Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: cohousing in Philadelphia

[Blaise Tobia (tobiabj]

It's great to hear from someone interested in cohousing in  
Philadelphia and, specifically, in the Mount Airy area.

There was a very well developed cohousing group in Philadelphia in  
the mid 1990s. Average meeting attendance was well over twenty-five.  
We came very close to purchasing a property on the Mount Airy/ 
Chestnut Hill line, but were unable to make an offer in time. After  
that, the group broke up over various alternatives but various parts  
continued for several years.

Mt Airy and NE Philadelphia in general are a great, progressive, co- 
op minded area. And beautiful. And very accessible to center city.  
And reasonably priced compared to much of the Northeast Corridor.  
But, there is something about Philadelphia that works against  
cohousing - perhaps the strong neighborhood affiliation that most  
Philadelphians have. It was very hard to get agreement on moving even  
as much as one or two neighborhoods over!

Lynne is welcome to contact me directly for a fuller version.

Blaise Tobia
Powelton Village, Philadelphia