I’m a young, european thrifty professional in NYC seeking similarly interested, reasonably thrifty and talented young professionals, artists, musicians, activists to live with. This will be much more than a room-share operation for transients! This will be a place where we can learn from each other and benefit from each other’s talents.

The goal is simple: to live in the great city of New York on a shoestring budget in a small, *family-like* (emphasis added) sustainable community.

Let’s face it,- NYC is amazing with all it has to offer. And it is also extremely expensive! But living in a small, intentional co-op makes NYC living affordable. NYC is big and it is loud and you meet tons of people,- and that is the fun of living here. However, humans need more than a ton of casual, good-weather friends. A few deep friendships, where there is trust and ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬mutual support, the people you like coming home to and eat dinner with,- that’s what a lot of us need! I currently live in a co-op in graduate school, where everyone takes turns cooking dinners, we buy our food in bulk from an organic distributor, everyone has a cleaning chore. We share utilities and tools, such as kitchen utensils, vacuum cleaners, washers, dryers, and a car. This set-up works because it saves time and money and it creates friends.

This will by no means be a drug-ridden, dirty animal house! What I envision is a laid-back, simple, environment. Imagine¬¬¬ us living in a safe, clean and peaceful home. There will be merriment and good wine and good conversation during our dinners . This will be a place where we try to free ourselves from consumerism not only as a way of saving $$ but as a way of developing sustainable living. I imagine us engaging in freeganism, going to pawn-shops and flea markets, allowing an occasional couch-surfer spend the night, going to farmers’ market, growing our own herbs and practicing natural medicine.

This might take some time, but it is so important to gather a good mix of different people with unique talents so that we can all share and benefit from our talents. That way every member of the co-op will be valued and will feel valued,- everyone will know that there is a place for them in the co-op. This sentiment of mutual value will do more to create harmony and balance than any b.s. value statement!

Imagine, our resident musician makes sweet music, artwork of the resident artists graces our dwelling! A resident food guru knows where to get tasty organic local food ½ off ,while the resident culinary genius makes mouthwatering dishes. We all learn how to sew from the up and coming apparel designer and the resident lawyer helps us get a non-profit status as an affordable housing operation so we don’t have to pay property taxes. Resident computer-whiz helps set up our wi-fi and helps us with our computers and website. Resident business guru develops a plan how to make an even more cost-effective operation out of our co-op. And because we-re all in different industries, we-re not competing with each other, so we’re far more likely to be good friends. You suggest any other talent we need!

  Status: forming