Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: How Big is Too Big

[BPaiss (BPaiss]

Rob Wrote:
Questions:
1.  Is 55-60 enough people to maintain the community or should we 
expand to maximum capacity of 80-100?

Community can be maintained with far fewer than 55-60 people.  Ask those at
Doyle Street who have 11 households. Eventhough they would like
more...community is still happening.

2. How many is too many? At what point do you start losing touch 
because there are too many people?

Here at Nyland at last count we have 130 people 44 of them children including
a small handful of teens and two brand new baby's!  Now that we are all here
and the major decision making is past, I have heard very few people complain
that it is too big but we have had to get use to the fact that some people
don't participate very much and you won't be intimate firends with everyone.
 Because of our size many sub-groups have forms along many different
lines...groups by proximity (neighborhood), parents, singles, men's and
women's groups, Star Trek, a group of woodworkers...etc.

3. How did your group decide on how many people?

The number of homes was decided on the basic desire to be as affordible as
possible.  Our zoning allowed for 42 homes so we built to the max to spread
out the costs.

4.How many people do you (or have in the past) live with and how does it
feel?

All in all it feels GREAT at least most of the time.

Zev - Yes I am going by my Hebrew name.
(Bill Paiss)
Nyland CoHousing