This summer, I was treated to a delicious meal of—are you ready for this?—brussels sprouts, glazed salmon, veggie potpie with chard, collared greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, onion, and a pizza dough crust; an egg souffle with mushrooms and onions; and a seasoned risotto boiled in an onion stock.

A ton–yes. But not when you live with roughly 20 people.

Read More “Intentional Communities on the Up-and-Up?” »

If someone offered you a luxurious two-bedroom rental in Chinatown for $1,000/month, all included, you’d figure it was was too good to be true.

And you’d be right!

But here’s the devilish part: Not only have these lily-livered scammers resorted to false domain names; they now write personably and with few grammatical irregularities!

Below, a simple guide to spotting similar scams:

Read More “Craigslist + Move.com: How to Spot a Really Obvious Rental Scam” »

Amelie Hopkins outside her new Adams Morgan home

When Amelie Hopkins started searching for a new group house on Craigslist, she’d look for different “coding” in the advertisements.

“Progressive” and “communal” and “Bravo”—as in the television network known for Queer Eye for the Straight Guy—she took as good signals.

“We like to watch lots of ESPN” gave her pause, a certain indicator of high-testosterone, insensitive guys’ guys.

Hopkins, 22, is a lesbian, with a girlfriend in Alexandria she sees a couple times a week. When looking for a living space, she wanted to find housemates—gay or straight—who’d accept her sexual orientation and relationship with minimal awkwardness.

And she did: After a delicate dance with potential roommates—she didn’t want to reveal too much too soon, but she did want to be sure she would be accepted—Hopkins now lives in a four-bedroom place in Adams Morgan.

Read More “Home Coming Out: Navigating Craigslist Can be Tricky for GLBT People” »