Testimonials: Why we love living at Casa Verde

"Living in cohousing has been great for me and my kids. As a single mom, I frequently need a helping hand. My neighbors have come through for me so many times. They've picked up my sick kids from school when I couldn't do it, watched them when I had to be somewhere, and taken them to cultural events. I love being able to run over to a neighbor's house for coffee, and having impromptu gatherings on the Common House patio, with neighbors flowing in and out for drinks and conversation.

"I also love the multigenerational nature of the community. My children can be found working with one of the neighbors in the garden, helping with cleanup after a community dinner, or just running around the neighborhood with all the other children, and our annual on-site campout is one of the highlights of the year. I don't have to worry about cars since the neighborhood is designed in a way that does not permit cars into the center of the community. This lifestyle really works for us." —Mary Lynne

"I have been living in co-housing for close to six years. I know who my neighbors are. We agree to resolve conflicts when they appear. We watch out for each other's homes, and children. I find that out of all the qualities to co-housing, the good things far outweigh any negative ones." —G. P.

"When I first heard about co-housing I thought it would be the perfect place to raise children. Years later—we actually have children, we live in co-housing and my expectations have been absolutely realized. My children know all our neighbors, they have instant playmates and they learn to interact with a variety of people. They have great open spaces and paths to play on—away from streets. We even have a playground on site.

"We recently discovered other benefits of co-housing when my husband had major surgery. Our neighbors rallied around us and created a support network, providing meals for us, running errands and helping with the kids. It was a miracle to be so taken care of during a very challenging time.

"My husband and I talk about co-housing moments which epitomize the co-housing experience. Sitting on the wall of the Common House after a community dinner and watching the kids play on the lawn. Watching the tents go up for the annual campout. Exchanging hellos with a neighbor on the way to the mailbox and then stopping to talk with another and then another on the way back home. Little moments that make us smile and feel grateful that we live here." —Linda

"This is one of the reasons I came to Casa Verde, to see the children of many ages playing together. What fun it was to come home from the store and see this group." —Marjorie

"My daughter recently gave birth to my first grandchild a month early. After an early morning call from Portland, Oregon, I knew I needed to get on a plane and get there! A call to a very busy 'younger' friend brought me the immediate help I needed to get my condo in order for tenants who were renting my place for the time I had planned to be away. She completely took over, putting out a call to anyone else in the community to help. Before I knew it, children AND adults were there cleaning, organizing, etc., etc., and I was on a plane within hours. My ride to the airport was, of course, my neighbor across the way.

"It's evening. I'm wondering what I'll do for dinner. My phone rings and it's a call to go have dinner with a family with four kids. I am greeted and accepted as a combination of friend, and perhaps semi-grandmother status. What could have been a lone dinnner in a single family home of a typical neighborhood, became an easy, warm, loving evening where my walk back to my condo felt safe and friendly as I passed other neighbors on their porches or walking to the Common House for various reasons.

"Another evening.... my phone rings and it's a single mother of two kids. She invites me, spur of the moment, to share dinner with them. And, sometimes, it is literally sharing dinner, blending what we each have to make something yummy. I get a sweet hug from her beautiful daughter, and her twelve-year old son comments that I'm 'like family'. So wonderful for me....

I LOVE that I can always have the privacy of my own condo when I just feel like being quiet, and alone. And, I LOVE that just as easily I can always have company whenever I feel the need without the time and effort it would take to call and set something up if I were living in a house on a block in the neighborhood.

"Sometimes I feel like I'm living in Mr. Roger's neighborhood!!" —Sunny