The Sri Lanka native, who moved to New York from London in 2022, shares his home in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, with more than two dozen people as part of a shared living space that is akin to a college dorm. It costs him a staggering $2,100 in rent each month.
In a recent interview with CNBC, the 33-year-old lifted the lid on what life is like in his “cohab” home. It might have similarities to college housing, he says, but it is, thankfully, more “respectful.”
Still, Abeysekera has to endure aspects of the college experience that many adults would likely hate—namely shared bathrooms, shared kitchens, and, of course, being surrounded by other people nearly constantly.
When the tech expert first moved to New York, his company put him up in a one-bedroom apartment in the Financial District for a few months. But when it came time for him to look for his own space, he says the high cost of living in the city forced him to consider alternatives to a traditional renter setup.
After a Google search, he found Cohabs, a company that offers fully furnished bedrooms and communal living spaces.
Stays can be as short as six months or as long as a year or more. His budget was between $2,000 to $3,000, which more than covered the cost of one of the rooms in the company’s Crown Heights property.
Abeysekera also thought that the shared living experience would give him an opportunity to make friends.
“How do you really meet people when you are new to a city, and this seemed like a great way to do that, so here I am,” he told CNBC while showing off the space.
Abeysekera, an engineer, lives in the space in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The building has four floors and 24 bedrooms. The tenants are all in their 20s and 30s.
Cohabs also has similar locations in Manhattan and Europe, including in Madrid, Paris, London, and Milan.
He says when he toured the space and saw people hanging out together in the communal area, he knew he would like it. That the four-story house offered rooms that were within his budget made it all the more appealing.
The rent Abeysekera pays covers Wi-Fi, utilities, a weekly cleaning service, and a monthly communal breakfast.
Abeysekera’s bedroom is furnished with a bed, storage space, a desk, a desk light, and a walk-in closet. He does, however, have to share a bathroom—albeit with just one other person, rather than all 23 of his roommates.
And even then, he insists it hasn’t been a problem.
“Once I had to wait 15 minutes for the shower, which, in one and a half years I think is fine,” he jokes.
“Overall, in my experience, there hasn’t been any big challenges with so many housemates. And I think the main reason for that is that there’s so [many] shared amenities and space that you’re never really in each other’s way, and everyone has their own space in terms of their own room.”
As far as shared living spaces go, the property has plenty, including a terrace and rooftop, a small gym, and a basement with a TV and a huge couch that, Abeysekera notes, can fit all of the roommates, with room to spare.
“There’s not a lot that would make me move out,” Abeysekera adds. The communal living has even helped “enrich” his life, and he plans on staying in touch with most of his roommates—even if they move out.
