Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Cohousing vs "traditional" self-managed community

[Elizabeth Magill (pastorlizm]

I've never heard of a "traditional self-managed community".
What is it?

I haven't found a connection to how well we do our reselling (sometimes
really working on it, other times dropping the ball)
and whether the folk decide to be involved in the community after they move
in.

-Liz
(The Rev. Dr.) Elizabeth Mae Magill
Pastor, Ashburnham Community Church
Minister to the Affiliates, Ecclesia Ministries
www.elizabethmaemagill.com
508-450-0431


On Sat, May 17, 2025 at 2:32 PM Lisa Kuntz via Cohousing-L <
cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org> wrote:

> When I chose to move to a cohousing community nine years ago, I did a lot
> of preparation and chose my community after following several cohos online
> for a few years, as well as visiting and "interviewing" with a couple in
> person.
>
> I thought that the concept of *cohousing *was a bit different than the idea
> of a traditional *self-managed community, * the difference being the
> expectation for not just participation but for social engagement and
> collaboration. What if those expectations are not communicated before
> people buy or rent?
>
> What I am curious about:
>
>    - Does a  *cohousing community *become just another *self-managed
>    community, *if there are no expectations communicated to potential
>    "members?"
>    - If a community offers only realtor-type tours, without relational
>    information, is it still *cohousing*?
>    - If a community ceases to feel comfortable with any type of
>    conversational/interview process to support potential buyers, is it
> still
>    *cohousing*?
>    - If there is no process to help buyers determine whether or not they
>    wish to live in a *relationally* oriented community, what happens to the
>    term "members?"  It seems to me as though we are just "residents."
>    - What happens when there is no concrete process to educate buyers about
>    how the *social fabric* differs from that of a traditional self-managed
>    community?
>    - Some of this transition to feeling like a traditional, self-managed
>    community rather than what I think of as cohousing, is due to Fair
> Housing
>    concerns.
>
> I don't know whether these thoughts will resonate with others, but if they
> do I would appreciate your feedback.
>
> Lisa Kuntz
> Daybreak Cohousing
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