Cohousing is marketed as a utopia. You won’t have to hire a babysitter because your neighbors will do it.  Not true. I know a family who just moved out so they could get a bigger home for their mom to move in and babysit.  

You won’t have to pay a pet sitter because the neighbors will do it. That is pretty much true. I had two different neighbors help feed the cats and walk the dog.  However, one time I asked the new neighbor’s teens to do it and they charged me!!! Did they not get the memo?  And then they did a horrible job.

Same with recycling. These teens were super into the environment and I said I had lots of books (some they had given me to see if I could use at the school where I taught). Since I was moving in a hurry to get out of a toxic cloud over the community, I asked if they’d bring it to the recycling which they had offered in an email to the community. Again, I was shocked they charged me. But I was leaving and could care less.

So, some things may happen in cohousing – pet sitters. Some may not – babysitting. Each place is different. Each person is different. Don’t believe all the hype. Watch, listen, and wait!