Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Is Cohousing cheaper?

[rpdowds (rpdowds]

I don't think urban v rural explains much about "savings", or no "savings", in 
cohousing. If one feels one has more time than money — and also, some strength 
and skills to make good use of that time — then one can "save" cash by 
investing hours. This is why amateur do-it-yourselfers build their own decks on 
the backs of their houses — with varying degrees of success. 


So what uses up personal / family time? The two demands at the top of the list 
are (1) a full time job, and (2) kids. If one has both (1) and (2), the amount 
of "free" time available for building a deck or managing chickens may not seem 
like a lot. None of this, however, is particular to cohousing, differentiated 
from normal housing. It's true you can conserve cash by living off the grid 
(meaning, rural?), but again, this is not an essential feature of cohousing. 


I'll stick to my assertion of origin. With the possible exception of enhanced 
sharing of vehicles and appliances, or bulk purchasing — assuming the community 
can work out the legalities and politics — there is not much reason to 
anticipate that cohousing will be cheap. 


RPD 

----- Original Message -----
From: "Jerry McIntire" <jerry.mcintire [at] gmail.com> 
To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org 
Sent: Tuesday, January 1, 2013 1:26:30 PM 
Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Is Cohousing cheaper? 


It appears to me that cohousing in large urban areas has a more difficult 
time being cheaper. The "realities" of land and construction costs are more 
rigid there. I'm heartened by the experience of CoHo in Corvallis, Oregon 
where concerted sharing has saved cohousers money. 

I agree with Sharon, living in such close proximity makes sharing much 
easier. I will add that sharing in the design, development, and labor of 
construction can also help lower the cost-- but cohousers must have some 
room for that work in their lives, or they will not be able to take 
advantage of such savings. 

Are urban cohousers unable to save much money in their communities simply 
because they are more committed to other activities? (This is a sincere, 
not a rhetorical question.) 

Jerry 
www.StonesThrowCommunity.wordpress.com 
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