A Few Basic Facts for Starters

At the present moment, we are 16 households, arranged in individual cottages and apartments around a common green. We have an impressive and well-preserved 19th century home that is our common house, intended to host common meals, special community events, evenings of board games or song, and overnight guests of BVCH residents. The common house has even been an overnight landing spot for dozens of activists marching to the state capitol to push for climate change solutions.

But that was in the Before-Covid Times. At the outset of the pandemic, we created two independent living spaces in the common house to provide rental units in a tight housing market. Currently, two renters - active BVCH members themselves - live in separate sections of the house. The front parlors downstairs are still available for BVCH members as germ-free destinations, and the basement gym can be used by everyone in the community. As we gain greater knowledge of virus prevention, we expect to use the common house much as we did before the pandemic.

BVCH in the Greater Bristol Area

Pulling back the lens, our small community is smack in the middle of the small town of Bristol, right next to the two-block downtown area. Bristol itself is a charming small New England town, with an historic town hall, and an impressive array of 19th and early 20th century homes. A walk through the nearby neighborhoods on a summer evening – perhaps on the way to the local creemee stand – can really take you back to simpler times.

Bristol itself is a very walkable community. You can walk to both the elementary school and the high school, with their playground, sports fields and a skateboard park. The library, post office and town hall are a block away. A nearby path takes you up to “the Ledges” for a spectacular view of the village below and the mountains beyond.

A walk across the street from our cohousing community takes you to the Bristol town green. This is the site of summer music concerts and movies, pop-up food vendors on special occasions, a well-loved children’s playground and a pleasant memorial fountain. Here you’ll find neighbors chatting on park benches, young families with strollers, and dog-walkers giving their pups some space to stretch their paws.

Laughing and Working Together

Much of BVCH life is similarly enriched by having our own central green. Children spill out of surrounding houses to build a snow fort, play an incomprehensible game of tag, or take off on their bikes for nearby adventures. Take a stroll through the green, and soon you’ll be chatting with folks working in their yards, resting on their porches or on their way to fetch something from the barn. Especially in these isolating Covid times, it is heartening to enjoy these informal contacts.

Because we are a self-managed condo community, there are more formal ways of connecting as well. A monthly community meeting keeps everyone up-to-date on issues of common concern, and allows everyone a voice in decision-making. Smaller groups tackle more detailed issues – landscape design, improvements to our common house, plans for our community garden. A weekly dinner, brunch or pot-luck meal (typically held outdoors or on Zoom during the pandemic) creates opportunities for informal schmoozing. When Covid arrived, we devised a monthly “Chappy Hour” (Cohousing happy hour) so we could still check in with each other, connect around a common fun question, and enjoy the ensuing laughter and interesting observations.

And surprisingly, best of all is the monthly Work Day (which is really only a work morning). We meet outside the common house, with donuts and coffee on offer. Ann, a former schoolteacher, stands beside a white flip board and takes volunteers for this month’s tasks. Small groups fan out and tackle the assignments, geared to one’s ability and interests. On our last few work days, we painted a barn, cleared out the community garden beds, and created a space for an outdoor labyrinth and meditation space. Working together reinforces bonds of caring and trust.

Community Cooperation

And this in turn creates an informal system of mutual aid. The child of a working mom must be picked up from school when mom’s work day runs late. A new resident is quarantining and needs a delivery of groceries. An overnight hiker would like to be picked up at the trailhead. A young teen walks the neighbors’ elderly dog while they are delayed on an adventure.

And in subtler ways, there are small favors exchanged. Someone has made strawberry preserves, and leaves a jar at your door. A casual conversation about literature results in a book being dropped off on your porch. An anniversary is celebrated with cookies made available to every household. The birth of a grandchild leads to a generous collective gift to the new parents.

This spirit of generosity and fun is extended to the greater Bristol community as well. North Street, located at the heart of town, is where our common house is located. Every year, a team of residents decorates the front porch, dresses in costumes, and distributes candy to the hundreds of children who know where there are good pickings. During Covid, candy has been delivered down a long chute, to create appropriate social distance. And of course, masks were worn.

If this description of life at BVCH piques your interest, feel free to connect with us for more information!