Dwelling With 15 Roommates in Harlem: One Resolution to Loneliness

• Elisa moved from Paris right into a luxurious communal residing home with 15 different individuals in New York Metropolis.
• For $2,000 a month, she will get a totally furnished room and customary areas in a three-floor townhouse.
• She loves the sense of group along with her roommates and does not plan to go away anytime quickly.

This as-told-to essay is predicated on a dialog with Elisa, a partnership supervisor and enterprise developer residing in New York Metropolis who requested to be recognized by solely her first identify to guard her employment. The next has been edited for size and readability.

I moved from Paris to New York in 2022 after I was headhunted for my job at a French startup. It wasn’t deliberate, and all the pieces occurred shortly.

I attempted to search for an condominium whereas nonetheless in Paris, however deep diving into Fb teams did not fill me with confidence, and I used to be frightened about being scammed.

I heard about Cohabs from one in every of my finest associates from France, who lived in one of many homes. Cohabs are share homes in cities all over the world, and there are just a few homes every in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

My good friend supplied for me to stick with her for 2 weeks so I may search for residences, however then I fell in love with different individuals who lived there. It helped me make associates immediately.

There was a gap, so I moved into the identical three-floor townhouse as my good friend in Harlem. I find it irresistible.

You are screened earlier than you’ll be able to transfer in

The Cohabs workforce ensures you’ve the suitable vibe and are there for the suitable causes earlier than you’ll be able to signal a lease.

The questions had been pretty easy: They requested my age, the explanation I moved to New York, how I heard about Cohabs, what are my earlier experiences with flatmates, and what are my hobbies.

You may signal a lease for six months or one yr, and I selected one yr.

Home guidelines are written into the lease

The lease has some issues you must conform to which can be above and past a typical lease settlement.

We conform to pay our hire on time, be respectful of others, clear our room after we transfer out to obtain our deposit again, hold widespread areas organized, wash our dishes, set up for the workforce of housekeepers, respect one another, let our housemates know after we invite individuals over, take out the trash, and scale back, reuse, and recycle.

The hire is honest to me for what I get

I pay $2,000 a month for my 135-square-foot fully-furnished room, which incorporates all utility prices.

I really feel it is honest when you think about that you just’re renting a room plus the enormous widespread areas. Every ground has its personal furnished open kitchen and front room. I share a rest room with one flatmate, however there are completely different rest room association choices based mostly in your room.

The home feels tremendous homey — it is clear, and the furnishings is classic and very nice. A housekeeping workforce comes as soon as per week.

There’s additionally an app to submit restore requests, so in case you have an issue with the espresso machine, for instance, you’ll be able to create a ticket, and a member of the Cohabs workforce will come and show you how to repair it.

The shared areas are massive: We have now an enormous yard with a barbecue, a rooftop with tables, an enormous tv room with sofas, a health club, and a laundry room.

16 of us stay in the home

It sounds wild after I say I’ve 15 roommates, but it surely appears like I am on “Pals” the TV present. I like having a bit household in New York and associates I can rely on.

Many people are very removed from our family members and are pretty new to New York. We have now People, Spanish, English, and French amongst our nationalities. The age vary is 23 to 32, which seems like lots however works nicely.

Each night time after I come dwelling from work, individuals are within the kitchen making meals and having meals collectively. That makes me actually joyful.

This feels higher than a typical share home

I used to be tremendous nervous after I moved to New York as a result of I solely knew one individual, so shifting into the home was a aid. My primary worry was feeling lonely, so this was the proper answer.

I’ve lived in shared flats and homes earlier than, however the sense of group right here is way stronger. The Cohabs workforce actually emphasizes this — on the primary Sunday of each month, they ship us a brunch for everybody to bond over. Additionally they set up occasions like going mountaineering collectively.

The underside line is respect

We’re adults, so we all know easy methods to stay in a group and respect one another. I have not seen any bizarre fights or drama.

Dwelling collectively has been straightforward, as we’ve got comparable existence, however if you wish to have individuals over, you do must warn everybody else.

My household came visiting from Europe, and my dad and mom had been impressed with the home. They stayed in a resort, but when my brother got here alone, he most likely would’ve stayed with me in the home.

We have began a few of our personal traditions

Final Christmas, we put up a tree and hung photos of our heads as an alternative of ornaments.

For New Yr’s Eve, all of us purchased a tiny bottle of Champagne and instructed one another our targets for the yr. Each time one in every of us achieves that objective, they get to pop their bottle of Champagne.

My household and associates have requested me if sooner or later I need to go and stay in a extra standard place. The reality is I actually do not.