Young Adult Cohousers
From: Sharon Villines (sharonsharonvillines.com)
Date: Sat, 31 Jan 2009 10:16:25 -0800 (PST)
Something I've noticed is that younger cohousers are less involved than people above 30-35.

What made me think of this is the post on renters and participation agreements. People who lease units have been very involved but renters of rooms have not. Sometimes they are commuting and this is just a bedroom or they are here for a year, but they tend to be younger as well.

The young couples will do work but not take on responsibility for a job on an ongoing basis. The professionals will provide information if asked but not volunteer it. It is unclear whether they are reading the email list.

We only have one teenager and he isn't involved at all. He watches TV in the CH sometimes because he doesn't have one at home. The 10-11 year olds come to meals with their parents and hang out in the CH. Recently "demanded" a room of their own for a Wii and rights to the room without adults being able to kick them out to hold a meeting.

But the 20 somethings keep to themselves. They smile and are polite but don't sit down to join a conversation. One who participates relatively more is on the cusp of 30-35. Some are fairly newly married.

The only exception to this was a young man in his mid=twenties who had a professional interest in intentional communities and off-the-grid living. He was much more involved generally and formed close relationships with other residents on an individual basis.

I'm wondering if this is a stage-of-life characteristic that appears in most cohousing communities.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing,Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org




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