I collaborated with Folks Coliving, where I received a semi-sponsored stay at their brand-new coliving space in Valencia, Spain, for three weeks in February, in exchange for my honest review of my time there. Nestled in the heart of a city full of sunshine and intriguing architecture, Folks Coliving offered exactly what I needed at that particular moment in my digital nomad journey. It wasn’t just about having a good place to sleep and work — it was a space that felt like a home, filled with people who understood the rhythm of remote work, shared meals, and spontaneous conversations.  

Intro: Why Valencia and Coliving?

After weeks of staying in the cute village of Javea, I was ready for the hustle and bustle of nearby Valencia – a major Spanish city that is just a bus ride away. I was also keen to experience another coliving space for the community and remote working aspects, and Folks Coliving delivered. I had spent a few weeks in Valencia once before and enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to coming back and exploring more of what this vibrant city had to offer.

How I heard about Folks Coliving: I had met the founder, Laure Manneh, last year at a digital nomad festival, MINOMA, in Morocco. She told me about a new coliving space that she was opening up in Valencia, so we kept in touch and then agreed to collaborate once I found myself back in Spain in January/February.

First Impressions

Folks Coliving definitely had more of like a flatshare vibe rather than, say, a B&B or hotel. You have to collaborate with your fellow colivers to arrange buying some things. I didn’t mind too much as it was fairly well organised, and we shared costs through the app Splitwise.

That being said, the host Laure was present at the apartment almost every day, so at least she wasn’t like some absent landlord. She was often on hand to help us with whatever we needed, to facilitate the community, and to hang out with us sometimes.

When I arrived at Folks Coliving, it was a Saturday night. The host Laure was there to welcome me and check me in. The apartment was quiet at first because everyone was out, so I had a bit of time to settle in and get used to my new surroundings. I sat down for dinner in the lovely living room, streaming a Netflix show from my computer, attached to a monitor that you could borrow from Folks Coliving. I soon met my new flatmates, plus some friends that they brought in, who all came into the apartment, fresh out of a bachata lesson. They immediately invited me to join them with drinking some of their homemade sangria and their bachata lesson that they continued in the coliving living room – so I learned a few dance moves!

The Space & Location

Folks Coliving is located in a large apartment building containing many ordinary residents, so it’s not a villa or resort style of coliving. I felt this helped it to feel more like a home rather than a holiday place. It’s on the fourth floor, which you can take a lift or stairs up to. Something that caught me out, that’s worth noting – on every floor (apart from the ground floor), the outer lift door needs to be opened and shut manually (indeed, the first time I used it, I was standing waiting and wondering why the door wouldn’t open automatically, lol).

The coliving apartment consists of five private bedrooms, one of which is extra-large and best-suited for couples. Every bedroom has its own desk with comfy work chair, wardrobe, and full-length mirror, as well as large windows that let plenty of natural daylight in. I also loved the simple but gorgeous Moroccan-style décor in all the rooms, inspired by host Laure’s visit to Morocco last year, which really helped to add to the cosiness of feeling at home. There are also two shared bathrooms with windows.

I’m not someone who enjoys working in my bedroom 100% of the time, so luckily, there is a cosy coworking space just across the hallway that I could go and use. With one long table, one small round table and plenty of office chairs, it can fit everyone staying in the house and then some.

Next to the coworking space is a spacious living room with a huge comfy sofa – it was tempting sometimes to sleep here instead of my bedroom, haha! There is no TV in here, but you can watch shows on your laptop, have meals in here, chill out, chat to flatmates, etc. We played games in here a good few times – both card games and group mobile phone games like Wavelength.

The kitchen is a good size for the 6 or so colivers that were there. It’s fully equipped with a gas hob and everything that you need. Cupboards and fridges have shelves named and assigned to each coliver, so it’s very well organised. Plus, there’s a rooftop shared with the whole building, which is great for drying your clothes on a sunny day, plus 360-degree views of Valencia!

The Wi-Fi is strong throughout the Folks Coliving apartment – this is so, so important for a digital nomad accommodation, yet something that you’d be surprised isn’t always up to scratch in other coliving spaces. I’m glad to say that here, I could get all my work done with ease – from checking emails and social media to downloading large video files, and everything in between. And of course, I was able to keep up to date with watching my Netflix shows and movies – very important! I think it helps that the founder, Laure, is a remote worker herself, so she understands firsthand the necessity of what remote workers need. Plus, she comes to cowork at the coliving space regularly herself, so she can pick up quickly if anything is amiss.

If you love the hustle and bustle of being in a city and close to many things, then the location of Folks Coliving is perfect. You’re walking distance to many amenities, shops, restaurants, bus stops, train and metro stops, and entertainment. And despite being in a busy area, you don’t actually notice much noise from outside – it’s relatively peaceful enough at night to get some good sleep.

The Community Vibe

When I was staying at Folks Coliving, the other guests there were one couple and 3 other solo travellers (with a two-time turnover). All were, of course, remote workers, either running an online business like me or working a remote employed job.

Laure created a WhatsApp group for those of us staying in the coliving space, so that we could easily keep in contact about stuff happening in the apartment. In addition to this, Laura also created other WhatsApp groups for the wider Valencia digital nomad community, so that you can easily find even more people to connect with for meeting up, events, sports, other housing, etc.

Organic connections are made by bumping into flatmates in the common spaces of the coliving, and people are often happy to chat. Whilst we were all good at focusing on our work during the usual day-to-day, we also got together to have a few dinners, including one in the apartment, and a few out at restaurants around the city. We also went together a couple of times out for drinks, a pub quiz and dancing.

There is a weekly coworking session that invites people from outside the coliving to come and cowork in the apartment. Of course, staying people in the coliving can join in too. It seemed to be only me and one other coliver that would join in with this, as the other colivers seemed to always prefer working in their bedrooms.

There were no organised skill shares or any other strict timetable of events, but it still felt like things happened, so it was a good fluid community vibe, and the socialising felt quite natural. It wasn’t too much, so I didn’t feel overwhelmed or struggle to fit in my work. At the same time, there were a good number of opportunities to socialise if and when I wanted to. Also, with it being a small coliving space, there’s rarely too big a crowd there to get lost in. Folks Coliving seemed very Yes, very introvert-friendly, as it has all private rooms, so it’s easy to hide from everyone whenever you need to.

Life in Valencia

I was at Folks Coliving in February, where the weather is around 17 degrees Celsius. This is a fairly cold time of the year for Spain, and it can get a little chilly at night. I arrived in Valencia with no coat, hoping that I wouldn’t need one. However, I decided to go out and look for one. Luckily, right around the corner from Folks Coliving is a nice charity shop that sells a variety of second-hand coats. I bought a lightweight jacket that was perfect as an additional layer to wear outside when it was a little chilly, at the same time being convenient to carry around on my travels. Even in the countries where it was too hot for a coat, it was still nice to have this one to use as a blanket on the plane!

In terms of travel, there’s such a great variety of ways to get around Valencia. You can of course get a car if you need to, but public transport is great there, with many regular buses, trains and metro (underground train. It’s also a very walkable city, which is a fun way to see all the sights whilst getting in some exercise. Plus, it’s very bike-friendly, with many bicycle lanes across the city. You can of course use your own bike or rent a private one, but there is also the easy Valenbisi service if you just want to hire one ad-hoc from around the city using the app on your phone. Taxis are also very easy to come by – you can hail them in the street in busier areas, or order by a taxi app.

Final Thoughts

I definitely think it’s worth staying at Folks Coliving if you’re a digital nomad or remote worker on a workation, whether an entrepreneur, freelancer or remote employee. It’s ideal for those who need a nice base in central Valencia that meets all their working and living needs, and who also desire easy access to a community of like-minded people. Laure is a very involved host who is making a lot of effort to foster community, and is also good at listening to any feedback you might have to improve things.

The apartment is very beautiful, well-decorated with everything that you need, and professionally cleaned weekly. The Wi-Fi was noticeably strong, and I don’t ever recall having any issues with it, which is so important for remote workers’ accommodation. It’s got a very homey feel that a lot of digital nomads would appreciate – a true home from home. I can’t wait to stay here again whenever I’m back in Valencia – hopefully I’ll see you there too?

Check out Folks Coliving, an apartment-style coliving space in Valencia, Spain: https://folkscoliving.com/