Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: (Mostly) favorable article on Emerson Commons, with some explanations

[Cohousing (cohousing]

Cohousing is way more than one or two community meals per week! The residents 
govern the community and serve on circles or committees for getting things 
done—maintenance of the property, bill paying, website updating, paying bills, 
researching sustainability and practices, establishing Care circles for the 
well being of the residents, community outreach, etc.. They have joint projects 
around the community i.e. gardening, landscaping, walking dogs, neighborly 
visits, picnics,etc. The front porches and front facing kitchens encourage 
socialization. The common house can be used for joint activities like fitness 
and/or education classes, book clubs, board games, movies, birthday parties and 
other celebrations. Way more than a country club where there is no “intention” 
to build it and participate in it other than paying your dues. 

Communes turn me off because I grew up in the 60s. They were perceived as 
places where people went to “shack up” together—remember “open marriages?", all 
live under the same roof, prepare and eat all meals together, all farm the land 
together, join their incomes together into one big pool, and there was no 
individual ownership, usually one or two leaders and little to no democracy. 
You could easily lose your identity and had no security other than the group 
which was tenuous at best. Yikes!  Is The Farm in TN the only one left? They 
have grown and changed quite a bit of their structure so it is not the same as 
it was in the 60s. Google them.

Cohousing or collaborative/cooperative housing is completely different. In 
cohousing you can have as much community and as much privacy as you desire. It 
is a balance you decide on. Did you know that more introverts live in cohousing 
than extroverts? The common practice guideline is: If you are sitting on your 
front porch you are saying to the community that you are ready to socialize. If 
you are on your back porch, leave me alone, I want my privacy. 
 
Affordability…..you are not only buying a nice energy efficient home with 
higher quality than builder-grade structures and amenities, you are also buying 
a lifestyle and your share of the common property and common house and all that 
it offers. It may cost a little more up front but your monthly expenses go down 
because of shared utilities, less eating out at restaurants, shared 
transportation if you want, a lot less driving to places to be with your 
community, etc.

Kayelily
Raleigh-cohousing.com




> On Jun 23, 2017, at 3:38 PM, Virgil Huston <virgil.huston1955 [at] gmail.com> 
> wrote:
> 
> 
> What is wrong with a commune? Serious question. Co-housing scares me
> for two reasons: 1) affordability and 2) often minimal real community
> (a communal dinner a week isn't much of a community and you can get
> that in a country club setting or via other means). One has privacy in
> most communes if you want it and it is not all orgies.
> Virgil
> 
> On Fri, Jun 23, 2017 at 3:26 PM, William C. Wood <woodwc [at] gmail.com> 
> wrote:
>> 
>> Here it is:
>> 
>> http://www.c-ville.com/trying-cohousing-ready-break-ground/#.WU1qRGjyviw
>> 
>> The money quote is: “It’s not a commune. It’s not something to be afraid
>> of,” says Rebecca Gammon as her 2 1/2-year-old son makes his rounds to the
>> adults in the room. “It’s an alternative way of living, but it’s not so
>> different from what we’re used to.”
>> 
>> Bill
>> --
>> William C. Wood
>> Director, Simplicity House
>> http://simplicityhouse.org
>> 
>> 
>> Trying again: Cohousing ready to break ground
>> 
>> 
>> Every kitchen sink will face a window that looks out into the front yard in
>> a new 26-home development in Crozet. Lounging comfortably around the living
>> room of their clubhouse, Emerson Commons residents call this design “classic
>> cohousing,” because it encourages interaction with neighbors.
>> 
>> Periphery parking lots that allow for a traffic-free and kid-friendly
>> community, all mail addressed to a main clubhouse and weekly potlucks and
>> playgroups are also intentional ways to bring residents together at the
>> development that’s scheduled to break ground this summer.
>> 
>> But some community members say outsiders often misinterpret their intended
>> lifestyles.
>> 
>> “It’s not a commune. It’s not something to be afraid of,” says Rebecca
>> Gammon as her 2 1/2-year-old son makes his rounds to the adults in the room.
>> “It’s an alternative way of living, but it’s not so different from what
>> we’re used to.”
>> 
>> 
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