Outsite Review: Is it too good to be true? (My Personal Experience)
If any good came out of 2020, it is that more and more people now have the ability to enjoy remote work across the world. And with that, we are seeing an influx of co-living spaces popping up in a range of locations. It’s advertised as a new way of living, with built in friendships and community waiting for us before we even arrive.
I’m on a mission this year to work abroad as much as possible, I want to get a taste of the freedom that comes with the Digital nomad lifestyle. I put in a lot of research before my first trip as I’m an extremely extroverted and I wanted to stay somewhere that it would be easy for me to make friends.
That’s when I came across Outsite, a US company that is expanding it’s co-living network across the world. And, in this post I am going to share with you my Outsite review, we will dive into the community, the service, my experience and if it’s worth the price tag.
The Short Answer
Ok, so if you don’t have time to read the entire post and just simply want to know if I enjoyed my stay at Outsite. Then the answer is yes! I had the BEST experience, so much so, that I can not wait to book another trip in one of their other locations.
I made lifelong friends over my 6 weeks in Lisbon, we got know each other really well and plan to meet up again. Outsite is set up with all the facilities needed to have a comfortable stay while working. It weirdly feels like holiday even when the weekdays are spent in front of the laptop (for the most part 🤣).
OK I’M SOLD! I WANT TO BOOK
The Pros & Cons of Staying at Outsite
The Outsite Community
I think the biggest selling point for Outsite is the community of like-minded people that it attracts.
All from different backgrounds, countries and working industries, yet, share the same common love for travel.
I am so grateful for the friendships I made throughout my stay. I spent pretty much every day laughing with an incredible bunch of people.
We are already planning a trip to get the gang back together.
Throughout my stay, there where a number of community events organised my our community manager Inês, this was a great way to meet new people who just arrived and introduce them to those who had been staying at Outsite a little longer. There was also an extremely active WhatsApp group for everyone to stay in touch and organise meet ups.
Now, I will admit, a few friends went on to stay in other Outsite locations in Portugal. They said that Porto was no where near as social as the Lisbon but Madeira was just as good if not better.
I think the best way to judge the social scale of the location you intend to stay at is take a look at the reviews on the website. There is a search bar making it easy to look up words like ‘friends’, ‘community’ ‘people’. Doing this should give you a good indication on what to expect.
The Membership (+ a sneaky discount)
It can feel like a big commitment to pay a year long membership fee. Especially when you are not sure if you will like the experience and get your money’s worth.
✅ Pro’s of the Outsite Membership
Personally, I am supper grateful that most of the properties are for members only. I think this really improves the number of people who stay for the community element rather than for a roof over their head for a few weeks in a new city.
If people are willing to pay the fee, it is more likely that they are wanting to meet and engage with others on their trip.
Outsite also runs regular membership only promotions with discounts for certain times of the year or in specific locations.
And, lucky for you I have a sneaky discount code for you. This link will give you $50 off the $150 membership. Don’t worry you can thank me later.
❌ Con’s of the Outsite Membership
At the time of writing Outsite offers two kinds of memberships, a year long one for $149 and a lifetime membership for $399.
It’s quite a lot of money to pay upfront if you only intend on staying at Outsite for one week. They do have some accommodations where you do not need to be a member to stay but this is less common it seems.
Beside, having accommodations that are membership only locations ensures that the community is serious about their stay. Odds are you will find a handful of people who want to make friends and share experiences with their new housemates.
Outsite Locations
When it comes to co-livings, Outsite is definitely dominating the industry with a large network of living spaces across the world. And they are continuing to expand.
Outsite accommodations are in Europe, the US, Africa, Asia and Latin America, with a pretty nice mix of places to choose from.
✅ Pro’s to Outsite Locations
There are many pro’s to this for Outsite members, for starters, it feels comfortable, almost familiar to continue using the same company as we explore new destinations.
It also makes our membership fee stretch the extra mile, I have stayed in other co-living spaces who have the same fee yet they only have one or two locations to choose from. This is a major perk to joining the Outsite community.
❌ Con’s to Outsite Locations
However, I do fear the more they expand and the more popular they will get. This may cause an increase in pricing due to demand.
It may also cause issues with flexibility, personally, I don’t like to plan my travels too far in advance. I want to be flexible incase a job opportunity pops up, or I find a cool event I would like to attend. However, it may start to become too competitive, with rooms booking up months in advance.
Outsite Pricing
Next let’s take a look at Outsite’s pricing model. I’m not going lie, it vary’s greatly depending on the location and that is something I was really surprised to see. Some destinations I could simply not afford where as others seemed like a reasonable deal.
✅ Pro’s to Outsite’s Pricing
One pro to Outsite’s pricing is the discounted rates the longer you stay. This is not a common thing for other co-living spaces to offer. And if they do it is normally for stays of one month or longer. Outsite members can benefit with 15% off for trips longer than 7 nights, 30% off for trips longer than 30 nights and 35% off for trips longer than 60+ nights. And if you wish to extend your trip while you are there they will honour what ever discount rate you fall into. I extended twice and really appreciated it!
I also like that they have budget room options which has it’s appeal depending on your travel style. Some of the properties will have a range of rooms to choose from, all with a different price tags. For example, single rooms or double rooms with a shared bathroom, a double room with a ensuite or private rooms with double beds, en-suite, balconies and sometimes even studio apartments.
Outsite members are also provided with credit once they finish their stay, this can be redeemed off the price of their next booking. I used mine for my final two nights in Lisbon following a brief trip to Cascais and Sintra.
❌ Con’s to Outsite’s Pricing
It can be rather expensive depending on the location you choose to visit. For example, I paid €1,300 (including membership) for a little over a month stay in Lisbon. Yes, I could have found somewhere more affordable to stay in the city but I was quite happy with that pricing considering the community element that comes with Outsite.
However, some other destinations for the same period of time can be four times the price. And don’t get me wrong, I understand that the cost of living in other countries can be considerably higher but dropping €5,000 on a months stay is just not an option for most people.
Outsite’s Stay Duration
Ok, so I am probably going to contradict myself a little bit in this section, but here me out because I do think there are pros and cons to Outsite’s stay duration.
At most of their properties, the minimum stay duration is 2 days. And I would like to discuss why this is a good thing but also a bad.
✅ Pro’s to Outsite’s Stay Duration
Ok, so I originally stayed at Outsite for five weeks, I then went on to spend a little over a week in Cascais and Sintra before heading back to Lisbon for two days before my flight. It was convenient for me to book back into Outsite, it was somewhere I was familiar with and I could use my credit gained from my previous stay. This was something I was really grateful for.
❌ Con’s to Outsite’s Pricing
However, with that being said, when I was staying for 5 weeks the short duration booking allowance was quite frustrating. I felt like I had finally found a community, and then within a matter of days my friends would leave and I would be back to the drawing board looking for new people to connect with.
Thankfully, I did find one or two friends who stayed for a longer period. It was really nice to build these friendships in a new destination. I also found that people who stayed for 2 or 3 nights did not want to socialise. And that’s understandable, I was the same when I returned, however, it could give new co-livers the wrong impression if they happen to meet short terms stayers when they first arrive. On my first few days I really struggled to make friends as there was a big turnover of people moving on.
Working Environment at Outsite’s
Most Outsite’s come with access to a co-working cafe or area for guest to work with high speed internet.
I can only really speak on my own experience at Outsite Cais do Sodre in Lisbon but the working conditions are quite nice and well organised.
The Café which is next door to the co-living had a reliable Wi-Fi connection, a place for coffee and tea and boots for making calls.
I will admit that it was a little to quite for me, I like to move around when I work, sometimes listen to music and have a little bit more flexibility when it comes to socialising.
So, for the most part I worked from the desk in my room. A few of my house mates said that had issues with the WiFi in the co-living building but honestly I did not share the same complaint.
And, the community manager did everything she could to fix the issue. Eventually moving the WiFi router to a new location. Either way, there is a strong connection in the co-working cafe for those who where having isssues.
Living at Outsite’s
Of course every Outsite locations are different, I stayed at the Cais do Sodre location in Lisbon.
And it was quite a nice place to live for a few weeks, it was extremely central and easy to get pretty much anywhere in the city.
The house has everything I needed to make myself at home, a kitchen, bathrooms, laundry facilities and sitting area.
One con that is important to note is the social areas are surrounded by the bedrooms. Which meant we couldn’t stay there passed 11pm.
Should you Book Outsite?
Yes, if you are someone who is looking for somewhere to work remotely all while meeting a fun like minded community of people then Outsite is a fantastic choice.
You will feel right at home as you navigate the surroundings of a new destination. I personally loved my time at Outsite and can not wait to book my next stay.