She’s describing her living situation, which is renting a 700-square-foot apartment with her partner, David Hilty, and their cat, Ruby, in Oakland, California. What makes their apartment unique, however, is that it’s located on a commune: Radish, an “intentional community” made up of 19 adults and four babies spread across a six-building, 10-unit compound.

“I love being able to have a short but sweet convo with Merritt while making my breakfast in The Blueberry or going for a walk in the middle of the day with Carmen and baby Io or jamming with Craig on a random Tuesday night,” Bezalel writes of some of her commune-mates. 

“My partner, David, and I are happier individuals and we’re happier as a couple. I think that’s in large part due to living at Radish and with this amazing group of people.”

Bezalel and Hilty have lived at Radish for nine months now, and first learned of it when Bezalel was interviewing a Radish resident, Gina Gutierrez, the co-founder at Dipsea, for Sex Ed with DB (which can be found on IG, TikTok, and Apple Podcasts).

“I told her I also lived in Oakland with my partner, David, and that we were looking for a more permanent housing situation,” Bezalel writes. “She then told me that Radish was hosting an open house because a few living spaces were opening up. David and I were intrigued and couldn’t wait to visit!” 

Bezalel continues the story of how Radish became their home. “David and I lived in small one-bedroom apartments together for four years prior to moving into Radish. I was thrilled at the idea of having access to more space, being able to hang out with awesome people for dinner most nights (and during other fun social events), as well as having a brand-new community to laugh with, enjoy, and lean on. The hot tub, sauna, and cold plunge amenities didn’t hurt, either.” 

So what is it like living on a commune? “You’d think that living in a community with 19 adults and four babies would cause *some* sort of drama, but there’s weirdly nothing to report?” Bezalel admits. 

“Seriously, people are respectful, a joy to be around, kind, thoughtful, and interesting. We keep the community spaces pretty tidy and clean and are good communicators. I will say there’s quite a bit of activity during the day on our Whatsapp channels so if that’s not your jam, you could just ignore it and catch up at the end of the day.”

When asked how long they plan on living here, Bezalel says they’re not sure. “We’ve thought about what it would be like to have our first baby here (this is not an announcement, mom and dad — just future thinking!) and we could potentially see it happening at Radish — although it would be great if we could have a bit more space in our own apartment,” Bezalel admits. “Let’s just say we currently have no plans to leave.” 

• Hallway — Behr’s Orange Liqueur, M210-6D
• Bedroom — Behr’s Fertile Green, S340-6D
• Bathroom — Behr’s Blue Square: S460-5D
• Office — Behr’s Mammoth Mountain, S460-6D

• Coffee Table — FB Marketplace
• Rug — Costco
• Couch — Secondhand from Danville Home Consignment Center

• Mirror — Secondhand from Danville Home Consignment Center
• Mid-Century Modern Dresser — Craigslist
• Tapestry — IKEA
• Clitoris Pillow — Cliterally The Best
• Jewelry Mirror — Amazon
• Comforter — Target

• Shower Curtain — Etsy, DoubleKong
• Butts Print — Etsy, ParheliaPrints

• Woman Print — Etsy, ParheliaPrints
• Crocheted Clitoris, Prostate, Vulva, and Uterus — Etsy, Penguin Yarns
• Magic Wand Micro — Lion’s Den
• Bedside Manner Candle — Future Method

Thanks, Danielle!

This tour’s responses and photos were edited for length/size and clarity.

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