Hopedance

An article in the Jan/Feb issue of HopeDance warmly described the local CoHousing development of 27 nearly-completed dwellings - priced from $140,000 to $220,000. Of those 27 homes, five remain unsold and possibly will become available as rentals, since many would-be Cohousers (a) can't afford the down payment and/or (2) hesitate to make the concomitant long-term commitment. "Cut-Rate Cohousing" includes neither of these deterrents! Renters can obtain many of the advantages of Cohousing by adopting/adapting some of its methods!

A likely example is SLO City's Dinner Group. Not long ago the Telegram Tribune acknowledged the success of this group via a whole page in color. All club members (about a dozen) live within quick walking distance of each other in small rental homes located delightfully across the street from a city park. As close neighbors, they can conveniently barter services and form work teams for a variety of projects. Also it's convenient to share amenities such as specialized tools, vacation equipment, exercise machines, etc.

Unlike a "real" Cohousing complex, The Dinner Group has no large restaurant-style kitchen, but club members enjoy three communal evening meals together each week while saving time and money, reducing per-person trash output, decreasing travel mileage and enlivening their menus. Through a rotation routine each member in turn takes responsibility for planning, marketing and preparing a group dinner; couples who prefer cooking as a team are responsible for twice as many meals as singles. [See HopeDance #5 for the articles on the "Dinner group" and ÒAlternatives to Traditional Housing."]

Anyone who has spent years feeding a growing family will, in later years, deduce the incredible waste of time, money, and food that occurs inevitably when one cooks only for two or for one... The beginning foundation for the durable success of The Dinner Group were omitted from both publications. Let's consider them now:

1. LIKE-MINDEDNESS: The group began as a bicycle club, implying common interests beyond a specific sport. I'm willing to wager that bicyclists - much more than the population at large - tend to (a) favor a cuisine that fosters healthy bodies (b) support the concept of sustainability; act accordingly

2. WILLINGNESS TO MOVE: When the bicycle club expanded its scope to potluck dinners, members soon realized that group cookery would improve sustainability levels. (Ordinary potluckers might attach less importance to this fact.) After traveling to each other's homes three times a week for some time, the group became additionally aware that sustainability depends even more heavily on proximity; they decided to become neighbors. Consensus was easy on choosing the location across from the park; one member already lived there, also began to notify others when vacancies occurred. Over a two year period, member by member, they all made the move.

Would everyone who "longs for community" would find that sufficient reason to undergo a move from their present abode? Indeed, NO. So how about reaching out in one's current neighborhood? Try it if you'd like to! It's been tried before. Usual results: some kindred souls sign on with joy; others will perceive neighborly outreach as a privacy breach. So be prepared to settle for less than 100% recruitment; also be prepared to take rejections impersonally.

Other kinds of intentional neighborhoods now exist in this County. I hear of two apartment houses in SLOtown that groups of friends have decided to "infiltrate" gradually, as vacancies occur. Landlords LOVE this idea as it naturally fosters a more stable tenant base. Move-outs and move-ins are expensive for owners as well as tenants! Of the four apartment house managers that I interviewed, all offered to notify a group waiting list of upcoming vacancies. One said, "My biggest headache is trying to mediate between neighbors with lifestyles just too darn disparate for peaceful coexistence." Another said if a group occupied 11 units of his 12-apartment complex, he would throw in the last unit "for meetings, day care, or whatever the group needed." m