Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: twenty to thirty something demographic

[Chris ScottHanson (chris]

I agree.  We seem to ignore housing issues for our teens and 20  
somethings who have "moved out" or tried to do so.  They may not be  
ready to BUY a house, but they do need housing, and they could  
benefit from community, I think.

Affording an apartment is tough at that age, and normally impossible  
to do alone.  My son had several "less than pleasant" experiences  
with shared housing while he was in his early twenties and not at a  
University.  (I never had the problem as I was forced to join the  
service [in the '60s] and then got married so I could live off base,  
at the ripe old age of 20.)

I would like to take this opportunity to make a plug for more and  
better "guest rooms"  in cohousing.

If they are designed properly, from programming for flexibility and  
varied size, to a balance of privacy and observability, they can be  
extremely valuable to a community in ways one might not otherwise  
expect.  For instance, why not design for the following kinds of  
uses, from the obvious to the less obvious:

1) visiting guests of members (friends and family)
2) visiting guests of cohousing in general (like other cohousers)
3) temporary housing for a "live in" caregiver during an illness
4) temp. housing for residents in transition (separation, divorce,  
studying for the bar)
5) temp. housing for teens and 20 somethings "moving out" (six months  
- two years?)
6) temp. housing for 20 somethings moving back (six months - two years?)
7) semi-perm. housing for family members with a mental illness or a  
disability, who need support, but also need some independence.

NOTE THE COMMONALITY.  "Guest rooms" can be smaller than a "normal  
unit", very modest, affordable housing for those who need support,  
for those who should have support but may not know it, and for those  
who ask for help and accept it.

In one community I lived in we did a demographics curve comparison  
and found DOULBE the national average of 0 - 9, and 10 - 19.  We  
found almost zero 20 - 29, and below norm for 30 -39.  Other age  
groups, 40 and up were generally reflective of the US population curves.


Chris ScottHanson


On Aug 12, 2006, at 10:24 AM, Mark Nichols wrote:

> This is a great topic, and it is relevant to most intentional  
> communities.
>
> Last year I presented a community plan to some movers and shakers  
> living on
> an island called Bainbridge about 30 minutes by ferry from  
> Seattle.  In the
> plan for a working educational community I identified two obvious
> demographic holes: 1) any sort of ethnically diverse population and  
> 2) The
> 20 to 30 year olds!  Though Bainbridge has a very healthy  
> population up 'til
> the 18 year old cut off, the kids fly the nest and can't and don't  
> come
> back.  Without going into the details of the plan I will say that  
> we all
> agreed that the absence of these two groups was sad and an obvious
> demonstration of not yet ideal community.  We identified some basic  
> needs of
> the 20 to 30 year olds that could met in some part by our plan:
>
> 1) A chance to continue education
> 2) Freedom of expression
> 3) Mentorship possibilities and apprenticeships
> 4) The ability to come and go
> 5) Financial support (mostly having to do with the unreal  
> relativity between
> their earning power and their elders')
> 6) Interesting and creative work and play opportunities
> 7) Other people of the same age
> 8) A chance to build and own a piece of something tangible
> 9) A real chance to give back (like Patty's son's computer  
> contributions)
>
> Just a few ideas to ponder,
>
> Mark