Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and you grow old wanting to get back to
Hi!
We are Fabienne and Ben, the couple behind Alpiness coliving. 🙂
In our late thirties, we spent the last 10 years of our lives traveling the world and working remotely. We met back in 2008 when we were still students. After working in the corporate and academic world for a couple years, we decided to leave for a 19 month round-the-world trip (2013-2015). Coming back from this crazy adventure, we settled in Zurich and started working for a tech company. After only 18 months, we decided to quit our comfortable positions and decided to live a more nomadic lifestyle. During all those years, we’ve worked on several blogs (Novo-Monde and Novo-Media), written books for a swiss publishing house as well as self-published digital hiking guides (See our books here) and we developed websites for clients around the world.
At Alpiness, we want to offer a perfect work environment for remote workers but also share our passion for the mountains and all the beautiful activities they have to offer all year round, a place we wish many nomads will consider like their little home away from home.
After all these experiences, we decided that we wanted to create such a space in a place, which during all those years always had a special place in our hearts: the swiss Alps, our “home” that we had spent so many years leaving again and again but to which we always kept coming back.
In 2018 we decided to go to Tenerife for a few months. That’s where we came across a coliving for the first time. We were supposed to stay 1 month at Nine coliving… but ended up staying 5! This was the beginning of our love story with the world of colivings. Between 2018 and 2022 we’ve spent almost 50% of our time in different coliving spaces in Europe (Nine coliving, Cloud Citadel, Anceu coliving, ReStation, Bansko, etc…).
Hi guys! My name is Winchy and I am also part of Alpiness family. Some might say I am a “born” coliving dog…
I met my humans when they were staying at Anceu coliving in Galicia. I spent my first 3 years in the local dog shelter (Os Palleiros in Pontevedra). I am quite a shy guy and was always overlooked by potential adopters. But thankfully, my humans decided to “foster” me during the strict lockdown…
No need to say that with my irresistible personality it was impossible for them to leave Spain without me and in January 2021 I found my forever home with these two. So yes, since then, I’ve been an active hiking, vanlife and coliving dog. Most of the time you’ll find me napping somewhere around the house but I also enjoy joining the humans for runs/hikes.
My super power? I can smell cheese from far away… If someone opens the cheese box, no matter where I am in the house, I will magically appear!
Hi all,
I’m Austris, a tech nomad and mountain enthusiast.
My adventure with Alpiness began when I arrived for a brief 2-4 week stretch to help with pre-opening renovations. However, the warmth of the people, the breathtaking scenery, and the vibrant atmosphere quickly won me over, and I’ve made Switzerland my home ever since.
Running a coliving has always been a dream of mine, though various challenges had previously kept it out of reach.
When Fabienne & Ben offered me to join the venture, I was over the moon with excitement!
My background is rich with experiences that fuse community building with professional dedication. From facilitating events for the European Youth Parliament to engagement with Microsoft Student Partners and founding Yes Family Latvia in collaboration with Yes Theory, I’ve cultivated a talent for fostering communities. My summers at the Arctic Coworking Lodge in Lofoten have only deepened my passion for connecting with like-minded individuals.
In the professional sphere, I thrive in the dynamic world of startups, having co-founded both a creative studio and a cybersecurity startup.
You can expect loads of rock-climbing outings. I’m eager to share insights, pass down years of knowledge and foster collaborations for both mountain and startup enthusiasts. And, of course, an occasional whip-up of homemade tiramisù.
