Cohousing-L Mailing List: RE: Remote parking

[Rob Sandelin (robsan]

 Mark Frauenglass commented :

>Good luck with this variation.  I hope it works.  The reasons NOT to have
>auto access to all units aren't strictly European - American and all
>cohousing is enhanced when you have to get out of your car and walk through
>the community.   The garage door syndrome etc.

I would be interested to see what kind of sale rate difference there is 
between a lot model, where you can drive up to your house, and a remote 
parking model.  As much as remote parking is somewhat of a "religious" 
issue for folks, I suspect it might be  a  deterrent to sales of 
cohousing.  I would also say from my own experience, that community 
happens no matter where you park the cars.  Much of the time spent 
together is at community dinner and other such functions which are 
totally independent of where the cars are.  In my community, where you 
can drive right into your garage, people connect when they want to, 
which is lots.  I am not sure, that our connecting with each other 
would be much enhanced if we all walked into our homes from a remote 
parking site.  The behavior I observe in myself and my neighbors is 
weather dependent.  When I get home from work on a non-rainy, 
non-winter day,  I get out of my car, find my family, then go out into 
the community and hang out with the neighbors in the commons (road) 
until dinner.  This is totally different in the rainy winter, where 
people go into their houses and hang out until dinner, and I do not see 
how having remote parking  would change this, except that I would just 
get wet.  I prefer connecting with my family first, then connecting 
with the neighbors.  Being able to drive up to my house allows me to do this.

One advantage to not having remote parking is it give each individual 
the choice of whether they want to hang out and interact with anyone or 
not.  Until you have lived in cohousing for a couple of years, you can 
not appreciate how much there are times you just want to be left alone. 
 Cohousing is a great social environment, no doubt about it, but it 
does get a little bothersome at times to always have to deal with other 
people and their trips.

Rob Sandelin
Today is my 5th anniversary as a Sharingwood member!