Re: Why would anyone join a cohousing group?
From: Diane Simpson (dqsworld.std.com)
Date: Thu, 20 Jun 1996 20:56:35 -0500
"Instead I am left with the perception that cohousing involves more
labor; more interpersonal conflicts which place more on the line and
take more work to resolve than simply being irritated by one's
neighbors; is more expensive and requires more labor; yields less
free time and less quality-of-life due to endless meetings and
maintenance; places the family at significan financial risk; is hard
to get into and out of; and yields what benefits?"

                                        -----Bob Alberti

Although you could definitely get that impression from reading this list
Bob, you have to keep in mind that one of the most important purposes of
this list is to let cohousers keep in touch with one another and help each
other solve problems. Where else are they going to turn? Look under
"cohousing" in the Yellow Pages? I don't think so.

As for taking more work to resolve something than simply being irritated by
one's neighbors, well, that's kind of a funny way to put things. Are you
saying it's easier to be irritated and just write someone off as a jerk
instead of talking to them about the problem? Isn't being irritated "work"?
If I have to listen to a neighbor playing bongo drums at 1:30 in the
morning but I don't want to talk to them about it, don't I then have to
work to find a solution to my sleeping problem, either by shutting the
windows or wearing earplugs? A neighbor of mine bought a condo near a
person who plays very loud rap music; she has never talked to this person
about the music bothering her. So the annoying music continues. Is this any
way to live? If you've bought property but you can't enjoy it because the
neighbors annoy you, then is it worth it?

I can't speak to the less-free-time due to endless meetings and maintenance
due to the fact that I am not yet living in cohousing, but it was my
impression from the few cohousing groups that I visited that the
endless-meeting phase occurs during the construction part and lessens
considerably after that. I did not see any stressed-out people at Pine
Street or Pioneer Valley cohousing; the people there were very pleasant and
were having a good time. Pioneer Valley has a lovely community garden; I
imagine it must be quite pleasant there during the summer.

It does place your family at financial risk indeed--you're investing in a
real estate project that hasn't been built yet. I guess you just have to
weigh the risks against the potential rewards and ask yourself if this is a
worthwhile investment. If you're thinking mainly in terms of saving money
due to economies of scale though, I do not believe cohousing is the right
choice for you. From what I have discovered about cohousing in my two years
of research is that cohousing communities, because of their extensive
common facilities relative to group size, do not really achieve economies
of scale. If that's what you're looking for, you'd be better off in a large
condominium complex which might have a few common facilities.

As for being hard to get in and out of--my impression is that it is harder
to get into than out of. Most cohousing communities are organized as
condominiums legally, which means that you have an individual mortage. If
you have to sell your unit, you sell it. I am also under the impression
that most already-built cohousing communites have waiting lists of people
who want to get in. If that is not correct, I would appreciate it if
someone on the list would set me straight.

It seems to me, Bob, that you should really get out and visit more
cohousing groups instead of drawing all your conclusions from Monterey. It
sounds like a very urban development, and whether it was cohousing or not,
this would probably not be the group for you. I suggest that you get out
there and meet with some other groups or look into starting a group in a
more rural setting. Good luck, and write again to let us know how you're
doing.

                                         -------Diane:.>

       @@
      @@@@              Diane Simpson  dqs [at] world.std.com
      |  |                  J P   C O H O U S I N G
      | "|                   263 Chestnut Ave. #1
      | V|             Boston, MA 02130-4436 617-522-2209
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Results generated by Tiger Technologies Web hosting using MHonArc.