Looking for Friends? How About 23 Housemates?

A move across the Atlantic Ocean into the arms of nearly two dozen housemates was not what Ishan Abeysekera had envisioned for himself. But that’s his life now, and he’s embraced it.

“I basically went from nearly living on my own for the first time in my adult life in London to basically living with 23 others,” he said. “I’m just like, you know what, if you did and it feels right, you change your plans and adapt accordingly.”

Mr. Abeysekera, 32, an engineer originally from Sri Lanka, had been living in London with roommates since he was 18 and in college. In 2021, he was planning to try living solo and was just about to buy a flat when his company offered him a position in New York City.

By the next fall, he had moved to the United States and into a temporary apartment in the Financial District, paid for by the company.

He lived there for two months as he hunted for one-bedrooms and studios in the East Village, but was not impressed. Then he looked for something different.

“I Googled ‘communal living in Brooklyn,’ and Cohabs came up,” he said.

Cohabs is a company that offers “co-living” for people 18 or older in shared homes in New York, London, Brussels and Paris, among other cities. It plans to have 16 houses in Brooklyn and Manhattan open by the end of June.