Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Massachusetts Cohousing

[Diane Simpson (dqs]

Hi David and the List!

I can only update you on the status of Jamaica Plain (JP) cohousing, but
hopefully others on this list can fill you in on the other questions you
asked.

After our cohousing discussion group disbanded a little over a year ago,
Dave and I took some time out to think about what we were going to do next.
In retrospect it seems to have been a foolish idea to get together a
hodge-podge of people with an interest in cohousing but with vastly
different timetables, financial abilities, and housing preferences. Many
people in the discussion group did not even share Dave's and my own most
fundamental value, which was to be located in Jamaica Plain. This was the
result of the intial core founders not sorting out their own values before
starting the group. So, where we ended up was no one's fault but our own.

As a result, we have decided to proceed much more slowly and cautiously
this time. We have met with another couple who shares our vision of a
retrofit cohousing community in Jamaica Plain, and are starting to search
for a three-family or six-family triple decker that could serve as a base
for an expanding cohousing group, just like N-Street has done in Davis
California, and just like "Community Now" has done in Rochester, New York.
We're thinking small--twelve units would probably be the limit. Low cost
and access to green space are also major elements in our vision.

I am also planning to re-launch the Jamaica Plain Cohousing Network at the
First Annual "Community Life" fair (see press release snippet below) on
October 24. Membership in the Network will be only about $5 or $10 a
year--just enough to cover mailings and meeting space. It will also
hopefully be a way of getting people to join the National Cohousing
Network. I have just about finalized an arrangement with a local arts group
for us to be able to have a Group Membership in their organization, so that
we would be able to have meetings there. This would give potential
cohousers the opportunity to meet and network with one another, and spin
off other groups.

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Contact Person:Diane Simpson
telephone (days) 617-867-1780
telephone (eves) 617-522-2209
e-mail: dqs [at] world.std.com
Address: 263 Chestnut Avenue, Apt.1
         Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

The First Church Social Justice Committee presents: the "Community Life"
fair to be held on October 24 from 12-4 at the First Church
Unitarian-Universalist in Jamaica Plain (by the Monument).This event is
cosponsored by the Jamaica Plain Historical Society. A key speaker at this
event will be Kathleen Hirsch, talking about her new book "A Home in the
Heart of the City" which celebrates the arts organizations, social
organizations and local people that have made Jamaica Plain the special
place that it is today.
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>On Fri, 02 Oct 1998 David Twomey wrote:
>I've been away and off the list for a while and was hoping someone could
>update me on the following.
>1. Status of Newton, JP and Brookline cohousing
>2. Any attempts at starting cohousing on the North Shore
>3. Any new Massachusetts cohousing groups formed in the last year
>4. Names of Massachusetts Cohousing resources

       @@                   DQS [at] WORLD.STD.COM                    @@
      @@@@        Diane Simpson  http://world.std.com/~dqs      @@@@
      |  |         J P  C O H O U S I N G  N E T W O R K        |  |
      | "|                263 Chestnut Ave. #1                  |" |
      | V|          Boston, MA 02130-4436 617-522-2209          |V |
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