Living Alone in Grenoble vs. Living with 14 in Paris, Mouad Shares His Experience
After 3 years of studying in Grenoble and living alone, including a significant period of lockdown, I realized that I enjoyed sharing my daily life with others. After securing my permanent contract, I began looking for a shared apartment that could suit me, and that's when I found La Casa. I immediately fell in love with the concept.
Stephane (La Casa): Hello Mouad, can you introduce yourself?
Mouad (roommate): Hello, my name is Mouad and I'm 26 years old.
Stephane (La Casa): What do you do for a living?
Mouad (roommate): I am a financial software engineer.
Stephane (La Casa): What is your background?
Mouad (roommate): My first passion in life is psychology and the second is mathematics. I preferred to keep my first passion as a hobby and choose my second as a career. So after 2 years of hell in prep school, I joined ensimag and chose the financial computing track. It represented the best compromise between computer science and applied mathematics... And well, the paycheck also came into play!
Stephane (La Casa): Do you enjoy what you do in life?
Mouad (roommate): As I said, computer science has always been my second passion in life. And in a dynamic and fast-paced field like finance, we definitely don't get bored often. But what I would really like is to be a digital nomad so that I can travel the world while developing.
Stephane (La Casa): Why did you choose coliving?
Mouad (roommate): After 3 years of studying in Grenoble living alone, with an added bonus of a good period of lockdown, I realized that I enjoyed sharing my daily life with people. After landing my permanent job, I started looking for a shared living space that could suit me, and that's when I found La Casa and instantly fell in love with the concept.
Stephane (La Casa): How did you end up at La Casa?
Mouad (roommate): As I said, after the COVID period, I really wanted to live with people. Once settled in Paris, I searched for roommates and that's when I stumbled upon La Casa. You offered the best compromise between living with people and building strong connections while having your little cocoon of privacy to recharge from time to time.
Stephane (La Casa): Do you ever feel lonely sometimes even while living with 14 people?
Mouad (roommate): I would say yes. Even with 14 or more people, we each have our daily routines, our own lives, and our own worries. It can happen that things don't align or that we feel misunderstood or lonely despite being surrounded by others. Fortunately, this feeling easily dissipates when we see how much love we can receive from our roommates despite these dark moments we all experience.
Stephane (La Casa): If you could give advice to the 10-year-old Mouad, what would you say?
It would be to love himself as he is, despite his hypersensitive and sometimes quirky side. In the end, it's these traits, whether he considered them negative or others criticized him for, that will attract so many amazing people into his life.
Stephane (La Casa): What were your fears before coming to La Casa?
Mouad (roommate): That there would be too much drama and conflicts draining my energy without recharge... Having difficulty being accepted or maybe living out a high school/college scenario where there are the "cool kids" and the others who either follow along or get marginalized.
Stephane (La Casa): How did your loved ones react when you told them you were going to live with 13 other people?
Mouad (roommate): They weren't very happy despite loving the house. It felt like a step backward in their plan for my life. Instead of working, getting an apartment, and thinking about marriage, I'm living with 14 people, fully embracing outings, travels, and enjoying life.
Now their discontentment is more focused on unconscious jealousy since they can feel all the love I have for La Casa.
Stephane (La Casa): How do friendships develop at La Casa?
Mouad (roommate): With time, curiosity, transparency, and conversation. We add love and daily memories, and voila! It's just about being oneself, without judgment, and wanting to learn from the person in front of you. And after a few evenings and outings, you potentially have a lifelong friendship!
Stephane (La Casa): What's a typical day like at La Casa?
Mouad (roommate): Waking up in the morning and running into some people having breakfast (or dealing with a hangover haha). Maybe sharing the way to work with one or two people. Coming back in the evening and discussing the day in the kitchen. Sharing some laughs and nonsense while cooking our individual dishes or in small groups. And eating together while watching a movie or just chatting before going to sleep. A typical day is rarely a day when all 15 of us are together at once!
Stephane (La Casa): What does living at La Casa bring you?
Mouad (roommate): I've evolved tremendously thanks to La Casa. I've managed to overcome certain gaps and I've learned a lot about myself. So I would say it brings me learning above all, love, and friendships with people I would never have met otherwise. And of course, laughter and memories that I will cherish for life. I'm going to annoy my kids so much with these stories, they're not ready!
Stephane (La Casa): What are your plans for the next chapter of your life?
Mouad (roommate): Once I have my citizenship, I would like to live in Canada and have a life experience there. After that, maybe I'll go full remote and travel the world or settle down and live there. And perhaps even come back to live here later. I'm living the adventure from one chapter to the next!
