As fas I remember I've been attracted by the whole co-living idea. First I grew up in a family of 6, then, during my studies, I lived in a flat of 4 right next to the campus -i.e. we hosted many parties and gatherings- and I continued to share flats in the beginning of my adult life. Like there were 5 of us in our incredible rooftop -probably still one of the best flat I used to live so far- in Geylang, Singapore.
Of course at some point I ended up living just by myself with Mathilde, my other half. Even though, thanks to our decade-long partnership with Max at work, we've always had interesting set-ups where he'd live in his own flat but on the same floor, or in the building across the street or -like these days- 15min. from us by walking.
So we've contemplated the idea of co-living for a long time. And we've talked about it to many friends. Some of them seemed really into it too but we never agreed on the geography. I think we've fallen into the trap of 'let's make a lifelong decision right now and make it perfect'. Which was too much to handle for everyone involved.
As far as I remember, I've always loved Jean-Michel Basquiat's work. Something from his world touched me deeply. The apparent chaos, the multiple layers of reading, the proliferation of messages, the raw material of the streets as his canvas -- all of these resonated deeply with me from a very young age. As a skateborder, all of this looked like my environment. I got his crown tattooed on my front arm.
I've been on Airbnb for more than a decade now. I just checked out, my profile is 11 years old, and I received my first review from a host in June 2013. I remember that stay vividly. Back then I was living in Singapore, and this was my first trip to Jakarta, Indonesia. As far as I remember, I've always been a fan of Airbnb. As a guest obviously; but later on as a host as well; and in between as a fellow entrepreneur.
I live in Lisbon for 2 years this month [my longest time somewhere btw since I left my teenager bedroom in 2007]. And there are some work & renovation near my flat that have always been there since my first day. It looks like they haven't progress one bit. Now I laugh when I pass through them but the reality is: I find it sad. When I wonder wether we - as humans - are still capable of doing cool stuff at great speed I go back to Patrick's /fast project page and enjoy re-reading it. Here's an example I like:
The Eiffel Tower. The Eiffel Tower was built in 2 years and 2 months; that is, in 793 days. When completed in 1889, it became the tallest building in the world, a record it held for more than 40 years. It cost about $40 million in 2019 dollars.
Thanks for the inspiration & the reminder. This feels very important these days.I asked Tony Fadell about the iPod timeline for my fast project page. Summary: . pic.twitter.com/mf0CfbAEtB
— Patrick Collison (@patrickc) January 12, 2020
This following sentence resonates with me: "People talk about chucking their jobs. They say they will leave behind the madness of the city and hit the road. [...] But nobody ever does it. Nobody. Except for one guy."
"He [Foster Huntington] is an outdoorsman entrepreneur who has invented his own career. The treehouses serve as his home and as an alluring backdrop for advertisements for himself."
You can read the full story here: Escape to Bro-topia.
Meanwhile, enjoy the video. Pretty inspiring.
The Cinder Cone from Farm League on Vimeo.
Kalu Yala - Building a New World in the Panamanian Jungle from What Took You So Long? on Vimeo.