This new found freedom of choosing your own office, makes it possible for people to travel to other countries without having to compromise their job.

A couple that moved to Porto from Tel-Aviv, Israel has new ways to make this easier. Vital and Omer are the owners of the Israeli Blog in Hebrew “Vital and Omer – living in Portugal” and the innovators of the “Communa” artistic co-living in Portugal.

“We moved to Portugal from Tel-Aviv Jaffa (Israel) two and a half years ago, because we were searching for a less stressful life than what we were used to. We were looking for a place to relocate in Europe, and when we just arrived we realised, what an amazing country we are in, the weather, the nice people and the huge potential of stating a creative business here” they told to The Portugal News. They also said that they settled in well and that they fell in love with the city of Porto.

“As we come from that part of the world, we experienced the co-working and the beginning of co-living in Israel. For us it was a process to understand that co-living is the new way of living in our lonely becoming lives of working online. There is a true need for real connection, for community, healthy activities, combining it with the local culture and art.”

They found the desired property in Bonfim, Porto and the design of the place was inspired by both the Middle Eastern and the Portuguese culture. For this project they have eight rooms of different sizes and one common area in the garage that was converted.

“In the garage we created a lot of colourful sitting areas, a kitchen with bar, a patio and great Wi-Fi that will give the opportunity to work online with no problem whatsoever. It's always funny to see the reaction of people passing by when the garage doors are open. As a part of connecting the design to the Portuguese culture, we created a cool artwork of a Portuguese grandma looking outside of a window. This artwork is on the main wall of the garage, so people can pass by and see it from the street. They always laugh about it and it gives us the opportunity to meet and create the connection with the people living around us.”

So finally, after a year of work they have finished all the preparations and opened the first “Communa Garage”.

“Communa Garage is a midterm residence house and creative content centre in the artistic area of Porto, Bonfim. It gathers international community by connecting them through art, pop up workshops, creative food tasting, musical events, lectures, "talks”, local exhibitions and more.”

“I think that especially nowadays, people have more needs then just accommodation. People want to connect, and the best way to connect is to create good content in a place that has activities, and interesting people to share ideas. For the surrounding and the local people, it's a huge benefit as well, as it creates more jobs.”

In the future Vital and Omer hope to have even more “Communa” places around Portugal, with creative co-living centres, where art, community and accommodation meet.