Finding a coop in Somerville
I often get asked how to find a coop in Somerville. Here are a few resources I’m aware of.
A lot (most?) of the coops will at least email the BCN (Boston Coop Network) list. It’s open to the public, and you should join.
There is a Signal group chat that gets a decent amount of traffic, you can also join it by link here Camberville housing listings!
In addition, it’s helpful to let people know you are looking for housing. If you don’t know anyone in the area, drop me a line and I can forward you some things. This is not a reliable way to get housing though: I’m likely to forget to send you things or will do so with a delay.
Unsolicited advice
Be ready to answer why you want to live in community and what your prior experience with that is. A lot of coops are fine with people new to coliving, but be ready for questions about your approach to conflict resolution, and how you handle roommates.
In general, I think it’s also really helpful to know your own desires and deal breakers. Here are a few questions to get you started:
- Do you need alone time? a lot of social time?
- Are you neat? clean? do you need people around you to be?
- How do you feel about noise?
- What kind of relationship are you okay
- How do you feel about sharing a kitchen? meals? groceries?
- Are you looking for an established group, knowing you’ll have to learn their ways? or a new group, knowing you’ll have a lot of things to figure out?