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title: """Where we live, privately owned homes are connected by walkways and…"
date: 2019-10-20
source: facebook
type: Archer T. Ships shared a link.
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# ""Where we live, privately owned homes are connected by walkways and…

*October 20, 2019 · Facebook*

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[https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2019/10/09/cohousing-community-living-ben-brock-johnson](https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2019/10/09/cohousing-community-living-ben-brock-johnson){target="_blank"}
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\"\"Where we live, privately owned homes are connected by walkways and parking is on the outside of our larger property. A common house holds a gym, sauna, library, bike room, mail room, guest rooms, a professional-grade kitchen, and a dining room that can host all 85 residents for large community meals cooked twice a week by community members. We cook about 120 meals a year, but attendance isn't required.\
As a new parent, I benefit enormously. The gaggle of children that run the property help watch my 2 year olds. It's difficult to overstate just how important this is for my wife and me as full-time working parents. Sometimes, when we're exhausted at the end of the day, we hear a knock at the door --- on the other side is the friendly face of a kid who wants to hang out with our toddlers. Part of cohousing's origin story is the idea that "Every Child Should Have 100 Parents" --- and it's true. I can't imagine doing it any other way. My wife and I also have more free time and more potential friends than we would otherwise.\
When I was a kid, I thought my parents' ideas about community were a little weird. But now I realize what's weird is being conditioned by society to not know your neighbors at all.\"\
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[https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2019/10/09/cohousing-community-living-ben-brock-johnson](https://www.wbur.org/cognoscenti/2019/10/09/cohousing-community-living-ben-brock-johnson){target="_blank"}
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