Cronin Co-Housing

We haven't shared about it much with family/friends, but our family has been happily co-housing since the spring. We started off by building a Murphy bed in our Theater and turning it into a Private Theater Suite on #Airbnb, and we've been happy to host lots of weekend guests who love exploring Astoria.

But we also quickly got inquiries for more long term rentals from people who have temporary jobs here on the North Coast and who need a temporary furnished space to call home. So we renovated the basement into a monthly rental, and we'll soon be wishing our second renter farewell. We've also had two guests in the Theater who have stayed for over a month, and we've been so happy that we are ready to start officially advertising our "Cronin Co-Housing."

Maybe it's because I spent my early years living on my parents' hippie commune, but I've always had a fascination with co-housing. I even did a qualitative research project in graduate school interviewing people living in co-housing. As a kid, I remember touring by mansions in Southern California and thinking to myself that I would only want to live in them if I could live there with lots of friends and family. So, now that I'm living in my own "mini-mansion," it felt natural for me to want to share our home.

So far we've given our guests space to explore Astoria, but we also enjoy hosting dinner parties and the kids actually love getting to know guests. So, as we've rethought what we want to offer and attract, that we really do want the opportunity to get to know our guests. We've decided to include two family meals per week for guests who are living with us. It could be dinner, lunch or breakfasts, depending on our schedules. For us co-housing doesn't mean that we'll talk with or even see our guests every day, but that a few times a week we'll have a chance to connect and share our lives along with food and drink. We hope that by welcoming guests into our family that it will give a unique opportunity to experience Astoria.

Here's our first flyer that we just posted around Astoria, and here's more photos:

Private entrance, south facing.

New mini-fridge, dining table and La-Z-Boy.

Extra twin bed for any guests.

Comfy Queen bed, open shelf dresser, plus two closets (one big enough for a bike/gear).

Another view, the bathroom door is hiding behind the pillar.

One more view of dining/living area.

Private bathroom with new toilet and handheld shower head, plus plenty of storage.

Shared laundry room with new high capacity machines. Feel free to use our eco-friendly detergent and cleaning supplies.

McClure Park is across the street (soon the 30 ft hillside slide will be done!!) 

Lastly, a little more about our family:

• Kevin - East Coaster at heart. Starting up a private consulting planning/development business. Loves running and yoga. Coaches youth soccer and serves as President of the local soccer club.
• Darcy - Oregonian at heart. Has the world's best commute, walking just two blocks downhill to work for Clatsop County coordinating Northwest Parenting. Blogger and community volunteer.
• Kieran - Tween who soon will be going to his first dance. He loves talking about sports, history and world politics (socialist in the making). Learning to play the french horn.
• Makenna - Loves making art, playing with friends, her puppy and little sister.
• Teagan - Preschooler who loves her new puppy, and playing outside and dancing/signing.

As we mention on our Airbnb listing, and which has worked well for our guests so far, we are up early on the weekdays. We have breakfast on school/work days at 7, and are usually out of the house by 7:45. Kevin works from home and Darcy usually walks home for lunch. We tend to have dinner on the earlier side, around 6...if we don't have sports or a community meeting.

We look forward to meeting with prospective co-housing guests soon...we would love to welcome you to Astoria and share our little piece of paradise.

Peace,
Darcy