Cohousing-L Mailing List: East Bay Cohousing new clubhouse open house and 2009 opportunities this Sat. (Berkeley, CA)

[Raines Cohen (rc3-coho-L]

Cohousers of America: Welcome to 2009! It's a new year, full of new
opportunities for finding or creating *your* dream community, and EBCOHO is
here to help, especially for those in the urban (San Francisco Bay Area)
East Bay: Berkeley, Oakland, Emeryville, Richmond, El Cerrito, Albany, and
the like.

http://www.ebcoho.org/

East Bay Cohousing is celebrating and fostering conversations by welcoming
you to our new *clubhouse*, a shared space in downtown Berkeley made
possible through the work of Cohousing Coaches<http://www.CohousingCoach.com/>
 *Raines Cohen* and *Betsy Morris *(*Planning for Sustainable Communities*).

http://www.CohousingCoach.com/

The East Bay Cohousing Clubhouse, open for special events and by
appointment, is just 2 blocks from Downtown Berkeley subway, right by the
foot of the year-round Saturday farmer's market. It's got a large meeting
space and patio, is wheelchair accessible with multiple restrooms and a
small kitchen, and features plenty of tools for learning about housing
development, finance, professional partners, cohousing, *Aging In Community*,
and for working together to create new communities.

We've taken the bold step of renting this shared space because we believe,
from all the evidence around us, that this year will feature more growth of
cohousing in the East Bay than ever before:

   - * Developers approaching us about cohousing opportunities, including on
   suitable sites already approved for development.
   - * Realtors working to find groups for potential sites
   - * Openings in existing communities
   - * Longtime EBCOHO members coming to us, ready for action
   - * New members and interested cohousing seekers
   - * A growing boomer population exploring "Aging In Community"
   - * Dynamic partnerships with allied organizations with similar goals
   - * A new season of cohousing tours in development
   - * A national conference in our region (in June in Seattle), with
   opportunities to carpool, room-share, and otherwise collaborate


To support this, we are going to need more people getting more help and
coaching and meeting more often and making more connections... which will
require the participation in and contribution by the people who want to take
advantage of these opportunities... perhaps including *you*!

Please RSVP using the link below and come join us this Saturday afternoon
(1-3 PM) at our new East Bay Cohousing Clubhouse to see the place (perhaps
combined with a farmer's market visit), and offer your input on our new
membership structure and events plan; be one of the first to join and we'll
have something special for you.
If you can't make it this Saturday, fear not... we'll be hosting an Elders'
Guild meeting on Sunday, and doing an event next Saturday, and then more
regular gatherings of many different kinds, starting in late January. Go
ahead and join the East Bay Cohousing MeetUp group list and RSVP "No" to
have the chance to answer some simple questions and get on the
"active/interested/serious" list that we will focus on as we move forward.
http://www.ebcoho.org/