Cohousing-L Mailing List: On elders wanting privacy

[Sharon Villines (SharonVillines]

I'm 55 and have lived alone very happily for the last 10 years and for
various periods of time before that. I love it. I'm probably more extreme
than many but without 6-9 hours a day alone to think my own thoughts, I get
crazy. I find being alone healing, exhilarating, and productive.

While I am looking forward to having neighbors I know, a multigenerational
community, the option of group meals at night, and people with whom to watch
the Academy Awards, I get anxious about the general level of noise and the
number of people to speak to everyday. And kids yelling at each other,
parents yelling at the kids (parents yelling at kids are often the loudest),
adults yelling to each other, loud parties on decks, loud music, etc., etc.
Once you have tasted the joys of adult peacefulness, the idea of giving it
up is very difficult.
 
But I have also found that when I do live with others, I happily adapt as
long as I have private space where no one interrupts my writing, messes up
my desk, looses the scissors, or hides the mayonnaise. Thus a discussion
about how the younger people feel about noise might be reassuring (unless
they think noise is a healthy sign of life). Emphasizing design in which one
side of their house looks out on nothingness would also be important. And
emphasizing that everyone has their private house\unit.

Sharon Villines, Manhattan
Archives of Detective Fiction, http://www.fictionlibrary.org
Deadly Serious Press, http://www.deadlyserious.com
Synergy Cohousing, Delray Beach, FL http://www.cohousing.net