Creative Living Community - Creative Vision

I've had a vision of living in community for many years. When I was in my twenties, my best friend from high school and I made a pact that we would share a house when we were old ladies and our husbands were no longer around. In my thirties, when I was the mother of three young boys, the concept of co-housing intrigued me from the standpoint of having a “village” to help raise children. In my fifties, during the last months of my mother’s life, she was no longer able to take care of her needs on her own, and needed help occasionally throughout the day. We hired a 24/7 caregiver for her, but it would have been highly preferable if she could have shared the services of a caregiver with other nearby persons nearby. And, for more than a decade, I’ve had a vision of being part of a vibrant creative community that shared space and resources - cooperative art/dance/music studios, where artists would work, teach and share their creative gifts, where learning and creating would be accessible to people of all ages and experience levels, and cost would not be a barrier.

Since entering my sixties, I've felt as if I'm on the brink of a new chapter of my life. My kids are (mostly) out of the house, and I can catch a glimpse down the road of retiring from full-time work. Part of this next chapter involves where I live, and what I do with my time to continue to have purpose and meaning in my life. My vision is an intentional community of separate living spaces and shared creative space that will allow residents to  have significant input into the fabric of the community, and give me (and others) the option of aging in place. I want to be able to continue to enjoy the community life even when I may need some help with my daily activities, and through sharing resources like caregivers, I believe this should be financially and logistically possible.

·         My vision of this intentional community includes:
      Different generations and kinds of households: single adults, couples, families with children, retired people Private living space for each household, including private kitchen and bathroom(s)

·         Affordable for a large range of income levels

·         A place where residents can “age in place” – with the option to share caregivers (technology), and living units are built for accessibility

·         A creative focus –common art, dance, music studios on-site

·         Opportunities to continue to learn and grow and share

·         Easy accessibility to natural beauty

·         Easy accessibility to culture, medical, public transportation

·         Shared resources (example: one lawn mower for 10 households, one or two shared guest rooms,shared caregivers for residents with part-time needs)

·         Some shared meals and social events

·         Economies of scale

·         Sharing of skills, time and resources – easing the load of responsibilities for working folks and families, but giving retired folk opportunities to share their skills and increase their sense of purpose

Although this type of community is not (yet) commonplace in the U.S., there are currently over 1700 co-housing and intentional communities in the U.S. as well as a number of senior artist colonies, primarily located in California.

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Resources:
Burbank Senior Artist Colony http://www.seniorartistscolony.com/
http://smartliving365.com/cohousing-best-solution-aging-well/
The art of creative aging http://www.engagedaging.org/
http://www.nextavenue.org/a-look-inside-arts-colonies-for-older-adults/

Fellowship for Intentional Community http://www.ic.org/