Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: marketing Aria Cohousing in Denver to families

[Nancy Csuti (nancycsuti]

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