Re: marketing Aria Cohousing in Denver to families
From: Alice Alexander (alicecohousgmail.com)
Date: Sat, 1 Oct 2016 05:20:03 -0700 (PDT)
Beverly, given that most cohousing in this country is multi-generational, I
can assure you that there is no anti-senior sentiment in cohousing. Our
recent conference last May on Aging Better Together focused as much on
senior-friendly intergenerational communities as senior-focused communities.
I applaud your desire to live intergenerationally. I also applaud others
who choose to live in adult-focused communities.
Alice Alexander, Coho/US Executive Director

On Fri, Sep 30, 2016 at 9:12 AM, Nancy Csuti <nancycsuti [at] gmail.com> wrote:

>
> Beverly, I am curious about the point number 5 below. I am almost a senior
> (just turned 60) and really want to live in Cohousing and have been looking
> for the past ten years - even since I was exposed to them visiting friends
> & family in the Netherlands. I am in Denver so looked at Aria, but prefer
> something with direct access to the outdoors (the townhouse style which
> have been sold out), rather than the Stacked units which are what's
> available now. BUT, the whole reason I have been looking for cohousing for
> a decade now is the multi generational factor. I love kids and want to
> interact with them regularly. The big reason I haven't retired yet nor plan
> to is because I love being with millennials all day long. I want to live
> surrounded by families with young children where I can be exposed to the
> creative ideas children have. Your #5 seems to imply that seniors would
> prefer to live among other seniors (which seems unnatural and really
> unhealthy as well). I feel a bit concerned there is a bit of an anti-senior
> sentiment in cohousing. I visited one in the Seattle area and heard that
> sentiment expressed. What attracted me to cohousing in Holland was the
> multigenerational aspect. it was one of the most positive things about it.
> Sounds like you have had a pretty negative experience with seniors - maybe
> complaining about children? I wonder if you could provide a bit of insight
> into the experiences you've had. Suggesting to seniors they may want to
> live among their own age is like suggesting a typical retirement community.
> I'd find that insulting, as if somehow I didn't know what children are
> like. But it does sound like you re speaking from experience. I'd love to
> know more. I've accepted I may not find a cohousing in an urban area of the
> USA that actually values the mixed age population, but I am still unsure
> why. Any insights you could provide would be valuable to me.
> Thanks,
> Nancy
>
> On Thu, Sep 29, 2016 at 3:39 PM, Beverly Jones Redekop <
> beverly.jones.redekop [at] gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >
> > Some thoughts...
> >
> > 1.  Keep it affordable (maybe -- some families are not affected by this
> > need, some are).
> >
> > 2.  When you find yourself leaning towards units with two big bedrooms,
> > consider configuring the space for three smaller bedrooms instead.
> >
> > 3.  AVOID STACKED FLATS AT ALL COSTS!  Our ugliest conflicts have been
> the
> > result of larger units (1440 s.f. with three bedrooms) stacked above
> > smaller units (1000 s.f. two bedrooms).  Families live above
> empty-nesters,
> > and our side-to-side soundproofing works great, but the above & below
> > doesn't work much at all.  Noise leads to short tempers and nasty
> > comments.  It would have been so much better to have these units side by
> > side as stacked personal homes (the 1000 s.f. as 500 down and 500 up; the
> > 1440 as 720 down and 720 up).  If you must have a few 1000 s.f. units all
> > on one level for accessibility, put a unit that is severely skewed
> towards
> > child-free households above, such as a tiny studio or one bedroom...or
> > common house storage or something.  You will be tempted to stack units to
> > save money, but it is the worst possible disaster you could ever inflict
> > upon yourselves....and aren't personal interior staircases cheaper than
> > public exterior staircases anyhow?
> >
> > 4. Share glimpses of positive intergenerational relationships via social
> > media.  (Even just posting your community dinner menu on Facebook gives a
> > glimpse of a miracle to a busy parent who is tired of cooking dinner
> every
> > single day.)
> >
> > 5.  Ask your seniors and empty-nesters why they want intergenerational
> > cohousing.  Remind them about mess and noise and non-intentional
> neighbours
> > (the parents choose to live in cohousing but the kids don't make a
> > choice).  Have them record  their reasons for wanting intergenerational
> > cohousing when it would be just as easy to build seniors cohousing.
> Share
> > this document on your website for families to see!
> >
> > 6.  Parking on the perimeter is excellent, but include private gear
> garages
> > at each home so that people's "stuff" (bikes, kayaks, scooters,
> strollers,
> > carriages, garden tools, etc...) doesn't get strewn about. Strollers are
> > expensive and they get ruined when left outside on a porch.
> >
> > On Thu, 29 Sep 2016 at 05:33 Alice Alexander <alicecohous [at] gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > >
> > > Susan, good for you to be joining Aria Cohousing! Attracting families
> > was a
> > > focus of one of the sessions at the Aging Better Together conference
> > (which
> > > I believe you attended), led by Katie McCamant, which, to cut to the
> > chase,
> > > advised that in all your marketing and communications, keep families in
> > > mind. This includes providing child care so parents can come to
> meetings,
> > > having events that cater to kids, marketing with pictures of families,
> > > being present like tabling at community events that would attract
> > families.
> > >
> > > The Cohousing Association in our 2017 strategic plan is creating a new
> > > initiative "Young Families in Cohousing" which will focus on
> encouraging
> > > families to live in cohousing, and also supporting intergenerational
> > > communities in attracting families. So your query is right on schedule
> > and
> > > I hope we can both learn from successful practices that may be posted
> > here!
> > > Alice Alexander, Coho/US Executive Director
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > On Thu, Sep 29, 2016 at 12:45 AM, Susan <susan.mx [at] gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > >
> > > > After reading this list serve for years and dreaming of living in a
> > > > cohousing community for even longer, I will be moving from Oakland to
> > > > Denver in the late spring to join Aria Cohousing. I am looking for
> > > > suggestions for reaching out now to families with young children so
> > that
> > > we
> > > > can be the multi-generational community we want to be. Any
> suggestions
> > > > specifically for the Denver area or generally for networking with
> > > families
> > > > would be greatly appreciated.
> > > > Thanks,
> > > > Susan Green
> > > > _________________________________________________________________
> > > > Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at:
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> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Alice Alexander
> > > Executive Director
> > > http://www.cohousing.org
> > > [image: The Cohousing Association]
> > > _________________________________________________________________
> > > Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at:
> > > http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L/
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > _________________________________________________________________
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> >
> >
> >
> _________________________________________________________________
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>
>


-- 
Alice Alexander
Executive Director
http://www.cohousing.org
[image: The Cohousing Association]

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