The home of the new nomad
Crises have always ended up revealing the shortcomings and solvencies of a country, of a system or, if we stick to the new age of the planet as a whole, since March 2020. And for everything that the pandemic has given, we are doing quite well (it seems that). The recapitulation of this year of uncertainty condenses an implacable truth: sedentary life is not the best life.
Nothing new under the sun Brothers Jeremy and Stanley Fourteau who, with less than 10 years, they drove more smoothly the arrangement of clothes in a suitcase than their own mother tongue:
His landing strip has been Barcelona
“We spent our childhood moving from one move to another. We were born in Paris and our parents, who had hippy vocation They moved us around the world. And then we have been the ones who we have perpetuated that way of life” , remember Stanley in a perfect Castilian with a subtle let anglo saxon. Jeremy, with the same blue gaze as his brother, ponder:
“A pandemic had to come for nomadism has been imposed as a trend upward". Today, paradoxically, the Fourteau brothers have decided fix your residence in Barcelona -for now-, to dignify the lives of the new nomads.
They say that the times remain in the place that contained them. If we stick to the experience of the founders of Ukio, yours have something of a bittersweet residue. Stanley recalls:
“The adaptation process was always painful. If you add to that, a tedious rental full of guarantees, bonds and loans , you end up thinking that it is better not to move. One day I asked myself: how is it possible that the rental protocol be the same as when we moved to Paris three decades ago? Jeremy corroborates:
"In Spain , personal fulfillment goes through owning a house and that, honestly, hampers freedom of movement. The real estate market is old and poorly distributed, there are many empty houses. Why not make it attractive and inclusive?
UKIO: JAPANESE HEAD, MEDITERRANEAN HEART
To begin with, nothing like a suggestive nomenclature such as ukio, Japanese term that comes to say 'live in the moment' -a little the aspiration of the nomad-. No more no less.
Jeremy and Stanley Fourteau
“And what do the Japanese do? When they propose something, they take it to the point of perfection. That's our mindset,” explains Stanley. There will be those who think that the formula is simple, but, in Jeremy's words, at the moment they are the only ones to apply it:
"Surprisingly, we are pioneers in Europe. We offer luxury flats in the best neighborhoods in Barcelona , without endorsement, without loans, or moving, or intermediaries. We are not a typical marketplace: we select the apartments one by one and we supervise every last detail. Many rent their flats to us without decorating, because they already know and appreciate our style. Our mission is to help people to assimilate new cities by making them feel at home Just arrived".
The Fourteaus curate empty apartments following a certain criterion of excellence - new qualities, terraces, exterior balconies, at least two rooms-, and condition them following their own style guidelines. Ukio is halfway between the five star hotel and the design house of your architect friend.
At that point, Stanley does not stitch without thread: “What makes us different? First of all, the excellence of all the floors; second, one sophisticated decoration that respects the environment and, thirdly, we give a flexible service 24/7 and digitized from beginning to end. We are sustainable in every dimension of the word”.
Ukio offers luxury apartments in the best neighborhoods of Barcelona
Believe it, they are: they use recycled materials, ecological products, renewable energy and local decoration. Not in vain, their houses are one recreation of the interiors of Barcelona, where hydraulic soils reign, Catalan vaults , natural light and Mediterranean houseplants.
THE BEST CITY TO LIVE
There is no pandemic, nor political tsunami, that snatches the eighth place from Barcelona as the best city in the world to live, according to Resonance Consultancy. What tech startup hub , Barcelona attracts a good number of what are now called digital nomads:
Its philosophy is sustainable: recycled materials, renewable energy and local decoration
“It is an attractive market for Europeans and a magnet for global digital talent due to its climate and coastal location. It fascinates us. We have the fresh look of a newcomer and, with that predisposition, we want encourage the coexistence of its new inhabitants from respect for the local.
With the support from private investors -an amount of around 1.7 million euros- and the encouragement of geographical mobility Thanks to the consolidation of teleworking , Ukio intends to achieve a network of 150 apartments by the end of the year, and the 500 homes in 2022.
They are on the right track: their international clients are spread over the 54 current -47 in Barcelona, 7 in Madrid-, whose income fluctuates between €1,600 and €2,500 monthly.
In September, it is Lisbon's turn And they already have a waiting list. Jeremy notes: “We have two types of guests: those who come to try, before decide if it will be your future home, and those who land in the city for labor issues -the average is in five months-. Both of them, what they value most is arriving at a place ready to start living it”.
Next destiny? Lisbon
Stanley, leaning out on the terrace of one of his apartments, in Nova Esquerra of Eixample, proclamation:
“We want to empower new residents with a home, not a flat, and create a connected community have access to a comprehensive service -nursery, gym, public transport card, delivery or legal advice- to feel, now yes, at home”.