What separates a good co-living place from an expensive hostel

Stayed in a lot of these. The price range is wide and the price tells you almost nothing about which kind you have booked.

What actually predicts a good one

• A kitchen people cook in. The single best signal. If the kitchen is nice and empty, the place is a hotel with a shared table. If it is busy at seven, everything else follows.
• Somewhere to be alone that is not your bed. A second common area, a garden, a quiet room. Without it you are either social or in bed, and after a fortnight that becomes exhausting.
• A stay length that is measured in weeks. Places dominated by two-night stays never form anything; nobody invests in people leaving on Thursday.
• Someone whose job is the community, doing it in practice rather than on the website. Ask what happened last week, not what usually happens.

What does not predict it
Design, the photos, the coworking desks, the events calendar. A full calendar is often a sign that nothing happens by itself.

Worth paying for
A private room with a door that closes, over a nicer building. The social part happens in shared spaces regardless; the ability to leave it is what decides whether you last.

Ask before booking: how long is the average stay, and how many people are here right now. Both answers are honest more often than you would expect.