Living together is wonderful but it only works if everyone respects the fact that everyone is different and will understand and interpret things based on their own experience, history, background, and knowledge.

That is the healthy challenge that coliving brings us and what helps us grow.

In time, conflicts will appear. It is inevitable. We are all humans with our flaws, our moods, and our habits after all.

What is evitable, however, is to let that conflict grow and implode, ruining everyone’s experience.

There are a few basic things to remember, to help you approach potential conflicts:

• Don’t avoid it. It might feel easier to hide and pretend it is all fine but, especially if you are staying a long time with us, it will only grow and frustrate you. Better to talk it out before it becomes out of hand and gossip starts.

• Common sense is not common. Never assume that everyone will do things the way you do because that’s how “everyone does”. We all come from different places, backgrounds, educative systems, and cultures.

• **Know your boundaries - express them kindly -**What is private, what is shared, when is "me time" and "hang out" time. Be ready to express them but also receive that information from others and respect it.

• Know when to give feedback - Sometimes it is just not the right time. Sometimes the emotions are too intense, the atmosphere is too charged and everyone needs to cool down. Take that time, reflect, and write it down. Come back to it later. Remember the golden rule: Praise in public, (constructively) criticize in private. Always.

• Never gossip - Gossip is Community’s cancer. It grows quickly and can kill trust.

• Communicate non-violently - Observe the facts, identify your feelings and needs, and express them clearly and without putting blame. (Reading tip:” Non-Violent Communication” by Marshall B Rosenberg

• Talk it out face to face - it is sometimes easy to hide behind a screen, but writing can be misinterpreted.