Elsewhere (USA)

This page is based on my research conducted to write chapter 27, "Other Housing Resources," in The Young Leader's Guide to Internships, Scholarships, and Fellowships in Washington, D.C., and Beyond (2018), and on further research for my blog, Redefining Home, and my Meetup group, Springfield/Eugene Micro-Dwellers.

(In rough order of likely affordability and/or usefulness. Last updated 11.19.19.)

Homesharing

Matching senior homeowner with vetted housemate

• Nesterly (Boston + Columbus, OH)
• New York Foundation for Senior Citizens
• Silvernest (Colorado, some California + Florida, Phoenix, Washington DC)

Traditional cooperative living (co-ops, intentional communities, cohousing)

San Francisco Bay Area

• Looking for communal living?
• Haight Street Commons (a network of not-for-profit co-ops and intentional communities in the heart of San Francisco)
• Bay Area Cooperative Association

Lansing, Michigan

• Rooms in co-ops around $400/mo.

Everywhere

Rentals in cohousing communities

The Fellowship for Intentional Communities website is an excellent clearinghouse and has an international directory that's fun to browse.

Co-living (private bedrooms w/shared kitchen + living area [+ sometimes bath],

facilitated by a company)

Co-living is a rapidly expanding rental niche. Co-living means individual bedrooms and shared common spaces and amenities. Rent is all-inclusive and covers utilities, internet, supplies, housecleaning, usually furniture, and other amenities. It's typically 20-40% cheaper than a studio apartment in the same neighborhood.

The coliving concept reflects the shifting value system of today's renters -- values that embrace the quality of relationships and experiences over the quantity of square footage.

In May 2019, real estate brokers Cushman & Wakefield estimated that the major US coliving startups had about 3,200 rooms available, with 16,700 in the pipeline. Companies in multiple markets include Common, WeLive, Quarters, Ollie, Starcity, X Social Communities, and The Collective. (Some others, such as Roomrs and Stoop, operate only in New York City.)

Twenty percent of US-based Ollie’s co-living spaces are rented by consumers aged 50 years and over.

Bungalow (Bay Area, Boston, Chicago, LA, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, San Diego, Seattle, Washington DC)

Common (Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC)

For an overview of Common's innovative housing model, read this article about the company.

Seattle

Common's two buildings, located on lower Capitol Hill and near Seattle University, are a variant offering more privacy than its properties in other cities.

• Tenants have self-contained, furnished studios (170-330sf) with a private bathroom and a kitchenette (half-fridge, induction hot plate, microwave, toaster oven). A maximum of three people can share a studio. There are shared kitchens (stocked with dishes, cookware, &c.) on two floors, and communal laundry facilities on site (detergent &c. provided).
• Rents start at $1,000-$1,300/month.
• Utilities are separately metered, but Wi-Fi is included in the rent.
• No parking, but tenants can obtain a neighborhood parking decal from the city ($65/year), which allows street parking without the 2-hour limit.
• Tenants can choose a lease term of 3, 6, or 12 months; the shorter leases are more expensive.
• Units rent almost immediately (in 5-10 days max) and many are pre-leased (leased before becoming available), so contact Common as soon as you know your prospective move-in date.
• View the two Seattle locations (as of March 2019):
  • Common Terry, adjacent to Seattle University (Terry Ave. & Jefferson St.)
  • Common Summit (on Summit Ave. at Olive St.)

Ollie (NYC, Pittsburgh)

Fully furnished studios and shared suites with hotel-style services, curated events, and extraordinary amenities. Live-in community manager. Twenty percent of Ollie’s spaces are rented by consumers age 50+.

OpenDoor (Bay Area, Portland)

As of April 2019, rent in the Portland OpenDoor spaces is $750-$925/month; in the Bay Area, it's $1,300-$2,300/month. Here's a pretty OpenDoor house (mansion) in Oakland, Euclid Manor ($1,500/month).

Quarters (Chicago, NYC, Philadelphia, and nine European cities)

Quarters locations offer furniture, Wi-Fi, electricity, laundry, and even bedsheets, all included in the monthly fee. Communal spaces are used for group dinners, movie nights, and other residential events, while cleaning and other services are available through a location-specific Quarters app.

Tripalink (Austin, Irvine, LA, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Seattle)

Caters mostly to students in at least some markets. Some cities, including Seattle, have microhousing (individual tiny apartments).

UP(st)ART (LA)

Individual tiny <pods> ($775/mo) with 12 hours a week of access to recording studio, dance studio, and/or exercise studio, "a cross between summer camp and a college dorm" -- chosen by ambition, not income.

Others

Coliving is a growing segment of the real estate market. Visit coliving.com for an easily searchable database of coliving opportunities around the world.

Microhousing

Portland: The Arthur (managed for the Portland Art Institute)

With meals

San Francisco: Monroe Residence Club, Kenmore Hotel

NYC: Webster Apartments (women only)

With meals, specific religious or spiritual emphasis

NYC: Penington Friends House

Affordable-housing developers (nonprofit & for-profit)

Affordable housing would usually cost less than microhousing, but often requires lengthy applications, income maximums and sometimes minimums, annual verification of income, etc.

Capitol Hill Housing (Seattle only)

• A well-established nonprofit that operates several dozen apartment buildings, most on Capitol Hill, but also downtown and in lower Queen Anne
• Most are conventionally sized studios and one-bedrooms; a few are two- or three-bedroom apartments
• Must meet income guidelines (the minimum & maximum income varies by building). Most studios and some one-bedrooms are under $1,000/month (as of March 2019).
• First come, first served, so check site weekly or more often for availability; be ready to tour apartment asap, then immediately provide the documents necessary to apply
• A few particularly interesting buildings, all but the last in central Capitol Hill:
  • 12th Avenue Arts: theater on first floor; my father & I are on donor recognition board on first floor
  • Pantages Apartments: a historic-landmark house with wraparound porch, with a modern apartment building connected to it -- all right off Broadway, a block from light rail
  • Broadway: A mansion in the Harvard-Belmont Historic District

Artspace

Artspace is America’s leading developer for the arts. Its mission is to create, foster, and preserve affordable space for artists and arts organizations. Its properties are in more than 30 communities nationwide: small towns such as Elgin, South Dakota, and Minot, North Dakota; multiple Minneapolis and other Minnesota locales; and big cities such as El Paso, Honolulu, Houston, Memphis, NYC, Portland, and Washington, D.C.

• Seattle: three properties, all near light rail -- Tashiro Kaplan [downtown], Hiawatha Art Lofts (hosts occasional events open to the public, including an open house or anniversary party), Mount Baker

Rental-Listing Services

Most useful

Hotpads.com (most major cities/towns)

• An easy-to-use online rental-listing service, specifically designed to help people search for apartments or rooms for rent.
• To search for a room in a shared house/apartment, choose the "All filters" drop-down menu, scroll down to "Rental type," and make sure that only "Rooms for rent" is selected. For Seattle, click here.

Zumper.com

• Online listing services of apartments, rooms, and houses for rent. (For a room, under the "See all" filter, choose "Room" as the Type.)

Others

Zillow.com, Trulia.com (most major cities/towns)

• Online real-estate listing services that include apartments and rooms for rent, as well as a great many properties for sale.

Sublet.com (most major cities/towns)

• Online listing services that include furnished and unfurnished short-term apartments and rooms to sublet. You can rent directly from landlords as well.

Roommates.com (most major cities/towns)

• Online roommate-matching service.