About the room
Both rooms are ~160 Sq feet, and are ~$1050 (+ or - $10) each. We have the top 2 floors of a 3 bedroom house, with a gigantic living room, spacious dining room and kitchen downstairs. Rooms are upstairs and get plenty of light. There’s a big backyard (with avocado & persimmon trees), a little front yard, a 1-car garage, and a big storage area in the basement. Beautiful hardwood floors throughout, with inlay. Shared bathroom for 3 upstairs.
About the area: -Right next to the Gourmet Ghetto -Very close to UC Berkeley -3 blocks from the Berkeley Rose Garden -1.5 miles to North Berkeley BART -Quiet street, close to many bus lines (FS, 67, 7, 18) -Ample street parking -Amazing views of the Bay
What does a community house look like? (none of these are hard rules - just ideas on how it might look) Living in community means that we actively participate in one-another’s lives. We have a shared vision for what a good home feels like, and we care about one another. Practically this might look like:
-Some shared food, depending on people’s diet & schedules (milk, flour, oil, salt, etc…) -Regular house meetings (1x a month, unless nobody has anything to bring up) -Hosting of potlucks/events for ourselves/our friends -Welcoming environment (anyone should feel confident that their grandparents or niece/nephew would be comfortable visiting the house at any point) -Minimal drug use -Active interest in one-another’s lives -House-outings occasionally if we’re into it -Enthusiasm about having guests (friends, relatives, couch-surfers) -Interest in house-projects (garden, crafts, etc…) -Distributed decision-making for house-matters
About the roomies
Ben is in his late 20s, and works in the city at a tech company. Previous to this, he led outdoor education trips (backpacking, rock climbing, river rafting, etc…), and has lived in Vermont, Brooklyn, Colorado, Los Angeles, Israel, India and Santa Cruz. In his free time he likes to cook, read, write, go climbing/hiking.
Lindsay, age 27 grew up in SoCal but has been living in Oakland for the past 4 years. She runs a toddlers music class and does booking for the Starry Plough. Her current passions included playing trombone with her band, Van Goat (a swing punk band you should check out on youtube and Spotify), and playing guitar and singing for solo shows around the bay. She’s a big fan of bicycling, books, drawing, and the outdoors.