Cohousing-L Mailing List: Stewing over Rob and Stu

[RussSikes (RussSikes]

A regular reader but rare contributor, I too have been stimulated by Rob and
Stu's verbal reparte.  But recent excitement aside, you both deserve much
credit (along with many others)  for your frequent, knowledgeable
contributions.  I get a lot out of them.  Thank you.

I may be one of the few subscribers who is very interested in cohousing but
has no desire to live in it.  The regular postings to this list make clear to
me the enormity of the commitment:  seemingly  endless meetings, plans,
rules, conflict resolution efforts, financial difficulties, etc.  

I am a proponent of strong community, (and a severe critic of the prevailing
suburban tract development) but such a closely-knit, interdependent community
as cohousing requires would seem to me too close.  Perhaps I am missing other
key points of the concept; eco-aspects, the aesthetic appeal of greater
densities with more open space, but I wonder, am I alone in this view?  I
mean, is our prevailing lifestyle so alienating that the hunger for closer
community is nearly insatiable?  Or is it something else that motivates this
movement?

I know few people who covet close personal relationships more than I, but
thrice-weekly get togethers with a few good friends, frequent dinner parties,
a front porch from which to hail neighbors (when I WANT to) and friendly
encounters at a nearby park are plenty of community for me.  Otherwise, the
privacy of my detached family dwelling provides my freedom of both time and
space.  

This is no polemic against cohousing.  I am thrilled that alternatives to the
soul-deadening suburb are emerging, and feel gratified by the  genuine
satisfaction I see expressed in many postings.  I'm just curious.