Catalan, moving to Utrecht — looking for a real coliving house, long term
Men
1
Women
0
Children
0
Age
26
Province
Utrecht
City
Utrecht
Ideal location
Utrecht city, or anywhere within about 30 minutes of it — Nieuwegein, Maarssen, Zeist, Houten, De Bilt, Bunnik and similar are all good for me. I lived in Nieuwegein during my exchange, so I already know that side of the city well.
I care much more about a good bike, tram or train connection to Utrecht than about being in the centre. I also have a car, so somewhere slightly out of town is genuinely fine rather than a compromise.
Green surroundings are a real plus. A garden, a courtyard, allotments nearby, or simply being close to open space matters more to me than a fashionable neighbourhood.
Ideal space
A room from around 12 m² upwards, furnished or unfurnished — I'm not fussy. What matters more to me is that the house feels lived in rather than newly renovated.
Registration at the address (inschrijving) is essential for me, since I'm arriving from abroad and need it to get settled here.
What I'd most like: a shared kitchen worth cooking in, a common living room that people actually use, and outdoor space — a garden, a courtyard, even a decent balcony. A shed, workshop, cellar or any corner for tools and boards would be a real bonus, and bike storage always helps.
Budget up to around €900 all-in, and I'm very happy with less.
Ideal group
I'm looking for a house, not a corridor of strangers. Shared meals at least some evenings, a group that eats together now and then, and people who talk to each other rather than just past each other in the kitchen.
I'm happy to commit properly: chores, maintenance, house meetings, and taking my share of the responsibility for how the place runs. That's the point of coliving for me, not the side-effect.
Mixed ages are welcome — I've always got on well with people considerably older and younger than me. Non-smoking indoors is my preference. Pets are very welcome; I won't bring any myself, but a house animal is a plus, not a problem.
I'm looking for at least a year and ideally much longer. A Dutch-speaking house is a plus for me rather than an obstacle.
Describe yourself
Ik ben Nederlands aan het leren, maar nog niet goed genoeg om dit profiel in het Nederlands te schrijven — vandaar het Engels. Ik wil daar eerlijk over zijn.
I'm Uri, 26, from Catalonia, near Girona. I'm moving to Utrecht to work in sports management — that's my field and it's what I'm coming here to do. I did my exchange semester at HU in 2023 and lived in Nieuwegein at the time, so the city isn't new to me.
What I do during the day. I studied sports management and sport sciences, and I'm a qualified skate coach. I coordinated the Barcelona branch of a skate school for three years, ran nautical sports camps on the Catalan coast, and most recently spent a year working in agriculture on a fruit farm — mornings in the orchards, afternoons on logistics and admin. That last year taught me a lot about growing things properly, about machinery, and about work that only gets done if someone actually does it.
My experience with coliving. I've shared flats throughout my studies in Barcelona and during my exchange here, and I've lived and worked alongside the same small group of people on the farm. I know the difference between a house where people coexist and a house where people actually live together, and I'm looking for the second one on purpose.
What I'd bring. I cook — a lot, and I'd rather cook for a table than for myself. I've been vegan for ten years, but I'm completely relaxed about it: I won't ask anyone to change how they eat, and I'm easy to work around. I love gardening and growing food, and if a house has a garden I'd happily make it mine to look after. And after years of organising groups and activities for a living, I'm comfortable being the one who gets something arranged when it needs arranging.
The rest. Board sports are my world — skateboarding, snowboarding, and wingfoiling since last year — so I'm out of the house a fair bit at weekends. But I'm not the housemate who disappears: I like being around, I'm easy-going and social, and I'm tidy without being tiresome about it.
I arrive in the Netherlands on 1 October and I have a temporary place until November, so I'm looking for something long-term from then. Once I'm here I can visit any evening, anywhere in or around Utrecht, with no notice at all.
Contact information
oriolgou@gmail.com
I'm in the Netherlands from 1 October and available to visit any day from then.