Why I Chose Cohousing
Someone recently asked me to tell them the story of how Gainesville Cohousing got started. It’s a story I’ve told many times. I talk about the group that existed before our current community came together. How my husband and I invited the members from the previous group over to our house, we fed them, and then we made a couple of important decisions as a group and that was the very first meeting of the founders of Gainesville Cohousing. I realized in telling the story that I rarely mention one of the reasons that really motivated me to say to my husband, “let’s try cohousing again.”
We knew that we wanted to have a family one day, so I started researching what it’s like for children growing up in cohousing. I discovered that children growing up in cohousing develop great interpersonal, decision-making, and conflict-resolution skills. In addition, children in cohousing were able to learn from many adult role models on a daily basis and throughout their lives. They were able to rely on a variety of people for help, not just their parents and teachers. As children grew, they started their own committees and projects and at times, could even help the adults with resolving their conflict.
As our group gathered more members, the vision of a diverse community of people with a variety of backgrounds and life experiences came into focus. Every single member brings something unique to our community and my excitement grew thinking about the opportunity to raise my future children here.
If you are a young family and have always dreamed of living in cohousing and with a supportive, network of neighbors – then now is your chance! We have 1 lot left! We would love to meet you and your family and have you meet us – please contact us at gainesvillecohousing@gmail.com or 727-692-2735.
