95 Roommies :)

It was time. Time to give LA a shot. But where? Venice Beach, obviously. But, I have no friends in Venice!?! Solution - Haven Coliving.

The Setup

Back house - Floor 1 - Either a gym, study room, yoga room, or theatre. Super bitchin’.

Floor 2 - 2 rooms. Room 1 - 4 pods facing 4 pods (see pic). 8 dudes. Room 2 - 2 dudes. 10 guys 1 bathroom. And little storage lockers along the hallways and in the room. So 8 people in 1 room. Another smaller room had 2 pods. So 10 dudes to one bathroom. Our pods were tiny twin sizers. I think, ya no way they were full.

Floor 3 - Incredible roof with a view and couches.

Front house - Floor 1 -Kitchen for 24 people and living room. We had a small space in the fridge with our name and a small shelf. The living room was sweet and came with all the means necessary for show watching.

Floor 2 - Girls living quarters and laundry. Girls got HUGE pods.

Floor 3- More chicas.

24 per house x 4 houses = 96 people at max capacity.

The Experience

I dug it. And now I evangelize for it. Here's my case.

You know how everybody refers to the college days as, “the good old days”? There’s a ton of reasons for this, but one underlying commonality is dorm/some sort of coliving situation.

I came to LA without knowing too many people, but home was just a quick drive in a ton of traffic home. Most of the people at Haven came from much, much further. We had people from Norway, Australia, Tanzania, Haiti, Ireland, France, Nepal and all over the states move in. That’s a huge move and by coming straight to a place with 96 other people, the chances of connecting with people dramatically increases.

Yeeaaa…. I’m an extravert(oa?)vert. So I could be a little biased, but I love coming home to people. Somebody is always up to something. If you had a bad day, it could be immediately turned around by a roommate’s energy. 96 people. 96 shared experiences. 96 individuals with unique gifts, talents, and experiences. My days and nights were filled interacting with people. We’d also help each other out quite a bit. There’s a ton of creatives in there and the collabs were strong. So was the skill sharing. We were encouraged to take and teach classes, so of course, I took em all. I did a cooking class or two, a ballet class, some yoga, breathwork (blew my mind, read about it here), a few Zumbas, a workout class for only girls that I crashed (hardest one I took), and there were many more on offer. I taught some peeps how to surf as well!

I encourage people to try it out. In all honesty, it may not be a permanent solution or optimal for everybody. It could be especially uncomfortable for the introverts, but we grow through facing uncomfortable situations. Society seems to see success as having your own place and living alone. This is so far away from how we evolved as humans. Isolation and loneliness go hand in hand with depression. Community is rad. I witnessed, received, and gave much love to people during my time there. I also learned a ton.

So I wonder what is optimal for me and us as humans. If I get married, will I still want roommates? Okay, not roommates but shared housing? Maybe. Probably. We’ll see. As with everything I write, thoughts and opinions are subject to change.

The Dumb Questions

10 guys to 1 bathroom????? - Simply wasn’t an issue.

Comfy pods? - I slept like a rock.

Private time? - In your pod or on the roof. It never felt too crowded honestly.

Drama? - Duh, we’re human

Hippie commune?- Mas o menos

96 young people living together? Ya there were some love connections..

Daily Stoke Report

Yesterday - Average stoke. Wandering around Mexico City lost as usual. Stared at the surf contest for quite a while. A couple workouts. Yoga was killer and I took this cardio class with all girls. We had a medicine ball and just moved around like crazy. I was dying doing the same weights as the chicas, crap. Also, my workout shoes reeeek. I found out I don’t like beef liver. Or at least I suck at cooking it. I’m gonna try to hit baseballs today. Gonna be so sore, such a narp.