Traditional rentals demanded signing a year or two of lease and significant deposits. Hotels and serviced apartments could accommodate shorter stays, but there was hardly much value proposition for longer stays that stretched months.
Co-living operators were the only ones set up for that middle ground: furnished rooms, professional housekeeping, transparent pricing, three- to six-month commitments, all the basics bundled, and someone to text when the tap leaked.
I’ve since come to believe that the flexibility is only half the story. The other half is social, and it is under-appreciated. I know several Malaysians who came to Singapore for better pay and prospects. They were competent and diligent; they could have built long careers here. What made them leave after a couple of years was not the cost of living, it was the cost of living alone. A good salary cannot offset the feeling of eating dinner by yourself every night, or celebrating a birthday over FaceTime.
Friends, or a chosen family of sorts, are not easily made, especially if you’re busy working and hardly have the time or energy to go out and socialise. The truth is, if you cannot find your people in a new city, the city will never feel like home.
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That is where co-living, at its best, earns its name. The “co” is not only about the shared spaces, it’s about the “company” that you meet in these properties. I’ve never personally stayed in a co-living property, as I have been fortunate enough to live with family here. But I do believe I would have enjoyed living in one.
Community managers in co-living properties are more than just a concierge for daily tasks, they’re the ones that bring people together through events and activities, such as board-game night or Christmas potluck, that promote interaction between strangers and welcome them to the neighbourhood.
So, what is co-living? Here is my working definition after a few years of watching it evolve. It refers to professionally managed, furnished accommodation designed for mid- to long-term stays, priced transparently with utilities and Wi-Fi included, supported by scheduled maintenance and a community building aspect. It is not a hostel, because privacy and standards matter; nor a traditional rental, because leasing flexibility is built in; nor a hotel, because it provides the amenities to cook and do laundry.
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The physical product can be a shophouse, an apartment stack, a purpose-built block or a hybrid. The common denominator is the operating system: the service cadence, the social activities calendar and the person you can reach out to when something breaks.
I will admit, my perception of the co-living sector has changed. It is not a fancy lifestyle toy for expats. It is a practical solution for students, first-jobbers, commuters, project staff, newly arrived couples and, increasingly, seniors and healthcare workers who need decent rooms near where they work. Even locals are choosing to stay in co-living properties, especially as they wait out renovations happening at their own homes.
It should feel like a sensible way to live for an extended period of time, but probably not part of a permanent identity. The way I see it, the most important features won’t be the ones in the brochure, but the ones that can’t be photographed: the friend who messages when you’re home late, the neighbour who waters your plant, the WhatsApp invite that keeps you in the loop. In other words, the “co” that gives you a sense of belonging.
