Ellis Street Community House is seeking kind, present, and engaged new housemates with experience in community living. We are currently 3 adults and one baby living in a 6 bedroom, 3 bath house on ¼ acre of land near Powell Butte nature park and the Springwater Corridor bike trail.

For us, living in community is a collaborative process, one that helps improve our quality of life. We’re able to eat great food, keep the place clean, maintain a garden, and hold a space large enough to host guests and events by working together. We have an extensive community library and art/craft material collection, as well as a great tea selection, stocked pantry, and functional kitchens ready for feast-making, canning, and fermentation dreams. We make kombucha, ginger beer, sauerkraut, bone broth, natto, and apple/pear butter on a rotating basis. With two fridges and two deep freezers we can save blueberries and blackberries we harvested from close by and get meat directly from farmers. We hold potlucks and other events like bonfires and game nights about once a month, and make a house dinner together weekly.

We maintain a home free from artificial fragrances and voice-activated technology. The large downstairs room is available for $740 per month. It is next to the back door with zero steps to entry. We have another room upstairs that is available for $700 per month for one person or $800 for a parent and child. Guest space is available for friends and relatives of residents – upstairs there is an office/guest room for longer visits, and the couches/pads in the common areas are available for shorter stays. The home has heating and cooling through an efficient heat pump, and we just upgraded to a tankless water heater. Utilities usually run around $100 per month. We also share expenses for groceries and cleaning supplies, you’ll receive reimbursement for groceries if you go shopping often, or contribute typically $50-75 per month if you don’t go shopping as much. Pets will be considered on a case-by-case basis, any dog or cat must have references and a track record with young children.

We especially welcome other queer/trans folks, Pagans, Buddhists, folks with kids, and people comfortable with their own neurodiversity. We’re not able to live with anyone who habitually smokes cigarettes/vapes nicotine or uses drugs or alcohol daily.

We are seeking someone who:

• Holds healthy relationships with food and intoxicating substances.
• Acknowledges that healthy interdependent relationships are built on independence.
• Is growth oriented and interested in collaborating to create a community together.
• Communicates with compassion and awareness, actively listening for their impact on others.
• Participates in house meetings, seasonal cleaning parties, and keeping communal areas tidy.

You might be a good fit if any of the following statements resonate with you:

• I’m looking for more than a safe and affordable place for me and my stuff.
• If given the opportunity, I would like to do more to contribute to the world around me.
• I feel more grounded spending time outdoors or in the kitchen than on the computer or phone.
• I understand the benefits of living in a community are proportional to how much I participate, so putting in time and effort towards helping the community fulfills my own needs.
• I am interested in exploring more about cooking/ baking/ fermentation/ gardening/ sustainability/ music/ art/ dance/ ritual, and it would be more fun to learn together.
• Living with a baby is a plus for me!

Interested? Please email a bit about yourself to elliscommunityhouse@gmail.com, including:

• Why are you interested in living in a community house?
• What are you looking for in your next living arrangement?
• What does your day to day life look like?
• What do you like to do to relax?