Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Please add me to Seniors in Cohousing list

[Marina King (marinakingcarpenter]

Thank you for your thoughts, Sharon:
You have hit on some of my frustrations in your comments - we are an aging
community of 30 households. As I look ahead, I don't see how we will be
able to keep up with the landscape work, building maintenance and
administrative tasks that this community requires. We are not age 55+ by
bylaws, but simply because of who showed up to invest in our project. We
function well now, but tasks are large, and unless enough units turn over
in the coming years to provide an influx of younger residents with fresh
energy and ideas, I foresee increasing burnout and decreasing energy to
keep things humming along. I am interested in participating in
the Seniors in Cohousing conversation, to hear about how other communities
are approaching the aging challenge.
Thanks,
Marina

On Mon, Apr 20, 2026 at 9:47 AM Sharon Villines <sharon [at] sharonvillines.com>
wrote:

> > On Apr 20, 2026, at 12:01 PM, Marina King/US/WA/98118/SC via Cohousing-L
> <cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org> wrote:
> >
> > I live in cohousing now and am experiencing some frustration with our
> age 65+ community. I’d like to gain some insight on how an aging cohousing
> community can continue to function optimally.
>
> Could you say more about these frustrations?
>
> After 25 years as a founding member of a cohousing community, I moved to a
> top rated senior living community. I’m enjoying, to my surprise, living in
> a 55+ community, and I see some things that might benefit all cohousing
> communities. At 83 after many years of studying and participating in
> governance and self-management, I appreciate that there is a staff always
> available to offer services and respond to emergencies. And in a larger
> community there are more people — in fact there are several pages of the
> residents handbook that list the tasks and phone numbers of people have
> volunteered to do. My favorite is “will help open jars.” But there is also
> a team that will help people plan and conduct parties and celebrations. A
> great opportunity for people who love parties and don’t have enough
> opportunities in their own lives to entertain. The team promises that all
> parties end at 9:30. I have yet to receive an email from a neighbor here
> after 10:00. Life happens early but in a multigenerational community it
> didn’t extend more than an hour or so later.
>
> I like not having to depend on a personal relationship to ensure a
> response to needs. I don’t like asking for what are essentially favors on a
> regular basis. At 83, the favors needed are not necessarily big — help
> picking up a heavy box from the floor or changing a lightbulb — but much
> more frequent. I don’t know how senior communities are managing this.
>
> Sharon
> ----
> Sharon Villines
> Riderwood Village, Silver Spring MD
> Founding member and 25 year resident in Takoma Village, Washington DC
>
>