Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Flying mango trees

[Louise Conner (lc]

>
> Message: 3
> From: Gotogenes [at] aol.com
> Date: Sat, 7 Dec 2002 16:54:02 EST
> To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org
> Subject: [C-L]_flying mango trees
> Reply-To: cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org
>
> snipped from the dec 01 archive:
>
> <If you advertised co housing 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.>
>
> hi everyone, i joined this group today and skimmed through a few past and
> ancient postings to get a feel for the group.
> we (wife with two children, 9/12) bought, and read (ok, skimmed again)the
> f.i.c. communities directory and have narrowed our focus towards a co
housing
> neighborhood. perhaps we had a different idea about simple living but the
> word "frugal" kept cropping up a little too much for our liking. we were
> somewhat disheartened by the thought of living in a straw bale hut in a
> forest on top of a mountain.
> so while we don't exactly see ourselves as "liberal, upper middle-class
> homeowners" neither do we see ourselves as trailer park hippies.
> in fact both of us, seemingly a lifetime ago, were members of a very
strict
> and unpopular international religious community. strangely enough,
although
> having a totally different mindset than then (no desire whatsoever to
follow
> any organized religion), we sometimes find ourselves envious of the
kinship
> we left behind. our conclusion is that what we most value in others is
being
> part of a diverse, friendly community.  and then there's the kids. that's
a
> really big issue for us as the thought of uprooting our children from
their
> school and friends is a difficult one.
> * is there such a place in a pleasant climate or are we looking for
shangri
> la?
> i would love to hear others' advice, opinions and experiences especially
with
> regard to the children moving dilemma.
> thanx
> marc
>

Hi, Marc,
I consider myself relatively new to cohousing as I've been a member of the
Colorado Springs Cohousing Community for less than two years. My experience,
through a lot of reading and interaction, that each cohousing community has
its own flavor depending on who forms it. Our Colorado Springs Community (34
homes, 25 sold, 9 available), I feel, is made up of disgruntled suburbanites
looking for a way of life that has more community built into it.

I think if we had known how much our incredible new homes were going to cost
(they are beautiful, with many green features), we would have tried for
simpler, townhouse types. But now that it's built, we are very pleased with
(and receive tons of compliments on) our community. They are not
build-your-own straw bale homes. Designed by Matt Worswick (a cohouser at
Harmony Village in Golden, Colorado), and built by a local builder of
long-standing reputation, our homes fit into the almost-historic Victorian
and Craftsman style neighborhood we are surrounded by.

Our desire is for a diverse, friendly community and I think we've succeeded
so far. We would like to have more ethnic diversity but we're doing fairly
well. And while we tried to build in some economic diversity based on the
range of home prices, we find that the cost of our homes does impose limits
on desired diversity. As it is, we have to deal with the fact that a diverse
community means figuring out how to deal with diverse opinion. Some of us
may consider ourselves frugal, but that isn't a ruling force for us. On the
other hand, you won't find extravagant, free-spending individuals here
either. One thing I can say is that our community is not a risky investment.
Real estate in Colorado never loses value.

The children's issues are a whole different matter. I can't speak for
parents since I'm not one myself. Kids get uprooted all the time by economic
necessity or parental choices. How they deal with it is largely up to the
parents. I know that the kids in our community have a great time together.
The older ones take care of the younger ones. And so far they all get along.
The public elementary school our kids will be going to is the best in the
school system and the nearest high school has a baccalaureate program.

I encourage you keep looking for a community that fits your "flavor", or
form your own. I think the rewards of doing so can be vast.

Louise Conner
Colorado Springs Cohousing Community at Casa Verde Commons
www.ColoSpringsCohousing.com

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