Co-living in India: a modern-day solution to the loneliness epidemic

Four months ago, when Amit Batra, 46, head of operations at a renewable energy company, left his family behind in Gurugram to take up a job in Hyderabad, he knew renting an apartment wasn’t worth the hassle. Shibani Marathe, a 28-year-old data analyst at Deloitte, was moving from London to Hyderabad and sought a vibrant community in a new city. Vineet Arora, 39, a Navy veteran and technical manager at Salesforce, lived in a hotel for three months when he moved to Hyderabad and struggled to get homely meals.

All three urban migrants found the answer to their homing needs in co-living spaces — modern, hassle-free homes that are becoming a surprising hit with professionals of all ages. I should know because I am one of them.

Six months ago, when I moved from Delhi to Hyderabad, I looked for apartments close to my workplace but skyrocketing rents and my frequent travels to Delhi often made renting seem like a folly. That’s when I heard about a co-living space through my college-going daughter’s friend. Her father, Ashish Lal, 48, associate director of process excellence at Novartis, managed his hybrid work situation by renting a co-living space and referred me to Buzz Quarter. For my single room and attached bath, I paid a negligible security deposit, half of what I would have shelled out as rent elsewhere, and got facilities such as Wi-Fi and housekeeping in the deal — urbane living without the attendant headaches.

Hostel or not

Co-living spaces are different from hostels or shared apartments. Often considered a new-age facility for Gen Z or young millennials, these spaces are now finding takers across a more diverse crowd. From 20-somethings navigating their first jobs to seasoned professionals embracing career pivots, these modern habitats redefine urban living for professional migrants. 

“I believe co-living spaces epitomise modern, urban, single living. Busy professionals want a functional lifestyle with access to activities and common areas to meet and mingle, to ward off loneliness and the loss of home and family. Co-living somewhat fills that vacuum,” explains Sandeep Agarwal, 51, head of design, GMR Group, who has lived in Buzz Quarter, a co-living space in Hyderabad, for over three years. Agarwal could have stayed in a company-provided shared flat when he moved from Bengaluru to Hyderabad. But, “it was just too lonely”, he says. 

According to a 2021 Statista report, 43% of adults in India often or always feel lonely. In 2023, the WHO declared loneliness a ‘global public health concern’. Co-living spaces, rooted in the idea of community via shared spaces and activities, are thus increasingly becoming sought after.

Epicentre Hyderabad

Swarandeep Singh, 45, an NOC delivery lead for Bank of America in Hyderabad, had never heard of co-living spaces when he moved from Bengaluru in 2023. The option opened when a friend’s son, a student intern at Google the previous year, told Singh and his wife about Boston Co-Living. “We looked up a few places online, saw the videos, and made calls. I have been living here at Buzz for over a year,” he says. 

“Co-living offers a more holistic lifestyle than a hostel, serviced apartment or paying guest accommodation. It is like living in an apartment community without the responsibility of managing a home,” explains Srini Moramchetty, founder of Skep Co-living in Bengaluru, where he runs four co-living centres. 

Nehru Babu, CEO and co-founder of Atnest, runs around 15 co-living facilities (2,000 beds) across Hyderabad, and believes affordability and no-responsibility make co-living attractive. “I am 45 now but as a young man I lived in shared apartments and it was tough. Weekends were full of household chores and we were forever chasing the press-wala, grocery delivery guy, maids, and so on. Co-living frees you from these responsibilities.” 

While a 2020 report by Cushman and Wakefield India anticipated the co-living market in India to grow 17% from 2020 to 2025, reaching a value of $40 billion, the pandemic put a spanner in the works, according to Syed Moonis Ali, founder of Buzz Quarter and three other co-living spaces in Hyderabad. “There was a time when there were many international players in the field, but things slowed down during the pandemic and right after. The business experienced shifts in demand due to remote work, but now, with many companies in hybrid or back-to-office mode, Hyderabad has seen a steady influx of tech professionals from other parts of the country. The demand is on an upswing and we are gearing up to open more co-living spaces.” 

According to a 2024 report by Indeed, job postings in IT have increased in Hyderabad by 41.5% and 24.3% in Bengaluru. This means more urban migrants are on the move to these cities resulting in an increase in housing demand. Babu adds that Hyderabad is seeing an influx and demand rise because of many higher education facilities, too.

Bending biases

One of the common issues migrants face when they move to a new city sans family is finding the right house to suit their needs. Sometimes, it is the distance from the workplace; other times, the high rent or not belonging to the right community become deterrents. 

In a country where it can still be challenging to rent homes as a single woman, co-living spaces offer a feasible alternative, especially for female tenants. “I did not want landlords to tell me who I could bring over, what I could eat, or ask which community I belonged to. I did not want to provide a male guarantor in the rent agreement. Why should I? Thank god my friend introduced me to a co-living space. I share a room, that helps with the rent, and can come and go as I please,” says Masooma, a software architect.

“It’s been two years, and I don’t want an apartment any more,” adds the 37-year-old, who lives in Bengaluru at a Skep Co-living property. Although the rents and services offered vary, these spaces can cost anywhere between ₹10,000 and ₹25,000 on an average per month. A two-bedroom flat in Hyderabad’s Gachibowli area can cost as much as ₹50,000 a month. 

At its core, the co-living philosophy is about giving professionals a hospitable environment without the discrimination or biases that landlords can sometimes bring. “Aside from facilities such as furniture, Wi-Fi, television, and cleaning services that any serviced apartment can provide, co-living spaces take it up a notch by focusing on creating a readymade social community for like-minded people. For example, at Buzz, we seldom take in students unless they come with a reference. We also look through LinkedIn profiles to ensure diversity in our resident pool,” says Ali, who experienced difficulty while trying to rent an apartment in Mumbai when he lived there as a young professional 8-10 years ago. “If I had found a co-living option back then, I may have had a different career today. I want to provide spaces where urban youth can be themselves and belong,” he says.

Used to living in dorms in the U.S., sustainability consultant Moulshree Mittal, 30, had experienced co-living before, and when she moved from Ghaziabad to Hyderabad, instead of looking for apartments or sharing a flat, she booked herself into a co-living space. “I went to see two co-living places but did not like their vibe. I liked the third space,” she recalls. “I was not just looking for the right furniture or location; I wanted to be around good people in a safe space.”

Home and hearth

With migration comes the search for home, a space where you recreate the life you left behind or build a new lifestyle you always dreamed about. Essentially, it has to be a space that gives comfort, enables social interactions, and provides financial respite. Ashish Lal, who works from the Hyderabad office for two weeks and from home in Delhi for two weeks, says, “When hybrid work came into practice, renting an apartment no longer made financial sense. I had lived in a two-bedroom flat in Hyderabad before COVID-19, and it was just too much work and expensive too, since I hardly used the second bedroom. Besides, apartment complexes have families, and as a ‘single’ man, it was hard to find people who could be away from their families on weekends for activities. I used to be bored and had to look for company outside.”

For Batra, whose children and wife are not at a point where they can be uprooted, living at Buzz is working out. It’s been four months now, and he has no intention of leaving because, simply put, this co-living arrangement caters to all his needs: food, social life and no house management responsibilities. “I am just too busy to run a house with all the travel I have to do,” he says. It’s a sentiment that Arora echoes. 

As a veteran, he and his family were used to moving around, but now his wife, a dentist, has established her career in Delhi. When Arora decided to take on his current role in Hyderabad a year-and-a-half ago, he was clear about three things: “I wanted to be a one-suitcase guy who could come and go with ease. I did not want to cook, clean, manage a house, maids, or pay bills. And wherever I stayed, I wanted North Indian food, mainly roti. Buzz gives me all of that.” Unlike Arora, who dislikes cooking, one of the pitfalls of the co-living space where I live is not having a common pantry to cook, especially when I want to focus on specific dietary options. 

Arora adds that at Buzz, there is never an evening when he feels alone or a weekend when he has nothing to do. “I have formed walking groups. I get to play badminton regularly here, and I even found mates who attended the Diljit Dosanjh show in Hyderabad with me,” adds Singh. This camaraderie and openness to join whatever activity that suits you without any pressure has been one of the most significant plus points for me. Moving to a new city was lonely and it’s hard to make friends. I am never excluded if I want to join a badminton game or a movie session, or frowned upon if I choose to sit out a music show. There are groups of close buddies but no cliques.

The growth factor

For Shibani Marathe, a co-living place was a stop-gap arrangement to begin with. “I first booked Buzz co-living for a few weeks because a friend had stayed there. I thought it would be just college-goers or very young people, but the variety in age, experience and backgrounds is amazing. I find myself relating to people 20 years older than me. Now I think, why struggle with landlords or live in a shared apartment with just two other people when I can be around 50 people?” she says. 

Mittal also shares the same experience. “The three generations, Gen X, Y and Z, have formed a community here. I can learn from them and share my ideas over chai at the canteen or at the after-dinner adda almost every night. There are always plans for the weekend. I join what I like and skip what I don’t, and there is no judgement,” she adds. 

For Singh, living like this has helped him realise that there is a way to connect with people outside a defined social circle. “We all have family, two-three friends groups, and a few colleagues, and we tend to be restricted within that community. At Buzz, I have met people with whom I would never have had a chance to interact or engage, let alone be friendly. It’s been a positive growth for me at this age and it has influenced my thinking.”

Batra agrees, and adds that three months of meeting and interacting with people not in the same line of work as him or having the same experiences or age as him has made him realise he has grown. “I never thought that at this stage of my life I would have to leave home or stay alone. But living here has given me opportunities for peer-to-peer learning and networking. I listen to these young people, interact with them, and always find something new. Living here has been about stepping out of my comfort zone, making me relate better to my children back home.”

About a year-and-a-half ago, Lal had not planned on living in a co-living space as he was unfamiliar with the concept. Now, he is among its top referrers. “Initially, it’s tough to explain to family and friends back home how this concept works, but they have seen that it makes me happier and keeps me tension-free. Co-living can be a good option for people who cannot move to new jobs with families or have a hybrid work.”

The writer is a senior professional who moved from Delhi to Hyderabad and has lived in a co-living space for seven months.