For over 20 years my family lived in Vermont enjoying our walks in the woods but with little contact with our neighbors. After our three kids grew up and moved away, Meg and I started thinking about finding a smaller home.  As we explored, we saw a large historic house for sale in a community... Read More

What is it like to join a cohousing community? In the spring of 2022 I jumped into that uncertainty in Sonoma County, California. Periodically I’ll try to share the experience and answer questions via a series of “Letters from a Cohousing Newbie.” Landscaping lessons I don’t think I could have made more blunders in a short... Read More

So many exciting cohousing communities! How does a seeker decide which one is best? The Short Version: • Can you afford it? • Is it located in an acceptable geographic location? • Is the urban vs rural location right for you? • Is their timeline compatible with yours (not perfect but acceptable)? • Do they... Read More

Many communities wonder about protecting community members, especially children from sex offenders. While some members feel strongly that background checks should be used, others object to relying on the criminal justice system (which many view as racist and unfair) as a source of information.  Read on for a detailed explanation of what a background check... Read More

The Benefits of Collaboration with a Developer with Cohousing Experience and Expertise In this article, we would like to talk about the benefits of working in close collaboration with a development group that has extensive experience with cohousing. For the development of Our Home – Cathedral Park, we chose Urban Development + Partners, a local... Read More

I’ve been in a lot of conversations about race in various ways, and in particular about racism in cohousing. Somewhere amidst all the conversations, it occurred to me to ask a question I haven’t been hearing. Why do communities want to be diverse? Which led to: What do we mean when we say it? and... Read More

Hanging on the wall in my house is a dyed silk-screen print done by an artist from the first cohousing community I worked with in California.  On it is the simple quote by Rumi that says: “Out beyond the ideas of right and wrong there is a field.  I will meet you there.”  To me... Read M

 Our cohousing community wanted to do something as a group.  Several people had participated in local protest demonstrations, but others, particularly older and more vulnerable folks, felt that was not safe.  But we all felt we wanted to show our support and a safe way was to line up with signs along the main road... Read More

A number of years ago, before cohousing came into our lives, my husband and I realized that the time and worry of maintaining our big family house and yard no longer matched the lifestyle we wanted. We also acknowledged that we felt burdened by all the stuff filling every nook and cranny. Rather than the... Read More