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Frequently Asked Questions
What is cohousing, and what is Cascadia?
Cohousing to us means community: child-friendly, elder-friendly, sociable living; cooperative interaction; a chance to make long-term personal connections with neighbors who share many of our values. In many ways we’re like an extended family more than a neighborhood.
Keep track of any questions or concerns, and when you are ready, talk to us about them.
We appreciate your time and energy in carefully considering us!
Recommended reading:
McCamant, Kathryn and Charles Durrett, Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves, 1998, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley, CA.
www.cohousing.org
This website contains many current resources, including recent articles in print media and many related websites.
How can I tell if cohousing is a good choice for me?
You wish to feel connected to the people around you, and you are willing to give up some autonomy for a higher degree of interconnection. You also possess resilience and flexibility. You have researched and read a book about cohousing, and have a basic understanding of what it’s all about.
How much socializing is there?
It depends on how much you want. In general, participation-optional common meals happen twice a week, and there is some sort of organized event at the Common House once or twice a month. There are frequent impromptu trips to nearby restaurants, games in the Common House Living Room and movies in the Rec Room. In the summer, there are frequent gatherings on the lawn or around the grill in the evenings and on weekends. If there is nothing happening and you wish there was, just hanging out with a book in the Common House Living Room may cause something to develop. Hanging out on your front porch or in one of the outdoor plazas often works, too. Most of us assume that people leave their homes when they want community and retreat into them when they do not.
Since a lot of the socializing is spontaneous, how much of it you experience will depend in part on how much you are around, on how tightly you schedule your time, or whether you have unusual work hours. If you are gone a lot or find it difficult to respond to spur-of-the-moment invitations, you won’t experience as much of what Cascadia has to offer as you would if you like to hang out a lot.
How much time does it take?
It varies, of course, but a desirable level of involvement would be as follows:
- Attend Home Owner’s Association (HOA) meetings (1-2 times per month, 2-3 hours each)
- Participate in Work Parties (once a month for 3 hours)
- Serve on a committee or two (3-8 hours per month) or commit to some on-going task, such as cleaning the Common House
- Join the Meal Plan (roughly 2 work shifts per month, about 2 hours each)
This works out to 15-20 hours per month, which might sound intimidating as a lump sum, but actually you would be doing many of the tasks in a single family home. Some residents do considerably more than this. Some do less. We try to accommodate special needs and circumstances; communicating about your needs ahead of time fosters good will. Not participating at all hurts everyone.
Note that the above estimate includes work-type activities only. To enjoy living here, you have to have fun, too! Think about the ratio of socializing-to-work that you need in order to feel good, and figure that in when you estimate the time commitment that living at Cascadia might mean for you.
It seems like a good fit, but how can I be sure?
To some extent it’s impossible to know for sure until you’ve lived here a while. But doing the following will really help you get a sense before you decide to buy a home here:
- Be here and participate. Spend some time with us. Spend a lot of time with us. Spend time doing diverse things with us, such as meetings, meals, work parties, and socializing.
- Ask questions. Listen as well as share. Ask pointed questions, of more than one person. Know that no single answer represents the whole community, and if the question is an important one for you, ask more than one person about it. Sometimes the question to ask is, “Who knows or cares a lot about this subject?” and then talk to them.
Despite myriad experiences with community living and intentional communities, none of us was sure that Cascadia would be right for us. But we were willing to risk it, and we’ve made it home. We will welcome you if you decide to join us on this adventure.