Introduce Yourself, Tell Us About Your Cohousing

[Mary B.]

Please say hello and tell us a little about yourself and your cohousing. And welcome!

(If you can't post, that may be because you haven't registered yet. Registration is free and enables us to keep bots and trolls out. Thank you!)

[skelliek]

Hi! I have been living at East Lake Commons (ELC) a few miles from downtown Atlanta for 15 years. My husband and I joined the group in its building stage and watched our house grow from a pipe in the ground to a 2 story townhome. ELC is the largest cohousing community in the world, as far as we know, with 67 townhomes on 20 acres. We have a marvelous organic farm called Gaia Gardens complete with farmer who runs a CSA that many of us belong to, woods, and a pond. I've been active in the Landscape committee the entire time (just back from an hour of weeding) and have been on the Board committee once.

I love living in community (most of the time) as it definitely beats anywhere else I've lived for people caring about others and helping out in so many ways. We are so large that getting people involved is very difficult....over 100 adults and 30-40 kids.

[hesterkw]

I'm part of a cohousing group still forming in Cambridge, UK. www.cambridge-k1.co.uk/ We're waiting planning permission. 42 units, from 1 beds flats to 4 bed houses, mixed generation. Urban location, good transport links, but limited space. Majority of members already live in and around Cambridge, so we know the area.

Pretty soon we'll have to start firming our policies and think about kitting out the Common House etc so thsi is where advice from people who have already been through it would help!

[Mary B.]

Hello Hester! Welcome, and thank you for joining and participating. Feel free to start new threads if you have any questions or topics you would like to address.

[Richard Aston]

Hello ,
I am from Auckland New Zealand and live in the EarthSong eco neighborhood a cohousing community with strong permaculture traditions.

[Mary B.]

Hello Richard! Thank you for joining up! Yes, you are apparently the only member from NZ so far, so I hope you'll share the forum address with your friends.

[connie]

Hello fellow co-housing peeps from beautiful Victoria, BC!
While I am new to co-housing, I am an old soul to its principles having lived much of my life is smaller, rural Aboriginal communities in northern Canada.

We have a 31 unit, intergenerational, non-smoking project with 8,000 sq ft of common space. It has a green theme which attracted me with charging stations for vehicles, 62 spaces for bicycles, communal garden and solar panels. I also like that we have agreed to two pets - the mix and match is your choice as long as it is just two. Personally, I absolutely love the concept of a communal kitchen and garden having raised a family and still not having the knack of cooking just for two. We have yet to develop governance such as by-laws so any docs you folks have to share would be absolutely marvellous.

We have secured the six parcels of land (currently being held under a corporation by one of the members while the legal structure of our Village falls into place) and the rezoning and permits are taken care of.

fernwoodurbanvillage.ca

As part of my sweat equity, I volunteer doing outreach and communications -- check out our social media platforms!

www.facebook.com/search/1035624156460623/local_search?surface=rese

We post meetings and other related events both on FaceBook and our MeetUp:

www.meetup.com/Victoria-Cohousing/

Of course, I can't help but tweet through Twitter: @cc_larochelle

So, if you are in Victoria and are wandering about, drop us a line! Happy summer folks and stay in touch -- Connie

[Mary B.]

Welcome, Connie! Fernwood looks like a wonderful place, and I'm so glad to see you have an active Facebook page--particularly love that you post meeting invites and videos, very interactive!

[JasminaJ]

Welcome, Connie! It's great to see another active poster here!