Author Archives: CJ

About CJ

I was a Spanish teacher for 5 years in the Public School system in 3 different states. I homeschooled and taught at a democratic free school. I heard about cohousing in 2010 and wanted to move in right away. I met a group building one in 2018 and got to move in the summer of 2019. It only took a year to want out.

No real commitments to social bonding

Posted on October 17, 2022 by CJ

I found this blog post on someone’s experience in cohousing. Perfect timing. We are having huge health issues in our household and I wonder what it would’ve been like at cohousing. Now I have more verification that leaving was the … Continue reading →

Posted in autism and (dis)abilities, marketing in cohousing, moving in and out of cohousing, other blogs and websites, selling house, Uncategorized | 16 Comments

Netflix’s The Watcher review

Posted on October 16, 2022 by CJ

I just binge watched Netflix’s The Watcher.  I was hooked the minute I saw the trailer – and it has Olivia Newton John’s song in it!  Very creepy trailer.  I posted the true story article a few weeks ago.  I … Continue reading →

Posted in movies about neighbors or community, selling house, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Book Review – Escaping Utopia and similarities to cohousing

Posted on October 7, 2022 by CJ

ESCAPING UTOPIA: Growing up in a cult, getting out, and starting over. The book is based on cult/toxic group research and contains many Interviews of cult survivors who were brought into the cult as children (or born in). The first … Continue reading →

Posted in bad behavior and bullies of any age, group think and cults, psychopathy, narcissicism, and personality disorders in cohousing, Uncategorized | 9 Comments

Lucky if get cohousing built at all

Posted on October 2, 2022 by CJ

Another article of a cohousing group losing money developing the project (which is fully disclosed) and unable to build. I knew I was lucky to just buy a house built by a developer (since I didn’t have the money to … Continue reading →

Posted in other blogs and websites, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

viral cohousing collapses

Posted on October 1, 2022 by CJ

First off, they were never cohousing to begin with. The Cohousing Association is meant to be a bunch of privately owned houses with shared common spaces. That said, this group of divorced mothers bought and shared a house – which … Continue reading →

Posted in other blogs and websites, Uncategorized | 2 Comments

The Truth is Out There

Posted on September 25, 2022 by CJ

I am so happy. There is now a book out there that shows exactly what it is like to live in cohousing.  Diane Rothbard Margolis published We Built a Village: Cohouising and the Commons.  She lays it all out there … Continue reading →

Posted in control and decision making in cohousing, other blogs and websites, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Watch your neighbors watching you

Posted on September 25, 2022 by CJ

A creepy new show is going to start on Netflix soon. It is based on true story. Here it is. So many scary details, mostly how neighbors turn on neighbors. https://www.thecut.com/article/the-haunting-of-657-boulevard-in-westfield-new-jersey.html

Posted in movies about neighbors or community, other blogs and websites, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Why is it so hard to be the new hire? or newest person?

Posted on September 24, 2022 by CJ

Getting a new job is exciting. Moving into a cohousing is exhilarating. But being new at anything is so challenging. It’s hard for the “old ones” to onboard newcomers and explain every in and out of the culture. I already … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized, work and cohousing | Leave a comment

Podcast with founding mother of USA cohousing

Posted on September 19, 2022 by CJ

You can hear the founding mother of cohousing in United States on the Transforming cities podcast On youtube: I found it on spotify below: Episode 49 It is interesting to hear her background and how she became an architect and … Continue reading →

Posted in moving in and out of cohousing, other blogs and websites | Leave a comment

Not just the facts, m’am

Posted on September 14, 2022 by CJ

My son has autism so sometimes he feels like someone has broken a rule. That also leads him to look to report the rule breaker. The other night, he called the police.  The police came and were very kind to … Continue reading →

Posted in autism and (dis)abilities, group think and cults, psychopathy, narcissicism, and personality disorders in cohousing, Uncategorized | 2 Comments