“Let’s Get Physical” (Remember the song?)
When we think of community and living IN community one of the first questions asked is? What will it look like?
Through my many years of looking for “my community” I researched, visited sites all over the country, hours on the web, books, seminars, probing, questioning and soul searching. Then there were some pretty stupid and costly “lessons” too. You might have to hear about those in person. I wish I had this book with all it’s wise checklists to guide me along the way back then.
Here is another part of the a checklist from The Sharing Solution by Janelle Orsi and Emily Doskow. You can get it for free at http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/sharing-book.html. Check out other resources like this one at https://www.womenlivingincommunity.com/resources/books/.
A morsel for you from their wonderful book:
The Space: Rate each of the following priorities by circling a number
(1 = least important; 5 = most important).
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | I would like to have my own unit. |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | I would prefer my own bathroom. |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | I would like to have a large kitchen. |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | I would like access to a yard. |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | I would like to be able to garden. |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | I would like on-site laundry facilities. |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | I would like on-site parking. |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | I would like a large storage space. |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | I would like other amenities, such as |
list (hot tub, garden _______________________________________
My personal journey includes ideas from past shared living experiences and my own knowledge of myself. For example, I have 2 indoor cats and I knew I needed my own kitchen and bathroom, and some really private space for us. It took me a few years to find, but now I have it. I left a 1400 square foot house I owned (or did it and the bank own me?) downsized and had a real reason to dispose of “stuff” I had been carting around for years.
Because I REALLY knew what I wanted. I started out with the physical.
Result: I now live in a BIG house with 4 others, my two cats are very happy, my own unit of 650 sq ft, with a bedroom, office and a bath is all ours. There is parking outside my window, storage, laundry facilities outside my door, and the amenities include a view of the mountains, a big yard in a upscale neighborhood in my fair city.
