Ever feel like you just didn’t fit in? Ever feel like there’s just something missing from the way you’re living life? Ever think that people who lived in a village and nursed each other’s babies and hunted and gathered for food maybe had something right? Me too.
I’ve never loved where I live more than I love living at Liberty Village in Maryland. It’s a Frederick Cohousing Community that I just sort of fell into when I was house hunting a year and a half ago. Cohousing? So like you share a house? No. Not exactly. How about wives? Nope. Then what is it?
It’s a regular neighborhood, BUT we act more like family. We share meals weekly, assist one another with outside maintenance duties, garden in community spaces, and make collective choices for our approximately 25 acres. Our homes are clumped together to help encourage social interaction and just general neighborliness. We are, currently, a consensus community that works together to make decisions, resolve issues, and increase the quality of life for each individual.
We have backyard chickens, tons of space for kids to run and play, and just a general feeling of caring and compassion. That old adage of “It takes a village…”? Well, there’s a lot of truth in that. When you have a sense of belonging… neighbors who are willing to help and look out for you… and especially as a single parent, neighbors who are willing to help you co-parent you’ve found your place.
Want to garden but can’t keep a houseplant alive like me? My village has a plethora of willing, experienced neighbors who took me under their wing and let me ask a million different amateur questions so that our garden was full of lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, watermelon, snap peas, and more!
If it sounds too good to be true… it’s not! It does exist. You do have to come into the community with a mindset of giving for the greater good. That can be tough for the ME world that we live in – MY land, MY house, MY choice. Individual desires for use of property and resources sometimes must take a backseat to the needs of the community as a whole. We decide together, and sometimes you have to learn to concede for everyone else’s benefit.
Really, though, it’s perfect for my family. The kids have been thriving like crazy since we’ve moved here, and I couldn’t be happier. Stress and worry is diminishing. Just knowing that you’ve got a whole community of support is worth everything to me. AND, we have some of the PRETTIEST sunsets around which make an absolutely breath-taking backdrop for family or engagement photography sessions. 😉 Check out Jenna, Alex, and Nick’s amazing session at Liberty Village! <3
Want to see if there are any communities like this near you? Check out the Fellow for Intentional Communities! And visit our website! We do have space for some awesome new families.
Much love,
Jacqie
____________________
Jacqie Q Photography specializes in candid wedding photography and lifestyle family photography in Frederick, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and the surrounding metro areas including Urbana, Gaithersburg, Silver Spring, Columbia, Laurel, and Rockville.
You must be logged in to post a comment.