Practising the art of flatting
Two women who’ve successfully practised the art of flatting are Mary Rose and Joy Rising. Mary Rose has tried all sorts of combinations – renting and sharing a house with the owner, being co-tenants with up to five people, or co-owners with a renter, experiencing the ups and downs of shared living. A process was developed to manage it all: house meetings for problem solving, household accounts, managed exits, and not least, ways to have autonomy within a structure so you can feel like it’s your home.
Delights, doubts, difficulties and dreams
An agenda left on the table was divided into categories for discussion: delights, doubts, difficulties and dreams. Everyone added to it. A week later they’d share dinner and talk about it – from their feelings to financials. From this openness came understanding, sometimes hard-won, between these independent women who’d chosen to live together.
Booklet available
Mary Rose wrote a booklet about her experiences in Hamilton and was interviewed by Waikato radio. Joined later by Joy, and moving with her to Tauranga, she is very interested in seeing community living accepted as part of urban planning.
If you are interested in learning more about this concept, write to writer17@baywaka.nz.
By Kinsa Hays
I write for this magazine because I am interested in the topics it discusses.
