RE: Re: [C-L] Median or mode, Wealth & Poverty [was What is wealth?]
From: Forbes Jan (jan.forbesdhhs.tas.gov.au)
Date: Tue, 8 Apr 2003 17:29:01 -0600 (MDT)
Rob

I'm not sure this is in response to my spiel.  However I would be interested
to know about the other co-operative communities in the US for people on low
incomes.  I assume you're inviting me to check out the intentional
communities web site.  There are so many communities there that I wouldn't
know where to start or how to get a clear picture of what they can offer.

While home ownership has been the goal of most Australians for the past 50
years I agree it's not the only solution to achieving an appropriate
standard of secure and affordable housing. 

Home ownership is declining here, particularly with younger people who are
moving in to home ownership later in life than previously.  There is debate
as to whether this (and the decline in child bearing) is a lifestyle choice
or primarily an issue affordability and employment insecurity coupled with
large bills for tertiary education through the Higher Education Contribution
Scheme, HECS, or hex as a friend and colleague calls it.  Two of my children
are buying houses in Sydney but the size of their mortgages precludes any
thought of children. 

Many years ago I came across a body of research in education that found when
people anticipate failure at something they tend not to choose it, a wise
choice when it comes to housing and to child bearing.  However it appears to
me to be a very constrained choice.  No doubt this is affecting young people
there too.  I noticed on the news last night that employment in the US is
continuing to dip, despite a cut in interest rates.  
 
In Australia these days the main alternative to home ownership is
increasingly the private rental market where people who are already
disadvantaged face the constant challenge and insecurity of rising rents and
constant moves from one insecure 'home' to another.  A few years back I
spoke to a young woman who in her growing up years had moved about 40 times.
No surprise that she and her mother had stress-related illnesses.  

My dream is to have more non-profit and co-operative housing to fill the
growing gap in housing need.  Hard to achieve though without strong
government support.  The push at present is for private investors to do it.
Not much chance of that when there's no profit in it.

Jan

-----Original Message-----
From: Rob Sandelin [mailto:floriferous [at] msn.com]
Sent: Wednesday, 9 April 2003 6:56 AM
To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org
Subject: RE: [C-L]_Re: [C-L] Median or mode, Wealth & Poverty [was What
is wealth?]



Home ownership is not available to everyone. There are many people who will
not be homeowners ever, some might be next year if things go right, some
might be in ten years. My 21 year old niece who works and lives a wonderful
ski bum life will not be a home owner next year, even if she had the money.
It's not something she wants to do.

There are those who really want to live cooperatively but don't have the
economic credentials to be homeowners, thus cohousing is a limited option.
However, there are still 872 other communities around the USA which they
could become involved with, which do not require home ownership. Odds are
there is a non-cohousing community within 50 miles of you.

Cooperative living at lower income and simplier lifestyle levels is
available all over. I would encourage you to check it out. Cohousing is only
one type of community, there are many others.

Rob Sandelin
South Snohomish County at the headwaters of Ricci Creek
Sky Valley Environments  <http://www.nonprofitpages.com/nica/SVE.htm>
Field skills training for student naturalists
Floriferous [at] msn.com


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