Dreaming

If I tell you a secret, will you promise not to tell anyone?  It's about my dream home.  But if I tell you, you have to promise not to go buy it out from under me!

First things first: I need to give you a little back-story.  Five years ago, when Steve and I had just moved back to Colorado Springs from Spain and were looking to buy a new home, my mom and I found a charming little housing community.  It's a co-housing community right in the middle of downtown Colorado Springs.  The houses all face inward, with a playground in the middle, a common building for guests to stay in, community events, optional shared dinners, and even a shared garden and workshop!  I thought it was awesome and was interested, but there weren't any openings we could afford; and to be honest, I wasn't so sure that kind of living would be a good fit.

Fast forward five years:  Today Steve went walking downtown with a friend and happened upon this community.  He loved it and wanted to show the kids and I, so for fun we ate lunch at a park downtown and then went for a walk to see this place he loved so much.  I was pretty excited when I saw that it was the same!

After doing some research, I can't get the idea out of my head!  One house (duplex) is for sale or for rent.  We can't afford to buy it, but we could afford to rent it!  It's larger than our current home with a fenced in backyard (and with the shared community outdoor space as well).  It has five bedrooms (one more than we currently have), four bathrooms (two more than we have!), is very close to Colorado College (where we work), and the community aspect really sounds amazing!  Steve, particularly, loves the thought of reaching out to our neighbors through this sort of community living.  Personally, I like the what the community has to offer for the family: campouts, crafts, game nights, holiday pot-lucks, and parent's night out!  It's like everything a church has to offer, but with a neighborhood community where we could bring glory to God's name and help others know him.

So there it is!  It would be a commitment to uproot our family from our current situation and to move to a different type of community.  It would be a lifestyle change for us, too.  Currently, we aren't always very social with our neighbors, just because we get busy with other things; but we've always loved the thought of building community with our neighbors.  I like to dream about it, but I just don't know how realistic it is.

What do you think? Would you enjoy living in this kind of community?