(new here) looking for roommates to start what many call an "intentional community" ...READ ON!

[Jennifer Shares]

Hi Everyone,

I just moved to NYC 2 days ago. I was living in Ecuador 1.5 years prior to that and 5 years in Dorchester, MA (where I lived to what I will describe below).

I am looking for others to seek an apt together in a low-income neighborhood. I work with youth with barriers to opportunities and believe that social justice should not be what I work but also what I live. Now, I don't want to mislead you. I have not facilitated neighborhood protests or anything of the like, but I would certainly not be opposed to it! What that has boiled down to is most simply, being a good neighbor. Having the door open to our neighbors for dinners and chatting. Allowing for children in the building/block to feel free swing by, etc. I would love to expand that to hosting community events, and really being a part of fostering community in my community. Above all, it means living in a neighborhood that is not hip, trendy, wealthy and sometimes not deemed "safe". (Please note that I am not opposed to those living in those neighborhoods. It just isn't what I am looking for myself.)

I would like to live with 3+ others (the more the merrier!) and also have an intention towards our own living situation. That is, cooking meals together when possible, sharing finances on some level (not labeling every item in the kitchen with post-its) and actually supporting one another in the pursuit of our own dreams and futures. Ideally, this home would be without a tv (so the center of our activity is not tv-based but community-based).

Please let me know if this is something that piques your interest at all! It probably sounds a bit rigid my description, but it's really not. It's really just about sharing space and energy with each other, and allowing that shared community to expand beyond our apartment door.

Hope to hear from you!

[Haley Cohen]

Hi Jennifer,

I previously lived in co-operative housing in college and recently visited my friend's co-op in Chicago. I have lived in Brooklyn for almost 3 years and I have come to love my current neighborhood.  The co-op I lived in in college consisted of 18 people with private rooms (3 shared bathrooms), 1 large shared kitchen, dining room, and living room.  We had weekly house chores and a vegetarian meal plan. Only 2 people were actually vegetarians, but when we cooked house dinners, we cooked vegetarian. 2-3 people had cookgroup together one day a week, so you only had to cook one night/week for the whole house.  I would love to live within a large co-op community again.  Have you heard of NASCO? I would be interested in meeting you and looking for a house in my current neighborhood, which is primarily Mexican/Asian near the 36th street subway station in Brooklyn.