08/04/2026
A decade ago a mom of littles was at a local co-op preschool when a fellow mom invited her to come check out Great Oak Cohousing. The new-to-Ann Arbor mom loved it for her littles and even moved back multiple times after moves oversees -- eventually buying a home at Touchstone Cohousing. Now they are off to their next chapter -- and across cohousing there are THREE awesome larger-sized homes for sale (3 and 4 bedrooms with finished basements and gorgeous trees out their windows).
Come to a tour to learn more -- and please let your realtor friends know as well that when they come across folks with larger households that this just might be the place for them so come on over to tour (weekly cohousing tours are Sundays at 2pm at Touchstone).
More info on cohousing: It's a Danish intentional living concept and Ann Arbor has 3 neighborhoods in a row off of Jackson Rd. Lots of common spaces and activities to tap into -- shared dinners you can sign up for, "common house" with playroom and much more, playgrounds, car-free "pedway" for running around or scootering, soccer field, gardens, woods. Ann Arbor schools, in Scio Township across from the West Ann Arbor UM Medical Center. And as A2 housing prices rise, so too does cohousing. So these larger are almost $500k (which is less than what this sort of home would cost in town fwiw). The #30 bus is nearby and some folks like my partner bike into campus. Lots of our kids go to Honey Creek community school, plus there's Lakewood school and Daycroft Montessori nearby.
Great for: Folks who value kids being able to build relationships with friends of all ages and have space to roam + who know that they are good at doing group project with other adults (aka volunteer 'work hours' to take care of to common spaces and committees and community meetings). Personally, I loved living in a co-op in my 20s -- then when having kids, I wanting to still get to hang with friends over dinner and have shared meals -- plus for my kids to have friends to hang with readily without having to drive around. And it's worked out amazingly for us.
If you are interested in something better (IMO!) than the typical nuclear family neighborhood, come to a tour! Tours start at Touchstone Cohousing every single Sunday at 2:00pm. You can just show up! Happy to DM folks as well to answer any questions (-:
