Post-Election Thoughts: Community, Now More Important Than Ever!

A post-election discussion among neighbors at Nevada City Cohousing

During every national or international crisis, I am reminded how lucky (and yes, privileged), I am to live at Nevada City Cohousing. When I don’t know what to do to help the world, I know I can make productive contributions to my local community whether that is cooking dinner for my neighbors, working in the garden, or my work as President of the Board for our local conservation land trust (Bear Yuba Land Trust). My local community feeds me, giving me energy and faith to stay involved, doing my small part of trying to move humanity toward a more socially and environmentally sustainable world. 

Back in October, one of my neighbors said that the most depressing event he had ever attended in our community was watching the election reruns in 2016. So let’s not do that. Instead, he suggested a community potluck, followed by a discussion about what each of us can do to help create the world we want to see. It was a lovely evening, connecting with neighbors. And yet, I worried about all the people watching the reruns alone, isolated as they pondered our future. 

Nevada City Cohousing neighbors enjoy a multi-generational conversation

Community should be a non-partisan issue, but you can not build community with lies and insults. I am glad to discuss policy all day long, so long as we can treat each other with respect. These are the skills we learn and practice in our cohousing neighborhoods: respect for different viewpoints and seeking to find a consensus that best serves the community as a whole. These are the skills our world needs now more than ever to address growing inequity and climate change. 

We must all find our ways to nurture ourselves, creating a community of support around ourselves to stay active in the struggle for a more just world. Adding compost to the garden yesterday to nourish the bulbs that will delight us in the spring nurtures me so I can get up each morning and try to do what I can to move the world in a more sustainable direction. 

By: Katie

Roots of Community Are Planted at Heartwood Commons, Tulsa

Congratulations to Suzy Sharp and our client Heartwood Commons in Tulsa, OK for their recent segment on local news station KOTV Channel 6! In it, Suzy shares first-hand details about life in cohousing, and the many ways the community is already fulfilling their goal of living in a supportive, sustainable neighborhood.

WATCH THE SEGMENT

One of their neighbors recently shared a touching story, and a beautiful example of the power of cohousing:

I felt so anxious about leaving the hospital today not knowing for sure if I could take care of myself. As I was walking down the sidewalk to my home, I was thinking how fortunate and grateful I am to be living in this special place. Different ones of you were still out from the workday finishing up, I guess. Gail* was at the opposite end of my sidewalk waving at me with this big smile on her face. I will never forget it. And Barb walks out just smiling. I get into my house, and there is Chris, putting together my shower chair. A true community, that’s what we are! It’s been hard, all the things we’ve had to work through and are still working through, but we are doing it together. And then there is my next-door neighbor Paul. I see why he is so good at his job. I’m on my front porch aggravated because my walker won’t do what I want it to and I can’t get the wheels to go the right way while I am sitting on it. He calmly sits on it and is moving it around and showing me how I can use the brakes to make it turn a certain way. And as we are chatting, we start talking about reading and that I don’t have a book to read now. So before he leaves I am checking out books from the library with this app on my phone.😊 I can just go on and on!

This place is great and it’s just going to get better and better I just know it! I am so thankful to be at Heartwood Commons Cohousing!

*Names have been changed for privacy

Heartwood Commons has just a few homes available - contact them today to learn more and schedule a tour.

A Seat for You at the Table

I only knew two people, and vaguely, when I moved to Portland in June of 2017. All of my family and lifelong friends stayed behind as I packed my bags to form into a new life 2,000 miles away. As that new norm finally started taking shape, the holidays approached and I was once again faced with a new reality: that I may spend the holidays alone. 

Fortunately, one of the two people I sort of knew became someone I know well, and I was immediately a “regular” at her and her partner’s family celebrations. I was spared the pain of spending the holidays alone, but that feeling had me wondering - what if people always had somewhere to go for the holidays?

In cohousing, they do. Many neighbors still host and attend family-only events, but there is nearly always a celebration (or celebrations) within the community. Neighbors never need to worry if they will have people to share special days with. Even beyond just the “big days” (like Christmas, 4th of July, etc.), neighbors find small ways to share in the festivities together, by baking cookies, carving pumpkins or trimming the tree. After all, connection is what the holidays are all about.

By: Andrea

Rare 4-Bedroom Home Available at Nevada City Cohousing!

“Arguably the best home in the development.”

But the best thing about THIS house is the welcoming community of Nevada City Cohousing, located in a quaint small town in the Northern California Sierra Foothills.

This 18-year old, multi-generational community includes a cozy common house with a playroom (with a kid climbing wall), yummy community meals (typically 4-5/week), guest rooms, and more. We also have a big community garden, workshop, pool and spa. You can walk to town or out on any of the numerous trails nearby. A truly fabulous place to raise kids with a wide range of schooling options in the area. Schedule a tour to learn more!

This gracious 4-bedroom corner home is full of light, positioned beside a swale of greenery, has a great sense of privacy and is also level and very close to parking for easy grocery carrying. Downstairs there is one bedroom and one bathroom in addition to the open floor plan that opens from the front porch to a small yard at the back. Upstairs, the hall at the top of the stairs opens onto a second bathroom, the in-unit laundry, 2 standard bedrooms and the master suite with its own bathroom. It’s a lovely and practical layout ~ 1,700 sf, a really special home base within the wonderful, warm and well-established Nevada City cohousing. Price: $610,000

Interested? Please contact Kate Meyers! Any and all questions are welcome. 510-367-1561, more photos at mathildasuniverse.com/redbud.

Nevada City Cohousing website: nccoho.org

Lush Corner Unit

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Supportive Community

NPR Covers Cohousing

Did you hear? Cohousing was featured on NPR's "All Things Considered"! The segment centers on a mom who struggled with loneliness - both during the pandemic and as a mother, and eventually found cohousing to be the remedy their family needed. You can hear the episode on npr.org.

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