LOS ANGELES, CA – With one-bedroom apartments in Los Angeles renting for more than $3,000 a month, some locals are figuring out how to get more for their money.
- High cost of living fueling new trend of co-living
- Includes a chef, cleaning service, social mixers, work space
- Renters are hand selected to work well together
The high cost of living is fueling a new trend called co-living, where a building manager hand picks roommates who share a common interest to split the cost of living. Amenities can include work spaces and fully stocked kitchens.
In Silicon Beach, serial entrepreneur Christine McDannell has launched Kindred Quarters, co-living spaces where rent includes a house chef, cleaning service, social mixers and an on-site work space. Her tenants are hand selected to work well together.
In one home, for example, every room is occupied by entrepreneurs who can lean on each other for advice and support while working on their businesses.
“You’re eating, breathing, and sleeping entrepreneurship when you own a business,” McDannell said. “It’s what you do.”
Renting a room in one of her properties isn’t exactly cheap, it runs about $3,000 a month when you factor in meals and other perks. However, for renters like Debra Mares, it’s worth it to have roommates who can give her new non-profit a leg up.
“I’m learning words like ‘sales funnel’ and all these words I wasn’t familiar with being in a start-up,” said Mares.
Mares is the former Riverside County prosecutor, who left her job as a lawyer to focus on helping children dealing with domestic violence at home. She hopes her non-profit, Women Wonder Writers, will thrive in the creative incubator she now calls home.