My First Days at Washington Commons

The time eventually came when WCC homeowners Stu & Willa’s two daughters left for college and moved out of the house in Davis, CA they’d grown up in. When the couple retired a few years later, they realized the house that for many years was perfectly-sized, had become a bit more than they wanted to manage.
“As you get older, you realize you’re taking care of this property with tree, roof, and sewer line issues - and for what?” said Stu.

They also had seen in recent years a drift away from neighborliness on their street. They began thinking about what was next.

“I was looking for a family-style neighborhood where you know the people that are there and you do stuff with them, have projects. Cohousing seemed like a great solution,” said Stu. 

In 2016, the couple attended an event in Berkeley about cohousing, and in the following years visited established cohousing communities in Davis and Portland, OR.

After much thought and discussion, the couple had narrowed down their “wants” in a cohousing community and their next home and began looking at the future site of Washington Commons. They wanted a single-level home that had less maintenance and featured a sustainable design. 

In early 2017, they became members of Washington Commons, and now are the third longest members of the community. Living in a walkable/bikeable area with the possibility of car sharing (they now share a car with another member – Willa’s sister) and with easy access to amenities and attractions such as the Crocker Art Museum and Old Sacramento added to the attractiveness of Washington Commons.

When construction was nearly complete and a permit was issued in June 2024, they were among the first to move in. “I’ve felt that the things that attracted me to cohousing with more of a family-neighborhood has come to pass,” said Stu. Part of the appeal of Washington Commons is having access to large spaces such as a community dining room and large terrace - which they did not have in their Davis home - but here could share with others.

Stu says it is the small things that are creating a strong community – living in a space where you often walk by each other’s front doors and dealing with the issues of a new building.  

Stu loves riding his bike along the Sacramento Riverwalk and looking for new cafes where he can get some work done. And that house in Davis? Stu and Willa sold it to their daughter and her family who can make use of the larger space and are just a 20-minute commute away.