Is Cohousing Right for You?
Find out by taking this questionnaire!
If you can answer "yes" to 8 or more of these questions, you are a great fit for cohousing and will enjoy planning and living in our Greek Village cohousing community.
1. Time Commitment: Do you like the idea of friendly, supportive neighbors, as well as being a supportive neighbor to others? We are an "intentional community," and this means we have deliberately chosen to share time together, collaborate to manage our community together, cook and eat and have fun together. In order to do all of this, you have to be ready to be a permanent resident or citizen of Greece and to be physically present for community. We are not a part-time, vacation, or second home community but someplace where deeper and more meaningful connections among neighbors means more your own time and physical presence. Are you motivated for community enough to be there to share time with others?
2. Financial Commitment: Are you comfortable with paying for a home price that includes an additional percentage for our shared, generous Common House? We will all have fully appointed private homes, but we also pay for a large and generous Common House we share as an extension of our homes. This Common House will include rooms such as a kitchen & dining area, library, children's playroom, work out room, workshop maker space, and guest rooms. You will need to budget for a home price that is slightly more expensive because it includes your share of the collectively owned Common House home as well.
3. Meals: Do you like the idea of cooking delicious Mediterranean food together and eating meals with your neighbors several times a week? One of the key characteristics of cohousing, and part of the glue that holds our community together, is shared cooking and meals several times a week. We plan to do this around 4 times a week. Would you be willing to be on a cook team a few times a month to help prepare or clean up from a community meal? If you are not a cook or cleaner, are you willing to put a little time each month into management tasks to help manage our community collaboratively?
4. Multigenerational: Do you like the idea of living with people of all different ages? Our mission is for a multigenerational cohousing community in Greece. This means that we must be willing to financial prioritize multigenerational needs: aging in place features, strong internet for remote workers, and wonderful safe spaces for children and teens. Are you willing to invest in community spaces to ensure our multigenerational community thrives?
5. Balance of Privacy and Community: Do you see yourself as someone who likes privacy but feels the need for easy access to connections, collaboration, and fun? We are the best of both worlds. We create and honor private homes and small backyard spaces, but we focus mostly on specific design for easy access to neighbors and activities right outside our front door.
6. Design for Children and Connection: Are you willing to do without a garage attached to your house? Our cars are on the periphery, and we enter our community on pedestrian pathways so that our children can play freely and safely and so that we have moments of simple connection as we go about our day.
7. Outdoor Living: Would you enjoy common outdoor gardens, outdoor cooking, and outdoor activities? We love to spend a lot of time outdoors. Our land is held in common. We are very committed to water conservation and may include permaculture in our landscape design. We are interested in gardens and a farm to table culture. We plan to spend lots of time outdoors having fun.
8. Community Management: Do you regard yourself as a problem solver and enjoy contributing to group solutions? We manage our community together and have routine meetings to ensure our community is running smoothly. We also engage in routine continuing education on conflict resolution and other cohousing skills. We recognize people come to our community with private and busy lives, but our community requires a few hours of work a month to keep it healthy and happy.
9. Strong Value for Sustainable Living: Do you like the look of thoughtfully designed living spaces built with the latest sustainable materials? We are serious about incorporating sustainable living design into our community when affordable. We are very interested in green building, in permaculture, and in living sustainably.
10. Do you want to consume less “stuff” and reduce waste through sharing and cooperation in daily life? We are part of the sharing economy for sustainable living, and we invest our money and time in order to realize these goals.