Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Cohousing Communities after move-in: A "honeymoon" phase?

[Larry Miller (larry.miller]

1. A change in focus after move in seemed very natural for us. During much of 
construction,
there were 3 main areas for the group to address: selling the unsold units, 
monitoring the
construction process, and building a cohesive group. Once all units were sold 
and construction
was completed, focus shifted to learning to live together and projects that 
were perceived as
necessary but not done during construction. While units remained unsold, the 
outside world
focus, including a well maintained website, was a necessity not a choice if the 
community was to
be financially sound. The "folk knowledge" was highly accurate for us.

2. As the community matured and the number of outstanding projects and issues 
declined, our
collective focus expanded to include the outside world, but in a different 
sense. Issues of
global warming and sustainability resonated with a number of community members 
and a variety of
outreach programs in these areas were developed by various groups. This has 
also included
involvement in the local political scene.

3.  It would be difficult to characterize our community as either inward or 
outward focused.
There are aspects of both. Some of our members are primarily inward focused, 
some put
considerable energy into outward oriented efforts, and some are balanced 
between the two. It
did, however, take 2 - 3 years before the focus expanded from being primarily 
inward. I would
attribute the shift as simply a matter of limited energy and priorities. As 
long as there were
major community projects and issues to work through, that was where most of the 
energy went. The
outward expansion largely occurred when there was energy left over. 

Our web site is minimally maintained simply because we have minimal need for 
it. Our outreach,
while quite extensive, is done by those who are interested in outreach, not by 
the community as
a whole.

Oak Creek Commons was completed in mid 2004. All units were sold prior to 
completion. 

Larry Miller
Oak Creek Commons