Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Experience Cohousing

[Bruce Koller (bkoller]

Seeing the message about the unit at Winslow got me thinking about 
visiting a cohousing community this summer.  My family has had very good 
luck doing home exchanges to Europe several times.  A home exchange is a 
great way to have an affordable vacation and live like a native instead 
of a tourist.  You exchange homes and (if you wish) cars with the other 
person or family.  There are several clubs devoted to home exchange 
vacations.  These groups publish listings of various people worldwide who 
want to exchange homes.  Individuals are free to contact each other and 
make their own arrangements (something that should make rugged 
individualists like Buzz happy :^}).

Anyway, we don't live in cohousing yet but would love to do a home 
exchange with someone in a 
cohousing community this summer.  We could exchange anytime between June 
1 and August 15, for a week or more (I'm a teacher and am off during 
the summer).  Our family consists of 2 adults and two children, ages 5 
and 2.  We have a 3-bedroom, 1-bath, 1-cat house in Pleasant Hill, 
California, about 30 miles east of San Francisco.  (Yes, it really is quite 
pleasant, although we're not near any hills.)  We are close to the Bay 
Area Rapid Transit (BART) system but a car is useful here in the suburbs 
and we would be willing to include our Ford Escort station wagon (seats a 
maximum of 4) if you like.

You can reply directly to me via my address on the net or by calling (510) 
685-5953 (Pacific Standard Time - or is it Daylight Savings Time?).

I think this would be a great way for cohousers to visit each others' 
communities and "see how the other half lives."

Bruce Koller
bkoller [at] viking.dvc.edu