially some “magic” words.
I am pretty active on YouTube as well. Not uploading videos, just commenting on other’s.
Thanks
I really like the idea of living together which u guys call co-living. I am a chinese,it’s very hard to imagine that several strangers staying together.because of the tradition or convention,we sort of prefering
to live alone,where it provide us a private time and space.You can always find something we really don’t want to share with other.For example it will be the first question being asked if there is a personal
bathroom in the house.A ‘no’ answer means refuse.