Cohousing-L Mailing List: What I like about the list

[Sharon Villines (SharonVillines]

On the issue of defining intentional communities: I like the comment on the
two conflicting definitions of "intentional" and echoes the current problems
with the definition of conservative--the Rockefeller vs. the Jerry Falwell.
But in fact, no matter how clear a whole community defines itself,
individuals in a community can vary widely. One person may have a political
agenda and another just wants a swimming pool or convenient babysitting. 

In Synergy, one of the things I like is that we seem to be developing
support for each person's "intentions" for the community--some quite strong.
One wants a commitment to meditation and the quiet life to show and another
the commitment to sustainability and another to the importance of
communities to children.

Thus if this list includes the range of points of view of "intentional" we
will also cover all the individual positions. It is no problem for the list
to get large--you just hit the delete key for those messages that are not
interesting to you. I'm on a list where I can get up to 100 messages a day,
though usually 50-75, I delete fast. But the messages I keep are invaluable
to me. The size of the list is a real advantage when I need information.

The thing I would most like to see here are more messages about life in
cohousing, like the one today from Patty Mara. When I first joined there was
a thread of stories about children in cohousing. I will be eternally
grateful for all the help on technical issues like names of banks that have
made cohousing loans, etc., but the stories are also important so that those
of us who are still in the formative stages keep a view of cohousing that is
composed of more than financial plans, marketing flyers, databases of
prospects, etc.


Sharon Villines, Who has moved from Manhattan the movie set to Florida the
postcard.
Synergy Cohousing, Delray Beach, FL http://www.cohousing.net

Where we are confronting construction loans and co-developers--or rather,
the lack of!
And where we still have several large units available--3-4 bedrooms.