Cohousing-L Mailing List: Cohousing is . . .

[John Gear (catalyst]

>>Also, I would love to collect all the one-sentence descriptions of cohousing
>that you use or could imagine using when asked by someone unfamiliar with
>cohousing, "CoHousing? What is that?"  To encourage you to contribute, I am
>offering a reward of $5.00 cash or a 10% discount off any purchase at Good
>Vibrations for the best description. I will get the opinions of several
>others about which they like best and why, but the final decision will be
>mine alone and will be personal and entirely arbitrary. Entries will be
>judged by how succinct, comprenensive, and  clever they are. If you are  so
>inclined, please extend this opportunity to others not on this list.

Several tries off the top of my head:


"Cohousing is like any other planned community except with reversed
priorities:  the vision of community drives the planning decisions instead
of the other way around."


"Meetings 'R' Us"  ;^)


"To understand the difference between cohousing and conventional housing,
consider one group walking from New England to California while another one
flies:  the latter was cargo while the former consists of people who have
learned that you *can* decide the course of your own life."


"The difference between conventional housing and cohousing is the difference
between having to buy fish and knowing how to fish."


"A endless series of long boring meetings punctuated by towering waves of
doubt." ;^)


"Cohousing is sailing around the world in the crew of a small boat;
conventional housing is watching the movie version of the trip on TV, with
commercials."


"Cohousing is organizing your living arrangements to maximize the control
you have and the well-being you derive from life's basic needs:  food,
shelter, and community."

(I can't wait to see all the others.  I hope you'll post them!)

John Gear (catalyst [at] pacifier.com)
"The same old fraternity boys, geezers in golf pants, cheese merchants, cat
stranglers, corporate shills, Bible beaters, swamp developers, amateur cops,
and old gasbags that we have known since time immemorial."
                                --Garrison Keillor on the congressional GOP 
majority