From left: Josh Masimore, Geetika Kapoor and Brandon Chow have breakfast at their co-living space in Russian Hill on Wednesday.

The co-living space includes a shared backyard.

Four years ago, Josh Masimore was living alone in Texas. And he was miserable. Lonely and isolated in his one-bedroom apartment, he craved community, but didn’t know how or where to find it.       

So, he started Googling co-living spaces in San Francisco, where he had fallen in love with the city’s walkability and vibrancy. In 2021, he found a funky 12-unit co-living space in Russian Hill. He went from having his own bathroom, living room and kitchen to sharing those spaces with a revolving cast of 15 other people, many of them in their 20s and 30s.

He hasn’t looked back. 

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“I just found myself so much happier,” Masimore, now 30, told me. “I couldn’t imagine my experience here without it.” 

Josh Masimore is the property manager of a 12-unit co-living space in Russian Hill.

Masimore is hardly alone. After years of social isolation and swiping on apps to meet friends and romantic partners, many young people are craving authentic, in-person connections that aren’t mediated by screens. Co-living spaces provide a built-in community — at far more affordable prices than most apartments. 

The demand is obvious: 400 people applied for a spot in Masimore’s building last year.

Like most things in San Francisco, however, the city doesn’t make it easy to develop shared living spaces. 

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An arcane city planning code provision prohibits more than five people from living together in the same “dwelling unit” — such as a single-family home or large apartment — unless they’re legally related family members or they function like a family,........

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