What I just described is the start of my days at Nine Coliving in Tenerife. Coliving is something which I didn’t really know existed until one day I came across it online. As I it is a great concept I want to share my experience. Especially after the pandemic and long hours working from home coliving enables new working environments. To combine vacation and work and to become part of a like-minded community. I’m convinced that these kind of working models will evolve within the next few years. The positive impact on the work life balance is enormous. It also allows people to explore not only new countries for a longer time but also themselves. Not to forget about the fact of reduced living costs. There are already many coliving places around the world and after my experience at Nine I’m definitely tempted to try out more.

Coliving concept

Coliving means you live and work at the same place with other workers. It is a community living concept for self-employed and remotely working people who want to combine work with social life. The living spaces are fully furnished and utilities like kitchen or washing machine are all shared by the community.

Read more about my coliving experiences so far.

About Nine Coliving

Anne Kuppens founded Nine Coliving in 2018. She created a fantastic place to work, live and to meet people. You can tell that she put her whole heart into the place and passed her mindset on to the host Sylvia and the volunteers. The whole team is doing a fantastic job and makes this place feel like home.

Work & life

Update 2023: Nine Coliving has been renovated and changed the rooms a bit! It’s best to check on their Instagram and Website for the current setup.

Nine has a big workspace with many desks, where you can work in a quiet atmosphere. For calls you can book a spot in one of the two conference rooms. Apart from that you have the possibility to work from the rooftop, the patio, the livingroom and there are some other spots in the house. All areas can be accessed 24/7 and have high speed internet. When I was staying at Nine we were around 12-15 people.

Nine Coliving offers one shared room with 4 single beds as well as double and single rooms. I guess the pictures speak for themselves. The interior, design and architecture made me feel like I was in another world. The price includes:

• Rooms, linens and towels (cleaned every week)
• Daily fresh breakfast with vegan und gluten-free options
• Workspace with 24/7 access and high speed internet
• Access to a fully equipped kitchen
• Activities like daily yoga classes, movie nights, sunday BBQ & family dinner
• Giving cuddles to Lara, the house dog
• A wonderful community of like-minded people who motivate and inspire you on a daily basis

For some small extra money you can buy a delicious meal for your lunch break prepared by one of the volunteers.

A typical day

I want to give you an insight into my routine at Nine. Although every day was a bit different.

7am: Waking up, having a tea on the rooftop, enjoying the silence and setting my personal goal for the day.
8am: Start working in the big workspace – most coworkers start at around 8-9 (there’s a one hour time difference to Central European time).
9am: Grabbing some muesli with coconut yoghurt, fresh fruit and some bread with hummus from the breakfast bar.
9 – 1pm: Work, work work. But also chatting to coworkers. Sometimes doing calls in the conference room.
1pm: LUNCH BREAK on the rooftop & quick power nap.
2pm – 4/5pm: Back to work. Sometimes from the rooftop, sometimes from the big workspace, sometimes from the livingroom.
5-7pm: Some people are already done for the day. We go to the closest beach, only 10 mins drive.
8pm: Preparing my own dinner or it’s family dinner day which means someone is preparing dinner for the group.
9pm: Yin Yoga – calm yoga to rest body and mind.
10pm: Having some wine, sitting together, watching the stars.
11pm: What a day – time for bed & sweet dreams.

Check out one of the most beautiful hikes in the Anaga forest in Tenerife.

Location

Nine Coliving is based in the historical centre of La Orotava in the North part of Tenerife. The digital nomads live in a huge, old Canarian house with high ceilings and large rooms. From the rooftop you have an excellent view over the sea, the town as well as the volcano El Teide. La Orotava is located about 400m above sea level. Therefore you get a mix of both really cloudy and sunny days, from temperatures between 18 and 28 degrees.

It’s a great place to go to beaches after work, to visit the volcano El Teide and to make adventurous hiking weekendtrips. But also driving to the other side of the island is possible, it takes only around 1-1,5 hours by car. Supermarkets and convenience stores are within walking distance.

My time at Nine

I spent two weeks at Nine and I think I should’ve definitely stayed longer. It took a few days to really get to know the people, their stories and thus become part of the group. With time it felt like having coworkers and a family at the same time. I liked to have something to look forward to after my work day, like going to the beach or restaurant. But even more enriching was that I could share (lunch) breaks with other people. To talk either about work related or other random topics. At Nine I could have privacy and look for social life, as there was always something going on. It was the perfect mix between work, relaxation and activity. Thanks to my time at Nine Coliving I realized that I enjoy my work much more when there are people around. My job is 100 % remote which is why I can’t go to offices and meet colleagues that way. A place like Nine is the perfect solution.

Tenerife itself is a beautiful island with diverse landscape: Volcano El Teide, rock desert, Mars like landscape, jungle, beaches, mountains, natural swimming pools, underwater world… It’s quite hard to get bored with activites like hiking, diving, surfing and many other sports right at the doorstep. Or how about learning Spanish and going to Salsa class?

My time at Nine Coliving was fantastic and I’m happy to have found a new way of working. I see myself trying more colivings in the future and maybe come back to Nine one day. If you’re not sure whether coliving is something for you or not, I’d suggest to just try it. An investment of two weeks is not a lot considering the experience you get out of it. I’m still amazed of the people I met and the stories I heard. It gave me lots of inspiration for my next years – both professionally and personally.

Read more about my coliving experiences