Cohousing-L Mailing List: re: Moving-In Transition

[Stephanie Fassnacht (fassnach]

Becky, your situation sounds so similar to what we experienced, it's
uncanny!  Bottom line: you do survive it all.

We lived on a construction site for a good 6 months with people moving
in at various points.  Many of those people had been in uncertain
housing situations for awhile.  Our common house wasn't completed for
about 1/2 year after the 1st move-in.

It was our early assumption that unless we began eating toether on a
regular basis right from the start, it would be difficult to establish
a routine later on.  It was difficult for folks to cook in those early
days, so we gathered at a nearby restaurant once a week for a common
dinner.  Even those who had not yet moved in attended these dinners.
As soon as some of the patios were completed, we also started to eat
together once a week outside.  People brought their own chairs and
food.  We all got to grouse at these two weekly get-togethers about
all the inconveniences we were experiencing.  We often wondered if
after it was all over, we'd find anything else to talk about.
We did.  And those early dinners helped keep us together as a
community.

All the best,
Stephanie Fassnacht
Village Cohousing
Madison Wisconsin