Cohousing-L Mailing List: Cohousing is a state of mind. by Russell Mawby

[Stuart Staniford-Chen (stanifor]

Russell Mawby writes:

> The one phrase - among many - from recent
> postings that triggered all this for me was a
> comment that it would be better to live in
> cohousing on a really bad site than to continue the
> danger of living in single family houses.  Two
> things strike me about this.

and then goes on to rail against this attitude.  The only thing I can
think he is responding to (a specific attribution would have been nice)
is what I said a week ago:

> What if that site is the only option (easy to believe in a crowded urban
> area)?  Is it better to deal with the noise and pollution, or to deal with
> continued living in single family housing?

> It seems to me there is no right answer - it depends on one's priorities
> and how much one fears the various risks/stresses.  Everyone has to
> come to their own answer and it won't be the same in all cases.

But I feel that his description misrepresents what I said.  I did not 
say `cohousing at any price'.  I said that cohousing is a benefit - how much 
of a benefit will vary from person to person - and that needs to be balanced 
against the drawbacks of a particular site (if sites are scarce - as they 
are in the Bay Area).

Stuart.