Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Seeking advice on getting past idea stage

[Craig Ragland (craigragland]

River,

A core role I'm playing is helping people learn about the upcoming National
Cohousing Conference at the University of Washington on June 24-28.

Accordingly, I am responding to your question with a passionate
recommendation that you attend the Cohousing Conference:

http://www.cohousing.org/conference

This is the single largest collection of Cohousing Activists and
Professionals in the world and the single largest collection of pertinent
information and resources - and it will not be on the West Coast again for
at least a few years.

The Conference is just great for anyone who wants to move a forming group
from Conversation to Action...

It offers...

(1) direct, face-to-face access to more relevant Cohousing-specific content
in one place at one time:

http://www.cohousing.org/2009/pcw
http://www.cohousing.org/2009/program

(2) the chance to network directly with almost all of the experienced
cohousing consultants available.

The Conference is an incredible place for this - you can both learn from
them and "comparison shop" - by attending their workshops, sharing meals
with them, having hallway conversations, and very importantly, asking others
that have already hired them for past or current cohousing projects.

Many of these are sponsors and speakers:

http://www.cohousing.org/2009/sponsor
http://www.cohousing.org/2009/speakers

(3) Direct access to the single best collection of resources, through the
Conference Bookstore and Silent Auction:

http://www.cohousing.org/2009/bookstore

and the Live Auction:

http://www.cohousing.org/2009/auction/catalog

Most who win Live Auction items will enjoy unique experiences that would
prove very helpful to members of forming gourps. I'm really pleased to have
helped pull together

Coho-Expert Visits: These are visits and consultations with Cohousing
professionals at their home communities. Stay with them, see their lives in
cohousing and learn from both them and their neighbors.

Coho-Vacations: Enjoy visits to a series of cohousing communities in
different regions. This offers the chance to see and learn at different
communites - what works and what doesn't. They also include fun activities,
some coho-related, e.g. the Architectural Tour of Seattle and many that are
not, viewing the foliage in New England.

At past conferences, some have purchaced VERY good deals - with the cost
savings alone paying for their entire conference trip.

(4) Immersion in the culture and passion of cohousing activism - so many of
us want to help you succeed. This is inspiring and will help fortify you on
the long, difficult journey of creating a new cohousing community.

(5) Tremendous value: the vast majority of people attending the conference
love them:

http://www.cohousing.org/2009/kudos

Those that attend will be join many who want to realize their cohousing
visions and have decided that attending the conference is a good way to help
them move from Conversation to Action.

Hope to see you at the 2009 National Cohousing Conference!

Craig Ragland
Executive Director
Cohousing Association of the United States (Coho/US)
425-487-3550
http://www.cohousing.org
craig [at] cohousing.org

On Wed, May 27, 2009 at 11:17 PM, River Snow <seanain [at] sbcglobal.net> wrote:

>
> We are looking for advice from some of you veterans in getting from the
> place of ideas and moving towards the moving-in stage.Thanks ahead of time
> for your *solicited* advice -
>

--clipped--

>
> River Seanain
> Davis, CA
>
>