Pumpkin Carving Night 2026: Community Life at Our Co-Living Home in Harrow
Published 2026-10-30 · Community · By DIFF_RENT Team
Carving tools, glowing jack-o'-lanterns and a room full of neighbours. Here's how our residents spent a late-October evening together, and why events like this matter when you move to London.
Some of the best evenings at DIFF_RENT start with a simple plan. In late October 2026, ours was a table full of pumpkins, a box of carving tools and an open invitation to every resident in the building. By the end of the night we had a whole display of glowing jack-o'-lanterns, plenty of pumpkin scraps on the tables and one very full group photo.
An evening of carving, scooping and getting to know each other
Pumpkin carving is a great leveller. Nobody needs to be an artist, everyone gets a bit messy, and there's always something to talk about, from how to get the lid off cleanly to whether a pumpkin should look scary or cute. Residents gathered around the tables in our communal space, scooping out seeds, sketching faces and passing the carving tools back and forth.
The designs were brilliantly varied. There were classic triangle-eyed jack-o'-lanterns, toothy grins and a whole family of cats, plus one pumpkin with little ears that gave it the look of a teddy bear. Some residents stacked smaller pumpkins on top of bigger ones to build pumpkin towers. Shown off together with a few bare branches, the finished pumpkins looked like a proper Halloween display.
When the lights went down
The best moment came once the carving was done. With lights glowing inside the pumpkins, the room filled with a warm purple glow under the neon sign that reads "The healthiest response to life is joy". It felt like a fitting line for the evening. Residents held up their creations for photos, and the whole collection made quite a sight lined up together.
Why resident events matter when you move to London
London is an amazing city, but it can be a lonely one when you first arrive. Plenty of people move here for a new job, a course or a fresh start and find that weeks go by without a proper conversation with a neighbour. In a typical flat, you might never meet the people next door at all.
That's a big part of why co-living in London works so well for people new to the city. You have your own private, furnished studio to retreat to, but you also live alongside people who are open to meeting each other. Resident events give everyone an easy reason to come out of their studio and say hello. It's much easier to join a pumpkin carving night than to knock on a stranger's door. A conversation over a half-carved pumpkin can easily turn into a coffee the next morning, plans for the weekend or a friend for your whole stay.
Low-key, hands-on events like this one are often the best for breaking the ice. There's no pressure to make small talk when you're busy working out how to carve a cat's whiskers, and you leave with something to show for it.
Life at our Harrow co-living home
Our building at 33 Lowlands Road in Harrow, north-west London, is designed for exactly this mix of privacy and community. Away from the events, residents also have shared spaces to enjoy, including a cinema room, a massage room and a rooftop terrace. Whether you join every resident event or just the odd one, there are people around to share it with.
We also know that plans change. That's why we offer flexible stays. Stays start from 3 months, but we're flexible, so if you need something different, contact us with your requirements and we'll do our best to help.
See you at the next one
A big thank you to every resident who came along, picked up a carving tool and helped turn an ordinary October evening into something special. Pumpkin night was a reminder of what we love most about co-living: a home is about the people around you as much as the space itself.
If you're thinking about moving to London and want a place where you'll actually get to know your neighbours, take a look around DIFF_RENT Harrow or get in touch with our team to talk about your stay.