Cohousing-L Mailing List: Upfront Decisions

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

A list of those decisions which need to be made  up-front would be very
helpful. The site is one of them just because location determines so much of
everything else. Pet policy (a seemingly private choice) is one of them
because pet owners make such different assumptions about the world than non
pet owners and cat owners are different than dog owners.

Most issues can be resolved by saying that what people do in their own homes
is their business and cohousing preserves the "own home" pressure valve for
people. Pets are not a private choice.

I once found a beautiful old 10 bedroom home on the Hudson River with a full
basement that opened onto a patio. Just fabulous. Perfect for 8 people to
rent and use two bedrooms for guests, short term renters, or home offices.
Huge first floor with a big kitchen and lots of private nooks.

There were many takers. But starting from a Zen Buddhist group, I couldn't
find 8 people who could agree on the following dimensions.

Pets, no pets
Pets, but no cats
Pets, but no dogs

Meat, no meat
Meat, but no pork
Pork, but no bacon

4 was the highest number I could find in each category. At the time, I
didn't care about any of them so it was very frustrating. I finally gave up.

Sharon
-- 
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org


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