We have looked at several pieces of land and possible properties with existing houses since spring of 2020. We have seriously pursued three different properties since November 2020, and had to give all of them up for different reasons. 

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We wanted to build a Cohousing community.

 

This community based housing model started in Denmark and Holland in the 1970s as a way to intentionally create a small-scale, close-knit neighborhood. It was introduced to the US in the 1980s, and by now there are about 300 cohousing communities across the US with many more in the development stages. 

 

Cohousing developments are managed by and for the residents. The center of the community is a common house that draws residents together for meals, meetings, and recreation. Common space is sometimes also used for co-working, music, art, crafts, a library, laundry facilities, guest spaces or an exercise room. Communal use of space often extends outdoors, where residents share work in community gardens to raise food. In addition to eating meals together, residents may decide to gather for a lot of other reasons: celebrations, movies, performances, workshops or discussion groups. Cohousing residents have privacy in their own homes, which can be either single houses or separate apartments in a multi household building, and participate in community activities as much or as little as they desire. 

 

For anybody who is concerned about the human impact on our planet and strives to live in a way that is more sustainable and leaves a smaller footprint, living in community, sharing resources and living in homes with lower energy use is a compelling opportunity. For us this kind of green living is one of the key components to the way of life we want to create.

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