Cohousing is gaining in popularity
The ongoing pandemic is causing many to reevaluate what is truly important to live a fulfilled life. Often, family, friends, and being part of a community are at the top of the list.
Cohousing is an arrangement in which many people live together in a community, with small homes for each person or family and larger areas that are shared by all.
People who live in cohousing arrangements can save money, share chores, enjoy group activities, and form lasting friendships. One of the main benefits of cohousing is the economical advantage of sharing resources with other community members.
Sharing tasks and chores like cooking, providing childcare, and driving, can offer savings in both time and money.
Cohousing offers a chance to know your neighbors as friends, enjoying each other’s company in good times and helping each other with challenges like a job loss or a new baby. Having this kind of strong support network makes it easier to get through troubled times and live a happier, healthier life.
People are leaving big cities in large numbers
We asked some of our future residents why they are choosing to leave New York City. This is what they told us:
Dee lived in Manhattan prior to joining Rocky Corner and says she was convinced she would never leave NYC, but the decision to move out of the city was not as difficult as she expected. Once the decision was made, she felt a huge sense of relief. “It just felt so right! The timing was perfect and finding my “tribe” is what really sealed the deal.” The braveness she sa
w in the pioneers that started Rocky Corner was contagious, and she thought “here is a group of people that found a way to do what seemed so far out, when I had only been thinking about it. And they even recycle rocks – my kind of folks.”
Earlier in life, Dee spent many years living overseas and says “that’s kind of how the move to Rocky Corner Cohousing feels – a big, exotic adventure, moving from the city that never sleeps to sleepy Rocky Corner!” She adds, “It is also an amazingly apt name for this rural town of horses, farm stands, our own organic farm and rocks everywhere. Big rocks, little rocks, smooth rocks, sharp rocks, painted rocks (thanks to one of our teenage members, Alexis!). Our own crushed rocks that are excavated from underneath the homes & gardens cover our pathways! No waste here – we don’t just compost & recycle, we even repurpose our rocks.”
Elvy and Ed raised two children in Park Slope, Brooklyn and now enjoy spending time with their grandchildren. Brooklyn, and especially the Park Slope neighborhood, have been great for them when they were a young family. But Elvy and Ed are yearning for a place that is a bit more quiet and has the option of engaging in outdoor activities without having to drive a hundred or more miles to get there. Both like hiking, working with farm animals, and gardening. Ed is also an avid Yoga practitioner and looks forward to doing sun and moon salutatio
ns in our large outdoor area.
Although New York City offers a lot of passive entertainment, Elvy says she is more of a doer than a spectator, and after retiring from her job she has less of a reason to be in the city. She is constantly looking for new hands-on-projects and is certain there will be no shortage of those at Rocky Corner and the communal effort will make it more fun – especially in the artist studio and workshop in our Common House.
They are convinced that living close to the land and learning a new way of life will absorb their mental and physical energies and say this is exactly what they need!
Leslie moved back to NYC after living in Southern CA for 26 years. Though she visited at least 2 to 3 times each year during that time, she remembered NY differently than what she came back to. She says “It is much noisier and more crowded than I remembered. Though initially I was excited to experience all the fun things NYC offers, after a while it became prohibitively expensive to live in the city. Of course, I am also retired and much older now, and my tolerance level for city life has diminished but I needed to live in NYC some time before I could truly verbalize my frustrations.”
She yearned for a more quiet and peaceful environment and since her brother has been living in southern CT for twenty years, she is already familiar with the CT experience. When she discovered Rocky Corner Cohousing, she was immediately drawn to everything about it and, after multiple inquiries and visits, she decided to move forward and purchase one of the homes in the community.
Leslie adds: “I haven’t looked back since and I am so excited about my soon to happen move to Rocky Corner and highly, highly recommend it to anyone ready to experience all that the Rocky Corner Cohousing community has to offer.”
Lori moved to NYC in her mid-20s and fell in love with the Big Apple immediately. She says, “I felt at home here and always loved the diversity of the city. I am also a long-time member of the Park Slope Food Coop and could not imagine living without the Coop.”
But as she observes the recent changes in NYC, with neighborhoods being gentrified and the city becoming a place that only the super-wealthy can afford, she is becoming less enthusiastic. “This is not the kind of place I want to live in, and it breaks my heart to see the ever increasing numbers of homeless individuals and families.”
The fast-changing climate caused Lori to think seriously about joining a cohousing community where she can have her own garden and also benefit from the communal garden. She looks forward to living in a divers, multi-generational community that offers a balance between independence and interdependence. In Rocky Corner, she found like-minded individuals and families that are devoted to preserving, protecting, nurturing and regenerating the natural environment. In the not too distant future, we may even set up our own food coop at Rocky Corner, but until we do, there is always the Park Slope Food Coop only a short distance away.
“Of course, the current pandemic makes it even clearer that we all need a supportive and safe community. I work in Manhattan and am so excited that Rocky Corner is so close to NYC. Another very important fact to me is that Rocky Corner is 570 feet above sea level – a substantial difference to the NYC’ boroughs’ elevations of between 30 and 55 feet. It will take me some time to get used to the serene and quiet environment. but being able to look up at the night sky and actually see the stars will be awesome!”
We meet regularly to work on the land and in our individual gardens
To relax and recharge, we often plan special events and celebrations, or just get together to make music, hang out (or hang on the aerial yoga swing), or just have fun.
few homes (all sizes, market rate and affordable) are available for sale. If you are interested in finding out more, send an email to
welcome@rockycorner.com or call us at 203-903-COHO (-2646). We will have you attend a Zoom info session.
We are also happy to set up private tours of the land and homes, using masks and keeping 6 ft distance, of course.
*Due to Covid-19 all state and local guidelines are being implemented.
Born in Manhattan, first generation American on my mother’s side, the youngest of three, with two older brothers, we moved cross country at age three to Tucson AZ followed by Knoxville TN, then on to San Antonio TX and eventually to East Paterson NJ—where I lived until age 19. Moving to NYC, I completed my undergrad degree at St. John’s University with a major in Art Ed but as timing would have it, NYC schools closed most of their music and art programs citywide that year. I applied to McGraw-Hill and was hired as a commercial artist trainee for one of their magazines. Eventually I moved on to freelance work, staying in NYC for a few more years. A short stint in San Miguel, Mexico, to study fine arts, and then an offer to start selling real estate in central CT (don’t ask) led me to a 45-year career in the real estate field.
