Cohousing-L Mailing List: Attracting younger families

[Fred-List manager (fholson]

Meg Lessard <m.k.lessard [at] gmail.com>
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Fred, the Cohousing-L list manager <fholson [at] cohousing.org>
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As a younger family just about the move into Richmond Cohousing (Richmond,
VA - should be getting our Certificate of Occupancy by the end of the
month!) wanted to chime in with my two cents -

Our group found some success with recruiting households before they have
kids, including ours. Pre-kids we were able to form strong relationships,
dive in with energy and time, and establish the routine of meeting
schedules. Post-kid, we were able to carry that momentum forward as we had
already established a foundation (and both our family and the group had
9-months to plan for changes in child care and energy levels). I'm hopeful
that as our kid is still young, it might be a bit easier to adapt - we are
not leaving a school district, we are still establishing norms as a family
for independent play, we will start in a smaller unit rather than trying to
downsize down the road.

Both Richmond Cohousing households with kids were not recruited through any
specific targeting to our age-group - just found through our standard
promotional places (Facebook and MeetUp). However, the commitment and
comments around kid spaces were very important. Both families joined before
kids, but kids were very much on the upcoming radar.  Agree with Sharon, it
was very important that the group never wavered in its commitment for
kid-friendly spaces, even as the number of kids in our community ebbed and
flowed as members joined (or unfortunately had to move in the 8 years it
has taken us to get to this point).

So nothing too earth shattering there but wanted to share as I know our son
is looking for more playmates to join our community, too :)

We're moving in May/June (less than a month!) and have 3 units still
available for purchase - and these may be offered as rentals if not bought.
Happy to chat if anyone is interested in learning more.

Meg
Richmond Cohousing (Richmond, VA)
www.richmondcohousing.com