Each month, we try to present a profile of one of our members. The idea is to get behind the scene and understand how Cohabs works and discover this whole coliving concept. So curious to learn more about one of our members ? Meet Antoine from Cohabs Horta.
Could you give us a little brief about yourself? (Background, main passions)
I’ll soon turn 25 and I come from France. (Yes, the champions (laugh)). I don’t particularly have a home region because I moved several times during my childhood, but my heart is from the French Alps.
I’ve been living at Horta for 6 happy months and I am now working as an industrial engineering consultant at Greenfish, which specializes in engineering, strategy and environment. Our mission is to integrate sustainability in the business models of our clients. I am currently working full-time for Audi on logistics operations and improvements for battery production. This project is taking place during a complete reorganization of the plant to prepare for the production of the first fully electric models of Audi.
One of my favorite things in life is traveling! I was really lucky to spend 6 months in the USA at the University of Buffalo in NY for an exchange semester and also to do my graduate internship in Bangkok for 6 months. I landed in Brussels by chance and I fell in love with this city and its people!
My passions are technology, sustainability and how the two can meet to create a better future! Doing some sport is really important for me, these days I am especially running. With almost half of my Horta « family » we trained hard (We do!) to participate to the 20km of Brussels last May and the next weekend I decided to run a 23km trail in the beautiful Belgian Ardennes!
Why did you choose Brussels?
I was looking for a new experience after finishing a one-year contract in France at Hermès within a luxury leather goods manufacturing plant. While searching, I was approached by Greenfish with an interesting project for Audi that I couldn’t refuse! Since then, my life in Brussels has been really enjoyable!
What kind of accommodation were you looking for before your arrival? How and why did you choose Cohabs?
As a new expat in Brussels, everything was new and I didn’t have any friends here. I really love to share and meet new people so I was obviously looking for a shared accommodation. I found Cohabs on the internet and I instantly liked this co-living concept that suited my needs perfectly. No disappointments, we have all the advantages of sharing a home without most of the inconveniences.
How would you describe your roommates?
We really feel like living in a harmonious family. It’s amazing how different everyone is at Horta and how well we get along with each other! We are all here for the same reasons even if nobody is doing the same job or coming from the same place. We want to live together, share our daily lives, our thoughts, expand our minds and just having a good time with interesting people!
What’s the most unexpected thing about coliving?
The most unexpected thing about coliving is that I’ll now have a hard time not living in a shared house anymore in the future! Some of our first members had to leave Brussels for their careers and it wasn’t easy to say goodbye, as we have built very strong links between us. But we’ll keep in touch and even organize Cohabs Horta Alumni meetings!
Let’s imagine you’re 35 years old, you come back to Brussels to live here. Would you prefer living alone in your own flat or sharing a house with some young professionals ?
I think Cohabs has already or will soon think about the future one step further by designing cohousing communities where families and couples, not only individuals, each having their own living spaces, but where some common areas are shared and designed for interaction. It would have a huge impact on our society where more and more people are living alone, leading to social isolation. I would definitely love to live in such a community with my future family!
Are you enjoying your life in Brussels? What’s your favorite place and Why?
I am really enjoying my life in Brussels, especially in Saint-Gilles where our house is located. This is the most trendy and multicultural district in the city, with art nouveau gems, nice cultural hot spots, beautiful markets and of course the amazing Parvis de Saint-Gilles perfect to hang out with friends (where the Cohabs’ T’es pas Prêt bar is located). We also love to go for a run or a picnic at the beautiful La Cambre woods next to Saint-Gilles!
Could you tell us a funny story which occurred in your house so far?
The French television visited us to make a report on Cohabs and our house was chosen. We didn’t have any idea how great actors some of our roommates were! We have witnessed some legendary punchlines such as: “So welcome to our Zen room! Everything is cool here, there are good vibes.” We still laugh about this moment even months after!
Would you recommend Cohabs to a friend? Why?
I would recommend Cobahs not only to a friend, but even better: my business manager just joined our house! (laughs). He has since become a good friend!
