The Good, The Bad, and The Shared Kitchen: My Co-Living Story in Valencia
This isn’t my first co-living experience…it’s my second. So I still had a lot to learn about co-living by staying at Vivarium, in Valencia, Spain.
This past year, I’ve been lucky enough to take my side hustle full-time, and officially launch Kismet MKTG, a full-service marketing agency with an emphasis on all things digital, content, & digital content. Being #selfemployed has its perks, including being able to work anywhere, at any time. So when I had the chance to trek to Valencia to work with the Vivarium team on some social media and content strategy, it was an easy answer. “Si.”
I’m normally based out of Denver, Colorado, in the United States, so my trip started out with quite the 22-hour journey. But after a good night’s sleep, a hot shower, and some café con leche, I was ready to experience Vivarium to its fullest.
I’ve been here for about a month, so here’s some of my reflections on my experience, the good, the bad, and the shared kitchen.
The Good:
My favorite part about co-living is the built-in community it comes with. The Vivarium team has done a fantastic job of curating a great squad of co-livers, and every person I have met here has gone out of their way to be kind and make me feel more comfortable in a foreign country. From family dinners, to sports in the park, to coffee runs, it’s been incredibly easy to find someone in the community to join me on my adventures. Additionally, everyone has been a good roommate – and that doesn’t go without saying. People clean up after themselves. They are quiet at appropriate hours. They don’t smell. It’s the little things, ya know?
The location literally couldn’t get any better. As someone who likes to walk virtually everywhere, Vivarium is in an excellent, centralized location in Eixample. So many of my favorite things are located a quick skip away, including the Ruzafa Market, the Turia Gardens, and Old Town Valencia. The neighborhood is beautiful and I love to walk around and just stare at buildings. They just don’t make buildings like that anymore.
The convenience of having a co-working space with fast WiFi one floor below my bedroom has been very beneficial for my productivity. I can hop around from my room, to the meeting spaces, to the open desks of the co-working space with ease. All levels of productivity covered.
As I mentioned, I’ve had the fortune of being able to work with the Vivarium team on some fun digital content. We are talking writing blogs. We’re talking testimonials. We’re talking about Instagram Reels. We are talking about FAQS. We are talking about building out graphic templates. I love pushing myself to work with clients of all shapes, sizes, and countries! This is actually my third Spanish client, and I love working alongside international clients. I get to dive deeper into their culture and better understand what makes marketing tick in their region.
Here’s one of my personal favorite pieces of content I’ve produced for Vivarium during my stay:
The Bad:
Solo traveling can be kinda hard, why lie? This is the first time that I’ve solo traveled for more than two weeks, and it isn’t for the faint of heart. There’s certainly been an adjustment period to living and working in the Valencian timezone, which is eight hours different from my typical schedule. It’s been harder to communicate with my friends and family back home, which can be tricky.
That being said, the community at Vivarium has made this adjustment much easier. While I’m in Spain, they are my new friends and family. I’m incredibly appreciative that everyone has welcomed me with open arms…and a glass of wine.
Final thoughts:
If you’re asking yourself if you should try out co-living…the answer is yes. Living and working with 30 people from different countries and cultures is an eye-opening process, and both times I’ve done it I’ve learned so much about myself. I still chat regularly with people I met in Javea, Spain, three years ago. You never know who you are going to connect with. So take that chance – and then message me about it!
