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Wayne: we’re going to be talking about living spaces, specifically co-living spaces and whether or not it’s going to be good for the future of the millennial generation in terms of living arrangements.

Wayne: There’s an article in the Guardian which cropped up, which we will link to, which was talking about this new wave of apartment blocks.

Cem: Almost like hotels actually. They’re saying it’s kind of be these sort of hotel style, but they’re actually going to be for long term renters.

Wayne: What do they mean by hotel style?

Cem: I think basically it’s going to be very studio esque, but I think it’ll have enough stuff in it. I don’t know whether they’re going to model it maybe a bit off the student dorms and things like that, you probably get your room, but you’re probably going to have some other shared stuff, or there’s going to be options probably. Same as university where you could get that big room which as two of you and a kitchen in there as well.

Wayne: Upgrade to the suite.

Cem: Yeah, exactly, have everything en-suite basically. I think the idea behind this is they know that Millennials are kind of using their homes just to go to bed most of the time, and Millennials want to live in affluent areas, get into central locations quickly. And so I think a lot of these people who are building spaces are realizing that actually there’s a market here for people that want those close transport links, don’t want to pay too much, and actually are the ones that are saying, “Do you know what, maybe I don’t need to own my own home. I’m happy having a room.”

Wayne: Yeah, and I think part of what this article was touching on is the cost of owning properties and how difficult it’ll be to get on the property ladder. Obviously these are being built with the intention of being rented, rather than owned, much like you would with a hotel in many ways. But this does seem like a really interesting option and alternative, particularly if they are going to be owned by a select few companies, rather than these private landlords that are just … because if they’re all going to be owned by these companies, there’s going to be a much more fixed rate on it, and they’re just going to lose out on too much money actually if their costs are too high to warrant it.

Wayne: So, pricing wise it could work out quite nicely.

Cem: I’m sure they’ll still be quite pricey.

Wayne: Oh, yeah, don’t get me wrong.

Cem: It’s not going to cost you as much as say a mortgage or trying to save up to that deposit. I was just thinking in my head, imagine if somebody like Air B&B decided to create these hotels, which are kind of like long term rents. But then say you …

Wayne: I’m surprised they haven’t to be honest.

Cem: Yeah, exactly. Imagine if you signed up to say, “Okay, I’m definitely going to pay £1,000 a month. That covers me in any of these Air B&B hotels/rental apartments anywhere in the world, and I choose …”

Wayne: That’s a really good idea.

Cem: “and I can just choose, okay, well I’m going to do six months in London, and I know I’ve got an apartment in a good location.” But then you’re just as free to go book yourself into another six months in Bangladesh or somewhere else, which I think again …

Wayne: It’s a really good idea.

Cem: … it fits really well with Millennials, who number one want to have that flexibility of where to work. But at the same time, you can now not have to worry about, “Oh God, I’ve got to get to that place, find accommodation.” It’s actually covered underneath this umbrella of one company.

Wayne: Yeah, there’s about three of four different Air B&B like apartment blocks in all the major cities in the world.

Cem: It’s a bit like an Easy Gym where you can use any gym that you’re signed up for in any location, but why not add that to rental market?

Wayne: Yeah, that’s a really good idea.

Cem: Well, Air B&B, if you’re listening …

Wayne: Air Rent.

Cem: Air Rent. I just think people would do it. I think we know that Millennials like to move around, and it means that actually if they’re someone that works on their laptop, they can pretty much move anywhere. Then I just think that’s a cool concept and I think that it fits in with Millennials who don’t want to be too tied down to anything. But then on the flip side, people might look at this article and say is this not just another example of why Millennials are fucked? And then shouldn’t people be able to at least buy their own housing?

Cem: I don’t know if you saw the recent budget that came out?

Wayne: I didn’t actually.

Cem: One of the points in there was they were going to increase the stamp duty. So basically you could buy a property up to 5 … or half a million, and if it was a shared ownership, you wouldn’t have to pay stamp duty … you can go up to half a million pretty much. So, it seems like this Conservative government are still trying to push for home ownership. And they’re doing whatever they can. I mean you’ve got these small deposits, you’re getting stamp duty cuts. You’re now getting this share to buy scheme. So it seems government wise they’re saying people should be able to buy. But then Millennials are like actually do I even want to buy?

Cem: So, it depends …

Wayne: I don’t know, what percentage of Millennials would you say are kind of going, “Do I even really want to buy a house?”

Cem: That’s what I mean, that’s what I’d be very interested to know.

Wayne: But if it was your hunch based on conversations you’ve had?

Cem: I think most Millennials would like to own their own property. But then I also think that in their heads they’d be thinking, “You know what, it’d be nice to own it, but then if I do want to go move somewhere I know I can just rent it out.” And I think that would be the ideal situation, because I do think that nowadays when a Millennial buys a home, I think they also don’t stay in it forever. Even with me, I’ve moved into this place, I’ve been here for two years. But it would stop me from thinking actually do you know what, I might want to move somewhere else. And I wouldn’t feel like I’m tied to this property for the next however long.

Cem: It just depends, and I think it depends where the Millennials falls, whether they’re someone who’s got a bit of money, I think they would buy, but I don’t think they’d be tied down to that one location. I think Millennials do want to move, they do want to change things up regularly. And I think this is an example of actually you know what, long term renting is something that’s going to be on the increase, and actually if they can create these spaces that are in cool funky places and are cheaper, more affordable than renting out yourself, I think why not?

Wayne: Yeah, it’s like the co-working spaces, like the co-working offices converted into the renting model.

Wayne: So, we’ve kind of talked about this a little bit before in an episode, I remember us talking about it briefly. But let’s talk about it again. Now that we know that it’s happening, let’s say you’ve got £1,000 a month, that’s your rent.

Cem: Everything covered, bills, water.

Wayne: Design for me and the other listeners what you think £1,000 a month co-living space would be like.

Cem: I genuinely think most of them would be your bedroom with an en-suite bathroom. That’s going to be all your [inaudible 00:07:23]. It’s going to be fully kitted out. I reckon it would be furnished.

Wayne: Oh, yeah.

Cem: And then I think you’re going to have a shared living space which actually will end up being … a shared living room communal area, and then you’ve got your kitchen.

Wayne: Like a common room?

Cem: Kind of, a bit like we had at uni, where you’ve got the kitchen and you’ve got the place just to chill and hang out. And I reckon it’d be that, and I reckon it will be … you could add on where you could be like, okay, do you want the cleaning service thrown in there as well? Do you want washing done? And I think it’s that kind of catchall, it seems that Millennials are all moving towards this …

Wayne: Like the Ryan Air for renting.

Cem: Pretty much, maybe a little bit better. But you’ll probably get people like that. But I reckon if there was a service that said, “Look all in all £999 a month, your washing’s going to get done, your room’s going to be clean, it’s going to be fully furnished. You’re going to be in a group which you probably eventually could say you will see the profiles, or like a LinkedIn profile of the people you could potentially live with.”

Wayne: That’s a good idea.

Cem: And then that could tie in. Then you could be like, “You know what? Actually that’s a good opportunity to be with people who also work in my industry.” I think that actually it’s a cool concept, and I think a lot of Millennials would go for it if they’re in those circumstances where they aren’t in a position to actually buy a place.

Wayne: I think it’s a cool concept as well.

Wayne: Another question that’s just popped into my mind though. These co-living spaces have to be good, right? Because as a Millennial, which ranges from the ages of 20 through to about 40, so young adults now. We’re not talking teenagers, we’re talking young adults, up to early middle age. If you’re living in one of these co-living spaces and then you bring a girl back, or a guy back, you’re not going to want it to look like you’re living in halls.

Cem: That’s true, that’s a good point.

Wayne: You want it to look like it’s a proper legit …

Cem: But the thing is I still think it could be swanky, and it’s going to be like a really good location.

Wayne: Or you’ll just be having orgies amongst yourselves because it’s a co-living space.

Cem: You’re Millennials anyway.

Wayne: But then don’t shit where you eat, you know?

Cem: Who knows.

Wayne: Then if it is co-living spaces, and it is like the Air B&B model, which I think is a really good idea, then it’d just be like, “It’s all right, I’ll go to the Richmond …”

Cem: Well to be honest your whole apartment could have a Tinder service built in. And it’s like, “You’ve just connected with Lucy on floor number 46. Would you like to arrange a meeting?” Or a new person comes into the building and you can connect. That’s some crazy show isn’t it? That could be on TV.

Wayne: That feels like an episode of Black Mirror, I’m not going to lie to you.

Cem: Did you watch that, there was a show recently that was on …

Wayne: The Circle?

Cem: The Circle.

Wayne: I didn’t watch it.

Cem: But it was that kind of concept where you’re living in this block with people, but you only communicate through text messages and stuff.

Wayne: I should’ve watched it, it does sound interesting.

Cem: I’m surprised we didn’t mention it before.

Wayne: Yeah, it does sound interesting.

Cem: So, co-living space, Wayne, you do it currently. Well, not in that style, but you …

Wayne: Do you know what? I think I could. I mean I’m very happy where I’m living at the moment, but yeah, I feel like I could. I feel like I could, because it is the best of both worlds, right? Because you’ve got your own space, but then you also have loads of other people that you can socialize with. It’s just like student life, which to be honest is what most Millennials want.

Cem: Yeah, pretty much.

Wayne: It’s what most Millennials want, because we’ve tasted it and it was the best years of our lives.

Cem: And we want it back.

Wayne: And we want it back, we want it back so bad. But yeah, I’d do it. How about you?

Cem: I mean I’m in a circumstance where I’ve now got my own place, so I’d probably be like hell no. But I think if I wasn’t in that circumstance, I’d be like yeah, why not? I think it’s good for people who are probably single young professionals who want to have good … as I say, in close proximity to transport links and places to go out, then why not?

If you want any questions answered, or if you have any ideas for anythings you’d like us to address, send us an email, Wayne@powerfulnonsense.com or Cem@powerfulnonsense.com, or you can look us up on the Twitterz @PN_Podcast, and we will take it into consideration. And also, please do leave us a nice little review on the old iTunes. It really does help get the word out there for the show. Five stars or more, greatly appreciated.