Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: COHOUSING-L digest 664

[Lee (LEHBC]

In reply to one line in a recent posting by Blaise Tobia: upstate NY is not a p
articularly difficult area in which to situate cohousing unless you regard one
factor which overrides all the others: economic base. The lovely progress of we
st coast groups is nearly always traceable, I bet, to th eproximity of their si
tes to places where people can earn a living. I visited Nyland in August and di
scovered that it depends heavily on proximity to Boulder. Cantine's Island, by
contrast, has no array of nearby job possibilities. Members have to be self-emp
loyed or locally employed, and those restrictions are what have slowed down our
 growth there. I'm hoping that some people whose work happens from a terminal w
ill decide to join us, because I'd like to see some community members around al
l the time. Meanwhile we have to be realistic about people's need for a way to
pay their mortgages.