Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Members at a distance

[RAYGASSER (RAYGASSER]

At EcoVillage At Ithaca (NY) we've had several "members at a distance",
with distances like Santa Cruz, CA, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Cape
Cod, and last, but certainly not least, ME in Maplewood, NJ. My family
have been members since EVI's inception over 3 years ago, adn we attend 
meetings between 1 & 4 times/month. It can work, but it takes commitment.

Of the other locations mentioned, all have moved to Ithaca. We, as yet, have 
not. We're just waiting until we get final town approvals (hopefully in the
next month or 3) of our Special Land Use Development (SLUD), before we put
our house on the market.

So don't count out the possibility of having members who aren't local. But
don't count on them as definite "move-ins" until they've spent some time
with the group and show that they're willing to do what it takes to be
part of a community. Out-of-towners may find that harder to do (but I must
admit, we do get away with a bit less of the day-to-day work & meetings).

Ray & Maria Gasser, Maplewood, NJ     EcoVillage at Ithaca, NY
raygasser [at] delphi.com