The Co-Housing Life

Co-housing always sounded like a better way of living to me. I sometimes do worry about government enforcing cohousing on people and some Mao-ist communes coming into vogue. There are Christian websites that warn against communitarianism..

However a truly spontaneous group sounds great to me. This style of life appeals to me greatly. Modern American life especially for the elderly and disabled can be a very lonely place. If you have no family, also the isolation can be extreme. I fear for my unmarried disabled single friends as that can get even more isolating. Some may be able to get paid care-givers but a lot of life is spent very isolated.

Sadly for too many life becomes a series of acquaintances, that you see at various groups you may attend, or people you see out around your town. You are not really having people as part of your life, to be given to or to give to and serve. 

What bugs me about co-housing is it seems to be only something offered to the upper middle class and wealthier people. While I am sure some intentional communities would take healthy and young people with few assets who can dedicate their labors, when it comes to co-housing unless you have money, you aren't let in. It's something I wish was more open to other kind of people.

I believe these people are trying to reclaim what happened in neighborhoods 50 years ago. When people had families who were THERE and present in their lives and neighbors they actually KNEW and talked to. All the moving Americans have been forced to do, has ruined social ties and ruined community.

 Some people want lives with community in them. I have not been able to find community again in my life. That church I left here had none, it was basically a lecture society for the pastor.  I had community for a short time in my rural church in my old town and via an informal artists co-op and coffee shop. At both places we had shared meals. Here I have not been able to find that same world, and those communities I was in, in my old town ended.

I have talked to my husband about my desire to live in a co-housing community but now it seems poor people and especially disabled people are blocked out of them. It is still something where I look up the websites and dream about it.

 It was something I dreamed about but was not able to bring to fruition. My husband jokes about not being made to live with a 1,000 brother and sisters. I'm not sure he is into this style of life like me but he has admitted we are too socially isolated as well. He would definitely refuse to ever live in an intentional community, I don't want that either.  We need the privacy of our own dwelling space. I am too Aspie for a ton of roommates who share immediate living space with me. One has to be young and healthy too for most intentional communities.  Disabled people who can't do stairs, that's not happening.

Most co-housing places are limited to larger communities and more prevalent in some states then others. I know where the ones are in my state but two are in one wealthy large city area, and another is in another large city.

I would also need one where I would not be forced to adhere to a specific ideology. That is one issue, most of the co-housing intentional world is extremely leftist, not always Christian friendly though I am sure exceptions exist. There are Christian intentional communities, but there you have to be careful of cults, and some are of beliefs that differ from my own. People are social animals. While even being Aspie, I know a life full of more face to face relationships would be better for me, emotionally and physically. I believe more people are realizing something is wrong with modern American life and how socially disconnected it is and are trying to fix this. I still think about how could I fix this aspect of my life?

Senior Co-Housing 

Senior Co-housing book 

Co-housing Directory

Intentional Community Directory