When you think about the buckets that make up your daily life, there are likely three main areas that come to mind: a home for comfort and shelter, work that engages and supports you, and play by way of activity and socialization. Now imagine prioritizing the best of all these elements and having them come together in one convenient place. For residents of Life Time Living in Coral Gables, Fla., that’s the reality.
“For me to talk about my life now, I have to reference what it was like before,” says Ryan Bosson, a resident in one of the nearly 500 apartment homes in the recently opened multi-use complex. “I was living in Atlanta, and on an ideal day, I would wake up around 4:30 a.m. to drive to my Life Time club. I like to watch the sunrise, so I would then drive to Stone Mountain to see the sunrise around 7 a.m., before driving to work. I would prefer to head back to Life Time for my evening workout before heading home, but due to the commute, I couldn’t justify spending 70 miles in the car five days a week. Sometimes, I’d only make it to Life Time twice a day, two days a week.”
Bosson moved into Life Time Living Coral Gables in July 2021. “Here, I wake up, walk down to the club, and then before the sun rises, I ride the elevator back up to my apartment to watch the sunrise above the city from my balcony. I can work here and go to the club here, entirely eliminating my daily commute. It’s incredible.”
In 2021, Life Time’s mission to deliver a healthy way of life for its members evolved to offer this integrated concept that Bosson describes: a single destination where you can live, work, and play. This model is the combination of Life Time Living, which offers high-end apartment homes, Life Time Athletic Resorts, and Life Time Work coworking spaces, all located in close proximity to one another (either in the same building or a short walk away, depending on the location).
More important than vicinity or convenience, however, is that these spaces are first and foremost thoughtfully designed to support residents’ health and well-being. Hear about the ways people can live, work, and play here.
Live
“When I first moved in, I stayed in for 17 days straight,” says Bosson. “I was shooting for a month, but then I wanted to check out the beach.”
The apartment homes are designed with intention: Sleep restfully with soundproof walls; control the temperature using an app on your phone; prepare meals on nonreactive granite countertops; walk across wood plank flooring that minimizes allergens; and enjoy natural light from oversized windows.
The Resident Services Team is also available 24/7 to assist with needs, whether it be scheduling a treatment at the LifeSpa, ordering delivery from the LifeCafe, or arranging for weights to be brought up for at-home workouts.
In addition to the Life Time club being available for residents’ fitness pursuits, many choose to also take advantage of its features throughout other parts of their day. “Sometimes I’ll be here on a Saturday night and want to use the club for the sauna or whatever else it might be instead of going out for drinks or grabbing dinner,” says Jenn Jirsa, a resident at Life Time Living Coral Gables since July 2021.
Avi Ferleger, also a resident at the Coral Gables location, adds, “If I have a stressful night, I can just walk downstairs to the hot tub, sauna, or steam room and have space for myself.”
“My lifestyle is about staying lean and fit,” he emphasizes, “and I maintain that here because I have everything around me that’s pushing me there. There’s healthy food downstairs if I need it. Trainers I can work with. Chiropractors I can go to when I need work done on my lower back. This place pushes you toward a focus of how to achieve the basic elements of a healthy life.”
Work
If you’re working remotely, as part of a hybrid model, or just need a designated space to focus on tasks, you can explore your options for access to Life Time Work.
Here you can pop in and out of the workspace lounge, conduct meetings in the conference rooms, hunker down in a phone booth or designated quiet room, or separate yourself in your own locked office.
This space promotes productivity with natural light, a variety of workspaces supportive of different work styles, comfortable seating, reliable technology, responsive tech support, healthy snacks, fresh coffee, and real plants.
“I do not miss my commute to and from work,” says Bosson. “Instead of sitting in the car, I’m now in the hot tub, stretching, foam rolling, reading, or doing something to better myself.”
The reduction of a vehicle commute also offers environmental benefits by generating fewer carbon emissions. “I rarely use my car,” adds Bosson. “I filled it up with gas the for the first time this week since living here, and I moved in three months ago. If I do leave the property, the average drive for me is about a mile and a half.”
Play
When you do choose to fit your workout in, the barriers are minimal with a fitness floor full of machines and weights, lap pools, and group training or studio, cycle, and yoga classes all just steps away.
“I’ve never felt better,” says Jirsa. “I’ve been doing strength training, Pilates, and SURRENDER Yoga classes, and I immediately joined the Signature Membership so I would have access to the recovery features, including the HydroMassage bed, Normatec, and Hyperice vibration therapy.”
Living in an apartment home steps from shared spaces and so many other people who value a healthy lifestyle can also create an unmatched type of community.
“Life Time, in general, holds the reputation of being a community,” says Jirsa. “The people here are definitely more friendly than previous apartment complexes I’ve experienced.”
According to residents, prioritized communal spaces encourage exercising together in the workout facilities; socializing at the LifeSpa and LifeCafe; meeting at the pools and pool decks; venturing to nearby downtown recreational outlets; networking at working stations; and family playtime in kids’ spaces. In addition to the various experiences on site, venture out to nearby restaurants, grocery stores, shopping outlets, and the beach in close proximity.
“I feel like this is a community,” says Ferleger. “Everybody is super friendly with each other and gets along. With the club being at the same location, it has allowed people to create a tight-knit community because people see others who are not only members of the club, but also live in the area. We all become friends.”
