Happy Halloween!
It has been quite a spooky month here in the CoHousing Solutions office!
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If your October has been as crazy as ours has, you're probably looking for some inspiration or a laugh to get you through your work week.
Well, good news, we have both of those for you!
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But first, let us tell you how crazy our October has been. . .
We are based in the Sierra Foothill town of Nevada City, where we have had four multi-day power shut offs this month (yes 4!!!)
, in an attempt to reduce fires from power lines. We are lucky that none of our homes have been threatened by fire, and we never had to evacuate as others farther north did. But having no power definitely makes it hard to get much work done, or even stay focused.
After her at-home generator broke down in outage #3, our marketing director, Riley, relocated to her family cabin which (somewhat ironically) had power and internet.
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Riley, trying to get some work done at the cabin
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Fortunately, Katie lives in Nevada City Cohousing, and was able to rely on her community for support. She was able to recharge her laptop and phone on the charging station that a neighbor set up from his solar panel, typically used for his phototelescope. Their common house dinners went on by candlelight.
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The solar charging station and candle-lit common dinner at Nevada City Cohousing
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We certainly didn’t expect climate change impacts to hit us so soon, in this way. It goes to show that none of us really know how it may impact us in the future.
But one thing is more clear than ever; when things get tough, it's great to live in a community like this!
The Nevada City Cohousing common house was a hub of activity as people exchanged information. Kids that were unexpectedly out of school had plenty of other kids to entertain themselves as their parents attempted to carry on and get some work done.
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Together, they kept their sense of humor about the whole mess. Although they have lots of solar panels, they are tied into the grid without battery back up. Moving forward, they will definitely be pulling on their neighborhood expertise (several who work in solar) to explore batteries, at least for the common house. Through these rough days, all the Nevada City Cohousing residents were glad to have a community to collaborate with.
< Kids at Nevada City Cohousing keeping busy during the power outage with pumpkin carving
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This got us thinking about how living in cohousing really affects us. So we reached out to a couple of different communities to see how their residents have been affected by community life.
Scroll down to read some of our favorite quotes, and charming example of how Nevada City Cohousing continues to spread the love
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Below are quotes from cohousing residents, about the affect cohousing has had on them:
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"In cohousing you must work with your neighbors to make decisions about the community, so you must learn how to be better and more effective in meetings. For me, that meant learning to be a better listener, and I learning how to better communicate in groups. Also, before coming to Wolf Creek Lodge I never cooked, I could hardly boil an egg. Now, I am on the cooking team and have been learning how to make my way around the kitchen."
-Bob Miller, Wolf Creek Lodge, Grass Valley, CA:
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"Cohousing softened me. It taught me how very multidimensional people are. The same person who irritated me to no end in committee meetings was the first to loan me a cat carrier, and open her home up to me. I learned to trust in the goodness and generosity of each person, even when I can't see it. And I learned that when I can't see it, says more about me than it says about anyone else."
-Karen Gimnig, Associate Director fo the National COhousing Association and resident of East Lake Commons in Atlanta, GA
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"At some point in our cohousing life together we will each have a '
dark night of the soul'. And in that space when we contemplate leaving or staying I son't think anyone will say 'I'm staying because we have geothermal heating ang cooling' or 'no way, I'm not giving up my Hardi Park siding!' People stay for the relationships, not for the wet blown cellulose insulation. No one comes to cohousing ebcause they want a house. That is, 4 walls, a roof, and a floor. If that's what you want you can get it easier on the market and you don't have to go to meetings."
-Ann Zabaldo, Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
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"Cohousing is the longest and most expensive personal growth workshop you will ever take...and you end up with a very nice house in an amazing nieghborhood."
-Zev Paiss, Nomad Cohousing, Boulder, CO
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The following are real messages sent out on Nevada City Cohousing’s email list with the ubiquitous subject line “ISO” which means
“in search of.”
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Notice how quickly people respond, and almost every requestor finds what they are looking in the community without ever having to get in their car.
There are always especially funny requests around Halloween!
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We hope this newsletter warmed your heart, made you giggle, or at least gave you a quick distraction from a hectic workday
-The CoHousing Solutions team, Katie and Riley
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P.S!
If you live in Northern California and are interested in cohousing, take a look at the following event:
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This
FREE event is a great opportunity to learn more about cohousing, see the recently designed Washington Commons plans, and meet the cohousing experts Katie McCamant and Joren Bass.
There will be no financial or verbal obligation to get involved with the Washington Commons community. Come enjoy a relaxing meal, ask your questions, and listen to the experts speak more about the growth of cohousing model.
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We provide
development consulting services to help you create your sustainable neighborhood
. Our team pioneered the development of cohousing in North America, and we have helped create dozens of successful communities.
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Our newest venture involves training passionate cohousing entrepreneurs through the year-long
500 Communities Program
.
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Architecture by McCamant & Durrett Architects
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CoHousing Solutions
(530) 478-1970
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