About the Chicks

Claudia B (tall chick with the curly hair)

I am a 49-year-old single female living in Phoenix, Arizona, with no children or family here.  I moved to the Southwest eighteen years ago from upstate New York, taking a leap of faith and whatever would fit into the back of my car.

Over the years, I created an amazing life here which included a successful marketing career working with architects and designers responsible for changing the skyline of Phoenix; met and fell in love with my husband Oliver, renovated a mid-century ranch home and cultivated a wonderful group of friends.

I have gone through incredible highs and lows with my “urban tribe” as I call them, including my father and husband’s journey with cancer.  I deeply understand both the challenges and gifts available embracing life’s transitions Oliver’s death was the turning point when I had to finally deal with the dark material of my inner landscape–the fear of being alone in the world. A fear I believe exists in all of us.

And so I embarked on an eight-year quest searching for my true passion, power and sense of connection. Through extensive spiritual exploration, travel, introspection, writing, and life-changing creative processes comes the inspiration to find and create my True Community in a place that will support me during the next phase of my life.  Phoenix, because of its geography and sprawling nature, makes finding community very challenging. And so I yearn to go on the road to seek out other places and bring the lessons back to the desert I currently call home.

Donna N (chick with the short blonde hair)

I am a 54 year old divorced female living in Tempe, Arizona. I have two children; my 29-year-old daughter Alicia lives in San Francisco, California and my 27-year-old son Jack lives in San Clemente, California.

I moved to Arizona ten years ago to pursue a dream of owning my own art gallery. Today I am still selling artwork, and I went back to school to receive my degree in Interior Design.

I became interested in alternatives to aging several years ago, when my siblings and I had to take responsibility for our father’s physical care. We moved our Dad to an assisted living home, which only lasted three months. Our father’s health was compromised by a series of strokes. After rehabilitation, Dad moved to a nursing home for one month. He then moved into our brother’s home where he lived for five months.  But he did not want to be a burden to my brother or his family and asked to be moved, so we found a board and care home. He was there less then a week. This experience opened my eyes to the question of “what am I going to do with the last quarter or my life”, and what actions do I need to make now to insure that I make self determined decisions down the road.

When I read an article about Cohousing it changed my life. I went on to read all the books written about cohousing and intentional communities that I could find. I truly believe that living in community is the healthiest, mentally-physically-spiritually, safest and most cost effective way to live, especially as a single woman. I completed a training course offered by Charles Durrett, called “Study Group I, Aging Successfully” and am in the process of creating a cohousing community in Phoenix, Arizona.