What would Epicurus say?
They Took a Chance on Collaborative Living. They Lost Everything.
A group that sought to create Connecticut's first experiment in collaborative living fell short. Some of the investors lost their life savings.
For Claudia Ruffle, living in a co-housing community was a lifelong dream. She longed for connection with people who shared her values, particularly around concern for the environment. But as an introvert, she found it hard to meet people on her own.
Co-housing, a form of collaborative living that originated in Denmark, provided "a structure where I didn't have to be outgoing and could still get the benefit of getting to know people," said Ms. Ruffle, 72, a former substitute teacher and administrative secretary. "It compensated for my lack of outgoingness."
So she was among the early supporters of what was envisioned as Connecticut's first co-housing community. After more than a decade of planning, the project, called Rocky Corner, finally broke ground in 2018 on a 33-acre plot in Bethany, a suburb of New Haven.
Ms. Ruffle and a friend contracted to purchase one of the attached housing units there, and sold their home in New Haven in anticipation of closing in 2019. But their closing date kept getting extended. And then members of the community were told that the project was having a cash flow problem... nyt
They Took a Chance on Collaborative Living. They Lost Everything.
A group that sought to create Connecticut's first experiment in collaborative living fell short. Some of the investors lost their life savings.
For Claudia Ruffle, living in a co-housing community was a lifelong dream. She longed for connection with people who shared her values, particularly around concern for the environment. But as an introvert, she found it hard to meet people on her own.
Co-housing, a form of collaborative living that originated in Denmark, provided "a structure where I didn't have to be outgoing and could still get the benefit of getting to know people," said Ms. Ruffle, 72, a former substitute teacher and administrative secretary. "It compensated for my lack of outgoingness."
So she was among the early supporters of what was envisioned as Connecticut's first co-housing community. After more than a decade of planning, the project, called Rocky Corner, finally broke ground in 2018 on a 33-acre plot in Bethany, a suburb of New Haven.
Ms. Ruffle and a friend contracted to purchase one of the attached housing units there, and sold their home in New Haven in anticipation of closing in 2019. But their closing date kept getting extended. And then members of the community were told that the project was having a cash flow problem... nyt
That's terrible; I feel awful for them- they were trying to do a good thing for the community, and in the end they lost their home and money. I can also relate in a strange way; I too set out to do some wonderful things for others last year; out of the love that I had and felt for the ones I held dearest, and I lost nearly everything (because of it,) and am having to rebuild from scratch. It's a shame that purely wanting to spread love and happiness to others, can rob you of your own.
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