Why CoHome exists
CoHome started with a simple observation: a lot of adults are living alone who never planned to, and never wanted to.
Divorce, loss, or simply how life unfolded — by your forties and fifties, the paths that lead to an empty house are many, and none of them are anyone's fault. What they have in common is what comes after: rent or a mortgage carried alone, dinners for one, and a quiet that gets heavier the longer it lasts.
The strange part is that the solution has been around forever. People sharing a home — not as a couple, not as family, just as two adults who get along and split the costs — used to be ordinary. Then somewhere along the way, housemates became something you stopped doing after thirty, and living alone became the default, whatever it cost.
We think that default deserves a challenge. Not because independence isn't valuable — it is — but because independence and isolation aren't the same thing. The right housemate doesn't take away your freedom. They take away the second rent cheque, the silent kitchen, and the feeling that nobody would notice if you didn't come home.
What we care about
Honesty over optimism. Shared homes fail on small things: dishes, noise, guests, schedules. So that's what we ask about, plainly, before you ever meet someone. The goal isn't to present your best self — it's to find someone whose ordinary self fits yours.
Friendship, full stop. CoHome is not a dating service, and we work hard to keep it that way — in our words, our rules, and our design. Anyone treating it otherwise is asked to leave.
Taking your time. There's no countdown here and no pressure to decide. Messages stay on CoHome until you decide otherwise. Meet for coffee before you talk about leases. The good arrangements are the unhurried ones.
We're starting in Greater Vancouver, one of the hardest places in the country to afford a home alone — and one of the easiest places to understand why sharing one makes sense.
If any of this sounds like the way you'd want to live, we'd be glad to have you.