For some, signing a year-long lease is anxiety-inducing at best and suffocating at worse – especially for the nomadic set of millennials who can’t stay in one place for too long.
This is particularly the case when an increasing number of us are able to work remotely thanks to freelance careers in industries like writing, graphic design, and web development.
Now, there’s a housing alternative for the nomadic. Enter Roam, a network of co-living spaces that offers a lease that lets you live around the world – providing you have the budget for the plane tickets. Essentially, it allows you to spend a few weeks or months in a particular city before moving on to the next. Currently, there are locations in Bali, Miami, and Madrid. By next year, Roam plans to have 8-10 locations around the world.
The startup stresses that the spaces aren’t meant for vacation travel, but rather for people who can work remotely. Users pay a flat rate of $500 a week (or $1,800 a month) to book time at any of Roam’s properties.
Ubud Location
Roam is the brainchild of Bruno Haid, who spent most of his 20s bouncing from place to place, working nomadically. The main objective of Roam is to help ease the uncertainty and loneliness of showing up in a new city and not knowing anyone. For this reason, the living spaces are designed to facilitate interaction so that residents can meet as many people as possible. Each resident has their own private bedroom and bathroom, but they also have access to a co-working space and shared communal areas, like chef-worthy kitchens. Each location will host dozens of people, with the idea of facilitating a community-like feel.
“If you go from location to location, it always takes a couple of weeks to feel at home,” says Haid. “That’s something that we want to make sure is done in a very short time frame. You can literally show up in Bali and you live with people who have been there for a long time, means you have everything you need to navigate the local community, to know what’s where, what can I connect to.”
Madrid location
The idea is to stay at a location for at least a few weeks.
An application process ensures that tenants are diverse and serious about their lives and jobs (so the locations won’t be turned into partying frat houses).
The initial locations have been chosen for their year-round good weather and proximity to economic centres. The goal is to expand into every major city, and they’re on their way to do just that. In a new round of funding, Roam raised $3.4 million to expand to Buenos Aires and London.
Now, excuse me as I give my landlord my two months’ notice.
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