Cohousing-L Mailing List: Definitions of Cohousing

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> If you advertised cohousing development looking at  some of the hidden
> expectations the ad might read something like this:
> 
> Looking for liberal, upper middle-class homeowners, with many thousands of
> dollars of liquid cash,  who have a huge tolerance for meetings, and are
> willing to give up much of the control over aspects of their life to a
> group. Must be risk takers, and have a willingness to be highly social. A
> high degree of patience and tolerance is desirable. To apply, you must place
> tens  of thousands of dollars in a risky real estate venture largely
> controlled by amateurs with no experience.

I understand where this definition comes from but I don't think it fits, or
has to fit, urban developments. Or perhaps more recent developments.

The liberal is dead on -- we don't think we have any Republicans, not even
liberal ones. And people do have to be in a position where they can be
flexible about when the project is ready for move-in -- you need to be in
comfortable transitional housing that you can stay in month to month as the
project does or does not get built as you expect, but this is also the
nature of new construction, not just cohousing.

We had a developer who was cohousing positive and In DC which had economic
recovery bonds to encourage home ownership, so we did not have to have more
than about $5,000 (depending on the size of your unit and the upgrades you
wanted. My 2 bedroom with hardwood floors was about $5000.) I needed to put
that deposit down when I signed my contract so the developer could get a
construction loan, but I actually got it back at signing  because those of
us who wanted them (and qualified) had DC bond mortgages set up for people
with no down-payment available.

When I looked at groups that were self-developing, this financial
requirement was very different -- tens of thousands of dollars you have to
be able to kiss good bye. So the issue is not cohousing but cohousing
self-developed or professionally developed. And perhaps urban or suburban or
rural.

While I am an extreme introvert whose life has become much much more social,
I do not have to be more social than I want to be. I love being able to drop
into a party for a few minutes. And if I don't show up, there is no problem.
Enough other people do to make a good party. The convenience and informality
make this much more possible than in other settings. I also spend most
meetings sitting in the corner knitting and have been known to read a book
or write.

I am not patient at all and have not been kicked out yet although I'm sure
some have thought it over. Tolerant? I think so, when a full sorting out
process has been followed. Others might disagree.

I do not in anyway feel that a group controls my life. There are designated
group decision areas but once you know the group druthers, it is fairly easy
for me to find my space in those.

Living in cohousing is so satisfying that defining the difference between
"me" and the "group" gets very hard. Perhaps others outside cohousing would
see that the group is in control of things but since I am a part of the
group I am also part of the control.

Upper middle class is a hard one to define. I would say middle class since
the middle classes are the ones who want to change society and are looking
for something better. If college educated makes one automatically
upper-middle, then it fits but many of our people, including me, come from
working class backgrounds. I call mine sub-working class -- a bit of welfare
thrown in.

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


_______________________________________________
Cohousing-L mailing list
Cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org  Unsubscribe  and other info:
http://www.communityforum.net/mailman/listinfo/cohousing-l