Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Cohousing search

[Rob Sandelin (robsan]

>How do we post a note in the
>newsletter you mentioned?

The Summer issue of the newsletter is going to freeze content this 
coming Friday.  Email me a brief paragraph about what you are looking 
for and I can paste it in.  I am mailing you surface mail the cohousing 
area list for Seattle. I will put in today mail and you might get it in 
a week or so? I have no idea how efficient surface mail to hong kong 
and so i am including the contact names and numbers of the groups.  The 
mailing contains some other references which might be handy.

>What is the difference between CoHousing and an International Community?

Disclaimer:  The following is my opinion, based on my own experiences 
which include living in cohousing for 4 years, being involved in both 
cohousing and intentional community networking in my area and meeting 
and talking and visiting many intentional communities.

 Cohousing is a form of intentional community, one type out of many.  
Other forms are co-ops, land trusts, communes, etc.  One large 
difference between cohousing and most intentional communities is that 
most intentional communities form around some sort of purpose or 
specific mission, sometimes spiritual, sometimes ecological, and other 
purposes as well.  Cohousing, at least as it has been generally defined 
and practiced in the US, tends to avoid defining itself as having any 
specific mission to accomplish other than convenience of group living.

 Another difference is the relationship between the individual and the 
group tends to be more on the individual side, since their is no 
sharing of income, and personal living space is privately owned. In 
general my experience with visiting, talking and conversing over email 
with cohousing groups is that while their is a higher degree of 
commitment to a group than typical suburbia, often the commitment to 
the group is much much less than many other forms of intentional community.

 Another big difference is socio-economic.  Typical, build from scratch 
cohousing is for middle and upper middle class incomes. The average 
price of a cohousing unit in our area is around $150K.   Low income, 
live off the land types need not apply.  There are a few lower income 
cohousing communities being attempted at this time, I am not sure 
whether more than one, which has gotten gov. financing, will actually succeed.

Cohousing is typically built by hired contractors.  Other forms of 
intentional community tend to be built by the community members.  
Cohousing tends to be designed from scratch and to meet all applicable 
codes and has mortgages i.e., bank approval.  Other forms of 
intentional community tend to be a little more on the "funky" side and 
not have mortgages or bank approval.

Built groups who live together.
Puget Ridge Cohousing Seattle Own 2.5 acres in West Seattle 23units, 
Built 1994 Matt or Kathleen Groshong  206-762-7245

Sharingwood Cohousing Snohomish County Own 39 acres. 13 homes built, 25 
total.  Rob Sandelin  206-936-7157

Winslow Cohousing  Bainbridge Island  Commonhouse office        Built  1992. 
30 attached wall homes with commonhouse. built homes for sale.  Tours 
every Saturday, call for time.  206-780-1323

Groups which have land and working on design or building.

Kindermeadow Cohousing Olympia  Have 5.5 acres near Olympia 4-6 units 
Kienda Valbracht 754-7521
South Whidbey Cohousing Own 17 acres near Langley, 6 units Rod Harold 
360-341-1642    
Rosewind Cohousing Port Townsend        Own 9 acres in city of Port 
Townsend        26 units        Lynn Nadeau     360-385-7749     Construction 
stage, 4 homes 
built. Have multiplex units for sale.
Songaia Cohousing Bothell       Own 11 acres 2 houses on site Build 12  Fred 
and Nancy Lanphear      486-2035        Design stage.
Vashon Cohousing Vashon Island  18 units  Betty Martin  463-2945        2 
houses built

Groups getting started

New Cohousing Seattle. Want  7-14 units  Nancy Muller  329-5463  
Looking for site within 45 minutes of Seattle.  
Redmond Cohousing  Own 7 acres in Redmond. Want  20 units.  Lolo McCrae 
867-0608 Initial meeting stage
Bellingham Cohousing  Bellingham  Stan Parker  738-0770 Initial meeting stage.
Olympia Core Group  Olympia  Michael MacSems    360-754-9585    Intitial 
meeting stage.
Ellensburg Cohousing    Scott Nicolai   509-962-4382    Intitial meeting stage