Högsboet

This week I moved into a (too large!) apartment in a Swedish collective called Högsboet. I loved my old apartment, but have been missing a sense of community in Sweden. I have long been a proponent of shared, sustainable living and have decided to take the jump and try a change. It's early days yet, but I've had a couple of very good conversations with my new neighbours at a creative evening.

The understanding of a collective here is quite different to what I'm used to from the UK. We are not co-owners of the space (we're all renting from a big Swedish housebuilding company) and every apartment is self-contained with kitchen etc. so that one could live here in the Swedish tradition of never acknowledging one's neighbours. There is a large communal space with some organised activities. The association is only two years old, so hopefully I can make some useful contributions to a collective atmosphere.

6 months update

In the six months since I moved to Högsboet, I have a few updates. I quickly became frustrated with the slow pace of progress and low engagement of many residents of Högsboet. So I joined the board. A pretty foolish decision in hindsight, but here we are.

As a member of the board I have:

• Streamlined board meetings (they used to typically exceed 3 hours)
• Added action items and follow-ups structure to the agenda
• Written a proposal to create Associate Membership, for non-residents to join in communal activities
• Written a proposal to give all adult residents voting rights, regardless of residence status
• Written a proposal to more equitably share the rent of the common space amongst residents
• Organised the google drive and resolved access issues
• Added descriptions and contact-people to each internal working group

As a regular member I have:

• Run two bike repair workshops for my neighbours, using my own tools and expertise
• Completed a clear out of unused bikes from the bike shed
• Reorganised the workshop, labelling tools and parts
• Dumpster-dived and fixed up 4 chairs for the communal workspace
• Worked to improve cleaning of the dryer filters
• Attempted to set up language cafes
• Shared bread rescued from soliky with my neighbours
• Done my best to attend community events like craft nights
• Baked additional desserts for weekly meals on two occasions

The most important change is that my good friend Leo has moved in to share my absurdly large apartment with me. He is a capable cook, incredible musician and great company. I look forward to hosting more events here for friends, neighbours and the wider community.

After all, if there's anything I learned from reading Bowling Alone (the first third at least, it's a real doorstop and quite depressing) community bonds are atrophying across all aspects of society. We must do what we can to swim against the current of modern history and push that boulder up the hill. Through stronger friendships, contacts with neighbours, clubs, civil society and voluntary associations.