I look in the mirror to see that yet another freckle has made its debut on my sun-kissed nose. I was in the zone yesterday evening, fueled into a creative trance by the invigorating wafts of my mint tea, the warmth of the sunset over the Moroccan coastline, and the peals of laughter from the surfers below my little terrace. I have my weekly 1-on-1 with our CEO later today. I’ll take the call in our workspace, just steps from my bedroom, but first I’ll go for a jog on the beach with a fellow nomad. No need for a shower: we’ll just rinse off in the ocean.

Okay — none of that really happened. It’s the idyllic picture of what I imagine life to be at Sun Desk, a coliving and coworking space in the village of Taghazout, Morocco. Perhaps it’s where I’ll live and work for a few months to avoid the cold European winter.

Because I can.

A Growing Trend

The coliving and coworking movements have exploded in recent years. As technology advances, our definitions of how to live and work have changed accordingly. Interestingly, the how to work side of the equation seems to have gained momentum more quickly and therefore become more accepted into our work-life culture. Coworking spaces are increasingly popular in cities around the world, and even the most corporate of employees work from their living rooms on occasion.

Here’s the thing, though: location independence doesn’t just mean working from wherever we choose.

It means living on our own terms. How and where we work is only part of the equation. How and where we live is just as crucial.

Gone are the days of needing to show up to an office to have a productive career, and it’s no longer necessary to fill a loft or bungalow with furniture to live comfortably. The limits of the cubicle and a 12-month lease in a little white box no longer apply. Life and work are now flexible.

Some rent Airbnbs, or stay in hotels, travel-hacker style. Others sleep in a tent on a white sand beach or a luxe suite in a bustling city.

But, there are downsides, and it can get lonely. What if we crave community in a life of fleeting relationships and constant change?

Enter Co-living

Ten years ago, if we’d told our friends we were going to a “co-living” space, they’d think we were finding a pretentious way to say we had roommates. Co-living: the cool way to tell people that you live with six people in a 400-square foot apartment!

Today, a coliving space is an opportunity to form a community wherever you choose to be. You can work from a Nomad House in Bali to ride out the winter, then pop over to Paris to spend springtime on the Île-de-France with passionate entrepreneurs. Or you can spend a year in one place, like Roam’s brand-new building in Miami, without being bound by a 12-month contract. People are there for a year because they choose to stay, not because they’re avoiding a $1,500 fee to break the lease.

Because co-living is about agility, staying for a little while, or a long while, iterations of the concept have emerged. Some spaces exist as evergreen places that host nomads on a weekly or monthly basis. Some are villas that exclusively hold month-long retreats. And others are programs that organize short-term accommodation and workspaces around the world.

Co-living Spaces

Co-living spaces are beautifully flexible. They’re great if you want to stay in a new city for a couple of weeks. They’re also great if you’re looking for a longer-term solution, a community in which to immerse yourself, or just something that feels a little more like “home.”

Nomad House

Nomad House is constantly expanding their list of co-living spaces that are optimized for coworking and a professional community. Nomad Houses are located all over the world in places like California, Italy, Spain, Colombia, Thailand, Morocco, and Cambodia. Cost: varies by location. Pay weekly or monthly.

Startup Retreat

Startup Retreat’s list of co-living and co-working spaces around the world are bound to inspire wanderlust. They offer special monthly and weekly pricing for groups.

Outsite

Outsite’s existing co-living spaces in Santa Cruz, San Diego, and Lake Tahoe are comfortable, convenient ways to live and work on the California coast. They are soon expanding to Hawaii and Costa Rica. Cost: starting at $60 / day.

Roam

Roam is a newcomer to the market. Their value proposition is agility and convenience, with accommodations geared to remote workers. Pay a flat rate and get access to Roam’s three locations in Miami, Madrid, and Bali with London and Buenos Aires locations coming soon. Cost: $500 / week plus tax.

Startup Basecamp

Silicon Valley is within reach at Startup Basecamp. Their co-living and co-working spaces in San Francisco, Montreal, Brussels, and Shanghai are high-energy places to work and play. Cost: from $64 / night for the downtown San Francisco location.

Surf Office

At first glance, Surf Office might come across as a typical co-working space. Don’t be fooled — their locations in Lisbon and Gran Canaria also include stunning accommodations (along with the fast internet). Cost: inquire for pricing and availability.

The Collective

London’s new co-living & co-working spaces, The Collective, brings together a network of professional people in a bustling city without a binding lease. Their first location is in Zone 2, near Willesden Junction. Cost: £250 / week.

20Mission

Choose between 20Mission’s San Francisco or Medellin co-living spaces, both geared towards art and technology creators. In typical San Francisco fashion, they accept Bitcoin payments. Cost: inquire for pricing and availability.

WeLive

WeLive is WeWork’s venture into the co-living space. Starting with NYC and Washington, DC, WeLive is a flexible option in two cities notorious for difficult-to-score accommodations. Cost: starting at $875 for DC and $1,375 for NYC.

Hus 24

Old town Stockholm is your new home when you live and work from Hus 24. Sweden’s first co-living space is geared towards entrepreneurs, designers, and hackers. Cost: inquire for pricing and availability.

Coliving Club

San Francisco is an expensive place to live. Coliving Club reduces the sticker shock of Silicon Valley while maintaining the startup vibe. Cost: starting at $998/month.

Nomad Pad

Mid-term housing is Nomad Pad’s specialty. They are currently housing nomads in Austin, TX (which has Google Fiber) on a monthly basis. Cost: inquire for pricing and availability.

Common

Common’s members pay a flat rate and can live in any of their three NYC co-living locations. Common is focused less on co-working, but boasts a strong community of creative, driven individuals. Cost: starting at $1,500 / month.

bedndesk

Work from bedndesk’s Mallorca co-living and co-working space, just a block away from a white sand beach. Comfortable rooms, fast internet, and a relaxing location are all par for the course. Cost: starting at €35 / day.

Base

Melbourne, Australia’s foray into co-living is evident in Base. Base offers short-term and longer-term options and promises that residents will be an integral part of building the co-living movement in the community. Cost: starting at $250 / week.

Krash

Krash’s network of coliving spaces in Boston, Chicago, LA, NYC, and Washington, DC are geared towards entrepreneurs, innovators, and investors. Krash is a mid-term housing option and offers accommodations for as short as a few months. Cost: inquire for pricing and availability.

Coworking in the Sun

Live and work in Tenerife, Spain at Coworking in the Sun’s workspace and accommodation. In addition to workspace and living space, they offer online marketing classes, Spanish lessons, and weekly activities. Cost: €122 / week.

Coconat

Relax and get some work done in the German countryside at Coconat, a co-living space just outside of Berlin. Their facilities are perfect for the outdoor enthusiast and include hiking, swimming, and fishing. Coconat promises solitude, but not isolation. Cost: from €180 / week.

Playworking

Montenegro, a beautiful country on the Adriatic, is a picturesque backdrop for an adventure-filled time. Playworking blends a productive schedule with outdoors activities in a creative setting. Cost: from €300 / week.

Sende

Northern Spain’s coliving space, Sende, is more than just a co-living and co-working space. Sende offers retreats and educational programs for young people. Cost: inquire for pricing and availability.

Hub Fuerteventura

Hub Fuerteventura’s Canary Island location is the perfect place for those who want a little sun and sea along with their co-working. Those who live at Hub Fuerteventura should expect to work hard and play harder: the surfboards are calling for you. Cost: starting at €28 / night.

Stash

Phuket’s popular co-living and co-working space, Stash, is a haven for digital nomads who want a relaxing and fun environment without the hostel-party culture. Stash has an in-house “co-friending” club, where the focus is on bonding and relaxing without alcohol. Cost: starting at 249฿ per day.

Sun and Co

Spain is a popular destination for co-living spaces, but Sun and Co is the first to be situated on the Mediterranean. Those who live and work from here are treated to accommodations in a 19th-century home in Jávea. Cost: starting at €22 / night.

Seedspace

While their headquarters are in Geneva, Seedspace focuses on emerging markets. They recently opened a coliving space in Lagos, Nigeria, and are soon expanding to Cape Town, South Africa. Seedspace is open to all and generally attracts startup-minded individuals. Cost: from $900 / month for the Geneva location.

Outpost

Outpost has locations for coliving and coworking in Ubud, Bali and Phnom Penh, Cambodia. They focus heavily on community and boast amenities like a personal chef, yoga space, and fast internet. Cost: from $989 / month for the Bali location.

Retreats & Camps

A nomad retreat is not, generally, a vacation. Think of it more as a “workcation.”

Perhaps you want a high-intensity month of getting shit done (while adventuring) in a place like Bali, or Brazil. You want to surround yourself with brilliant minds, driven personalities, and people who think like you do. You’ll plug in and power through your to-do list; then you’ll discuss industry trends with a Dutch entrepreneur whom you met that morning. Poolside, of course.

It’s a little less “real life” than other co-living spaces, but isn’t that the point?

DNX Camp

DNX camps are 10 days of co-living and co-working in dreamy places (think a remote island in Greece or a kitesurfing destination in Brazil). You attend conference-like talks, network with people from around the world, work during the day and explore at night. Cost: varies based on location. Current DNX camps range from $600 — $1,500.

Hacker Paradise

Choose from destinations like Costa Rica, Taipei, and Berlin for a Hacker Paradise retreat. Pay by the week and join the program for as long (or as little) as you want. Cost: varies. The next retreat (to Portugal) varies from $195 — $775 / week based on the length of your trip and the level of services you choose.

Nomad Cruise

This is not the kind of cruise where your prime pool chair competition is a horde of screaming children. Nomad Cruise is a 13-day transatlantic cruise for 200 digital nomads to work and play on the high seas. Start in Cartagena, end in Lisbon with lots of new friends and a diverse professional network. Cost: starting at €529 for a shared cabin and up to €1,049 for a suite with yacht club access.

Co-Work Paradise

Canngu, Bali is Co-Work Paradise’s destination of choice. You pay a flat fee for a one-month retreat in a beautiful villa with a nearby internet hub. Two meals a day are included, as is a scooter to get around the island and several field trips. Co-Work Paradise’s retreats are designed to blend adventure, culture, paradise, and fun with work. Cost: €2,395 for one month.

Nomad House Retreats

Nomad House has two options: they aggregate co-living spaces around the world (pay by the night or by the week) and organize short-term retreats in places like Lisbon and Bali. Cost: varies by the location. The current 10-day retreat in Bali is $990.

Sunny Office

Sunny Office focuses on retreats in Southern Europe, specifically Spain and Portugal. Their retreats are typically 10 days and are small groups of 7–15 entrepreneurs. Cost: varies by location. September’s Andalusia retreat costs €1,095 for a private room.

Unsettled

Unsettled’s 30-day retreats take you to places like South Korea, New Zealand, Cuba, and Japan. The fee includes “battle-tested” internet, co-working space, accommodation, and activities. The groups are typically small. Cost: varies by location. The New Zealand trip is $2,250.

Project Getaway

Project Getaway is a not-for-profit initiative that strives to bring nomads excellent workspaces in exciting destinations. The next retreat is 19 days in Mauritius. Cost: varies by location. The Mauritius retreat costs between $2,800 and $4,350 based on level of accommodation.

YonderWork

YonderWork’s 60-day international community experiences take techs, creatives and other remote workers to locations like Bali, Chiang Mai, and Buenos Aires. YonderWork focuses on social events, skill sharing, and professional growth. Cost: varies by location. The 60-day Bali experience costs $5,200.

Coboat

“Yes, there is fast internet on board,” promises Coboat. This isn’t a typical nomad’s villa — it’s a week coworking with 20 digital nomads aboard a catamaran. Cost: €980.

Alptitude

Alptitude’s 7-day mountainside retreat will bring 25 entrepreneurs together for a week of brainstorming, idea generation, and inspiration. There is no agenda, but learning is the first priority. Cost: inquire for pricing and availability.

Mastermind in Paradise

Thrilling Heroics’ 12-person retreat, Mastermind in Paradise, is a 10-day adventure in Thailand. This is less of a “do your job while you’re here” retreat and more of an opportunity to build your network and your skills in paradise. Cost: $897.

Exosphere

Viña del Mar, Chile is your (work and) playground for Exosphere, an 8-week learning retreat. Exosphere is divided into conference-like skill streams for professional growth in five different curriculums like biohacking, coding, and design. Cost: inquire for availability and pricing.

The Repose

The Repose takes digital nomads to a private villa in the mountains of Bulgaria for one week. It’s an all-inclusive program geared towards productivity, relaxation, professional development, and affordability. Cost: $698 for one week or $1098 for two weeks (early bird pricing).

Southwest Collective

Take a week in Southern Portugal with Southwest Collective to balance productive workdays with meaningful experiences. This retreat includes all meals, workspace, accommodation, and activities. Cost: €940 for a shared room.

Cohubiting

Sende’s brainchild Cohubiting is a program for month-long (with flexibility) retreats in warm, sunny locations. The programs are designed for nomads and co-livers to escape winter in a community setting. Cost: €550 — 900 depending on location.

Outpost

A city with sky-high rents like NYC is the prime place for a flexible, lower-cost coliving network like Outpost. They currently have four locations in Brooklyn. Cost: starting at $800 / month.

Bonus: Search Tools for Digital Nomads

Bookmarking this post is great, but what if you want to search co-living spaces by location?

NomadPass

NomadPass aggregates co-living spaces around the world, from Brooklyn to Koh Lanta. Accommodations vary; NomadPass features an upscale hostel in Costa Rica as well as an eco-friendly, more luxe option in San Juan. Cost: varies by location.

Coliving.com

Coliving.com’s list of co-living spaces is highly varied. Search by country, and filter your results by your price range, preferences (beach, or downtown?), and type of space. Cost: varies by location.

Did we miss any?

Leave us a response, or email me. We’ll add it to this resource if it’s a good fit.

Photo Credit: janelleorsi

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On Your Terms is a publication by Tortuga, makers of the ultimate travel backpack.