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I wasn’t “unschooled” can I still live in the house?
Aside from the ritual sacrifices, chanting, and 24-hour ohm loop through the stereo, “normals” tend to adjust to living with us unschoolers pretty easily.
The intention of our house has never been to be exclusively for unschoolers . We welcome independent, dynamic, engaged individuals from all backgrounds!
 I’m younger than 18. Can I live in the house?
The short answer is maybe, depending on the situation.
If you’re younger than 18 and interested in living in the house, contact Evan directly. Depending on you and your situation this can be a wonderful home for a young adult.  We simply want to be careful and make sure it’s a good fit.
How much is rent?
The cost of rent in the house varies based on many factors.  These include but are not limited to:
  • Length of lease/anticipated residency
  • Size of room being rented
  • Significant others/loved ones/etc. spending time in the house
Overall, I work to keep rent at a fair market value considering the shared house environment.  It is important to bear in mind that at House on Holgate, one doesn’t simply rent a room, but also the ability to enjoy many shared spaces and resources.  (From our House Guide) “The House isn’t the cheapest, bare-bones shelter…  The House is a high quality of living for relatively little.”
IMG_1386I don’t like what I’ve seen of shared houses… 
I don’t like everything I’ve seen of shared houses either.  That’s why we put a lot of thought into the design of House on Holgate.  In fact, some of us probably wouldn’t live in a shared house if we weren’t living here.  That said, if you just don’t like being around other people/sharing a stove while you cook dinner/waiting for a turn in the shower on occasion, then a shared house probably isn’t for you.
I want to move into the house!  Are you excited to live with my cat/dog/gerbil/cornsnake Mr. Cuddles?
“At the House on Holgate, we are animal lovers” would be the understatement of a lifetime.  However, due to numerous factors including allergies, climate change, the decreasing integrity of the US postal service, leftovers, and the happenstance of many of us having strong scent-triggered gag reflexes, pets in the house are not an option (though if you have an even-tempered outdoor betta fish, it would be welcome).
In all seriousness, we cannot welcome any pets into the house.  Fortunately, we have the benefit of having a friendly neighbor-dog who attends all our house meetings (no joke), comes over often for cuddles and sometimes walks.
My weekly ragers are legendary with my friends.  Will you guys be cool if I host those here?
Word, bro.  Let’s drink shots until we feel nauseated and then wake up in positions and/or locations no sober person would willingly sleep in.
Actually… Let’s not, I was just trying to keep the conversation going.  Look, while we love get-togethers, gatherings, shin-digs, and art shows… Watching the hangover is as close as we will ever get to your party, ‘broseph’.  The household and members thereof do, on occasion, host gatherings ranging from Bananagrams to Birthday parties, Hang-outs to Halloween game nights, etc. But overall, we are a bunch of nerds who enjoy peace and quiet and discourage noise messes fun the indiscriminate use of the house and its environs as a rager space.
We’re a young couple looking to live a life in a house that looks idyllic through an Instagram filter!  When can we move in!?
First of all:  Thank you for noticing the blog-worthy, kinfolk-shaming, authentic aesthetic we have worked very hard to cultivate. #baller #namaste #succulents #nofilter #eatyourheartoutKanye #Iamsoafraidofdyingwithoutanyfriends #Ihopeyouthinkmylifeisworthremembering #mostpeopledonotreadthisfarintohashtags #butdidyouseeselma #IstillcannotbelievetheOscarsnubs
To actually answer the question…  Sweeties can move into the house only with prior permission (in the past these have been couples who are married or in established multi-year long relationships).
Wait. You have an Instagram Account?
Yep. Our username is houseonholgate. Anyone in the house can upload photos.
How much do you guys who live there share?  I use expensive shampoo and don’t really want other people to use it.  No, really. if you touch my shampoo I will end you.  
We do share certain resources.  Some of the incredible benefits of being in a group home are:
  • Sharing some costs of living with others2014-09-03_1409710674
  • Sharing chores – you don’t have to do it all on your own
  • Having more living space for less money including outdoor spaces and gardens (we have a shared vegetable garden)
  • Doing good for the planet: you can significantly reduce your environmental impact and live more sustainably
  • Buying certain resources in bulk to share
We won’t bore you with the details of how this goes down, but in general we fall somewhere in-between rugged individualism and evangelical collectivism. We call this “limited inter-dependence”.  In other words, we wish to avoid the one extreme of having 14-hour consensus-based meetings on what kind of cereal we will buy… And the other extreme of 6 people living in a household with 6 bottles of windex. All of this is specifically spelled out in our HouseGuide, but as a general principle we take care of our own needs except when there is a benefit to all of us to combine efforts.
I’m a smoker, I’m a joker, I’m a midnight toker. Will you let me play my music in the sun?*
Steve Miller, YOU want to live in the house???
Smoking in the house (including out of windows) or within 20 feet of open doors or windows is not okay with us.  Sorry.  We are not okay with illegal drugs being on the property either.
*You can play your music in the sun, so long as the neighbors and the housies don’t complain.
I’m confused: Is this a shared house or is it owned by Evan?
Both!  I own the house and I’m also one of the housemates.  Because one of us housies owns the house, we are able to do things (renovate the whole place so [sha-bingo!] it’s awesome for group living) that would not be possible with a typical group rental setup.  House on Holgate is my baby, but my vision is that it be inhabited by a shared household. So, I try to make clear lines between my role as a landlord and my role as a housemate. And to shut up when helpful.
I’m going to be in Seattle. Can I crash on your couch?!
Probably not, but we’d love to have tea.  We are dedicated to our house continuing to feel like a home and not a crash pad.  With a house already full of people, each with many friends, if we said yes to everyone we wished we could put up, we would be running a bed and breakfast.  We don’t want to dissuade you from asking and we do host overnight guests occasionally.  But, you should be aware that there are limitations.