Meet
Jocelyn O’Shea

Real Estate has always been an interest of mine, I love connecting people with spaces and helping others to envision what could be. My mission as a realtor is to provide a high quality service that simplifies and streamlines the transaction process for both buyers and sellers.

I was born and raised in Cambridge MA. My mom worked at Boston University in the school of Social Work, and my dad was self employed as a cabinetmaker and later got into buying and renovating homes in Cambridge. The irony is not lost on me that as a realtor I have absorbed both my fathers passion for houses and spaces, and my mothers dedication to serving people and guiding them through big decisions. I grew up understanding both the importance of how to talk to people and the practical knowledge around how homes are built and what kinds of projects are major undertakings vs minor DIY type upgrades.

When I was 18 years old I set out to see the country. The summer after high school I saved up $2000 and my high school sweetheart did the same and that money lasted us nearly 6 months of travel in my Ford Taurus station wagon. In 2000 gas was $1 a gallon, Clinton was president, and with $4000 we drove through nearly every state in the lower 48. We camped in national parks, we met people living in the woods, we stayed with friends in fancy ski houses, and beach bungalows. We met other young travelers and caravaned through what felt like at the time the great unknown of life. We witnessed first hand different ways of living throughout the United States. This epic road trip informed the way I see the world, I had formative glimpses into homes across the country and got a sense of how different people live depending upon region, state, and status.

In 2002 I moved to Portland Oregon for college where I studied Textile design at a tiny craft school. Our classrooms were in beautiful cabins and old craftsman style buildings, the quality of education was high and the notariability was low. Portland Oregon was teaming with artists and crafters, we all rode our bikes everywhere, wore hoodies, and dodged the raindrops in between coffee shops and vintage stores. Junior year I went to Paris to study fashion and lived in a fabulous flat on the 5th floor with another Parsons in Paris student. This opportunity opened my eyes to living outside of the US, I was able to travel extensively throughout Northern Europe and soak in cultural diversity as well as cuisine, language, and politics outside of the United States. I remember being astonished at the time by the kind of world news that was broadcasted in France, and amazed by how different it seemed from American news broadcasting.

After graduating from Oregon College of Art and Craft I moved to NYC to get a “real job”. I found myself working in the costume department of Law and Order Criminal Intent. I got to know the city with our driver George who took us around for all the shopping and returning of clothing. He knew every public bathroom in Manhattan and he knew all the best places to park while we shopped for costumes. Our office was in Chelsea Piers and the designers I worked for were wonderful, they treated me like a human being, they understood that I was lowest on the totem pole, getting paid the least, and they never took advantage of me. I will always respect the way that my boss ran that office like a well oiled machine, with kindness and efficiency. She taught me the importance of taking care of people while catering to sometimes crazy demands from the directors. One day we had a “major emergency” and I had to go get a navy blue slim fit men’s v-neck t shirt from banana republic and return in twenty minutes during rush hour. It was in that moment that I realized I needed to have a job that was less superficial and more about making the world a better place. I felt like I needed to do something that gave back to the world in a more significant and direct way.

After some soul searching I came to realize that the one constant in my life since being a teenager in the 1990’s was my yoga practice. Despite where I lived, what I was doing, who I was hanging out with, yoga was the one grounding thread that had always brought joy to my life. I decided to leave film and tv and work full time as a yoga teacher in NYC. I taught free classes funded by Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” program at Parks and Rec in Williamsburg BK. I was hired by Goodwill Industries to teach in the South Bronx to a group of young adults with severe autism, and I worked for many years with Bent On Learning bringing yoga and breath-work into NYC public schools. In 2009 I took over partial ownership of a small yoga studio in Brooklyn where the current owner was operating at a loss and in less than one year I was able to organize our books and turn Makara Studio into a profitable business. I taught yoga to tens of thousands of people in NYC, I worked in studios and gyms, I had private clients with penthouse suites and led multiple yoga retreats alongside other dedicated teachers and practitioners. Living in New York was hard, it was a constant hustle, my cost of living was high, and my tolerance for crowds was waning rapidly. After 9 years living in Brooklyn I knew that if I didn’t leave before reaching 10 years I’d probably never leave.

In 2015 I made the move to western MA in part to be closer to my aging parents in Cambridge, and in part to craft a simpler life full of nature and slow food, and wholesome values. I got an apartment in Northampton with an old friend from college who had since moved back to MA. I continued teaching yoga all over the valley at schools, in gyms, and in yoga studios. In 2019 I opened The Local Yoga Joint in Turners Falls. I found an old mill building in need of renovation and was able to negotiate a lease and renovate the space and opened an incredible yoga and massage studio in between the canal and the river. I hired amazing teachers and practitioners, we hosted full moon ceremonies, tarot card events, vision board collage nights, sound baths, and live music yoga events along with our regularly scheduled weekly programming. One week after our first year anniversary party I closed the doors due to the worldwide pandemic. I had no idea how the pandemic would alter my life forever.

In March of 2020 when everything shut down I had a 6 month old baby at home, my mom had just passed away a year earlier and I had no idea if I even wanted to reopen the Yoga Joint. Throughout those first months of lockdown I did a lot of soul searching and yet again I had one of those aha moments about becoming a realtor. It seemed to check all the boxes in terms of incorporating my love for space and interior design, my undying need to help people, my own entrepreneurial attitude towards working, and the flexibility with time so that I could and can raise my children with love and attention that they require.

So far I love what I do. I love solving problems for people, I love negotiating and getting good deals, I love when both sides of the deal walk away feeling like everyone got what they wanted from the transaction, but most of all I love being the connector person. Being a realtor offers me the opportunity to promote other people in our community who are excellent at what they do. Do you need an electrician? Ask me I have a great guy for you. Need an attorney  I have a list of incredibly smart people to help you. Need to buy or sell some property? I will simplify the entire process, be a caring advocate, be an effective communicator on your behalf, and I am determined to dedicate as much time as is needed to helping my clients get to the closing table with smiles on.