Comments for Taking it to the Streets

Comment on Trying to outrun Father’s Day by Tammy

Tammy — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 05:00:01 +0000

Very beautiful Diane.

Comment on Where cohousing is – and isn’t by Jeanne

Jeanne — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 15:55:12 +0000

What do I like best about cohousing? Staying out on the patio far too late on a summer evening while listening to music and pretending to make an effort to go home. I love built-in trusted pet and child sitters. I love being able to help my neighbor to make sure they didn’t leave the iron on or accepting a package. It’s having people around me that I like and trust who support each other, but I’ve only scratched the surface.

As far as advice for starting out — there are SO many things that we learned from how to raise the first $10,000, $50,000 and $100,000 of money, to marketing tips, to things to decide when the community had 3 households vs 30 households. Things to decide before you move in vs after. I think, if I were to pick the top three tips:

* Adopt the mantra, “Failure is not an option” and back that up by fearlessly putting money on the line.
* Recognize that not everyone will be able to participate equally due to time constraints. The entire community has to support those working hardest to minimize inevitable burn-out and hard feelings.
* When new people arrive to your meetings, develop protocols to make them feel included without wasting precious meeting time, be absolutely certain to follow up and strike a good balance between outreach and smothering.

I love to talk about this stuff so often new communities contact me as the contact for JP Cohousing in Massachusetts to discuss this.

Comment on Where cohousing is – and isn’t by dianescholten

dianescholten — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:46:20 +0000

Jeanne – thanks for joining in! What do you like best about cohousing? What have the biggest challenges been for you? What would you advise someone starting out? Thanks so much for joining in the conversation!

Comment on Where cohousing is – and isn’t by dianescholten

dianescholten — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:45:29 +0000

Hi Tammy! Looks like there are 4 completed cohousing communities in Arizona (1 in Prescott, 3 in Tucson) with 1 forming in Phoenix! check out http://www.cohousing.org and click on ‘directory’ in the left navigation column. Seems right up your alley!

Comment on Where cohousing is – and isn’t by dianescholten

dianescholten — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:42:49 +0000

Hi Eleanor! Nice to hear from you again. I agree that new England and Colorado are nice choices – were it not for all of my particulars those are places I’d consider as well. I like your choice criteria – place, values, affordability. Thanks for putting that out there as I think that sums it up for me, too! Always appreciate your contributions to the conversation – Diane

Comment on Where cohousing is – and isn’t by Jeanne

Jeanne — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 11:37:01 +0000

I have lived in cohousing for 8 years now. It has been a dream come true. I only wish I could have joined when my kids were smaller. Good luck!

Comment on Where cohousing is – and isn’t by Tammy

Tammy — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 04:52:13 +0000

Wow, there are so many fewer sites than I expected! Would love to know more about AZ.

Comment on Where cohousing is – and isn’t by Nourishing Words

Nourishing Words — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 02:06:21 +0000

Hi Diane,
I admire you so much for taking this on. Yes, I’m very interested in this topic. No, I have no questions about cohousing (only about specific communities). Yes, I have a great interest in joining a community. I’d be choosing it by place, values and affordability (in that order). I’ve searched a lot (New England and Colorado, for now), and haven’t come up with any real options yet. Good luck, and keep the posts coming!
Eleanor

Comment on Cohousing in Northern Illinois – initial planning stages! by Where cohousing is – and isn’t | Taking it to the Streets

Where cohousing is – and isn’t | Taking it to the Streets — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 01:52:36 +0000

[…] I noted in my last post on cohousing, my small group is considering starting a cohousing community in northern Illinois (for the record, […]

Comment on Yin/yang or a continuum? “Character defects” versus characteristics by dianescholten

dianescholten — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 13:15:56 +0000

Thanks, Irma! I agree with all you said and especially resonate with “we are 100% responsible for our choices and the outcomes they bring” – and you’re right! that provides empowerment. Victim mentality is totally self-defeating. Thanks for joining the conversation!