We heard you loud and clear

The remarkable response to our reader survey in the November issue gave us a great opportunity to learn what you’d like to see in the magazine. Your answers to the six multiple-choice questions will direct us as we sculpt future issues, develop other features and provide additional information on the website, but it was the individual comments you added – which fill 35 pages in all – that conveyed so much more about who you are and what is on your mind.

Those who responded were fairly evenly divided among individuals brand new to the idea, those in forming groups, folks in existing communities and a smaller contingent of cohousing professionals.

Some common themes

Here is a quick snapshot of what our readers told us: You want as much solid how-to information as possible; the problem-solving guidance should range from overcoming the obstacles of development to communities’ ongoing struggles; but you felt that narrative and stories have their value too and should not be ignored.

Some topics or issues came up repeatedly: How do we achieve greater diversity?; we want more info on green design; what’s happening with cohousing in the rest of the world?; and let’s look at spirituality in cohousing.

In your own words, you wrote that you wanted to see:

• “How changes – long-term issues of estates, child-rearing – are handled.”
• “A little bit of everything, so that people see the broader story/vision/movement and get practical information that can help them with their forming and existing groups.”
• “Is life in cohousing quantifiably better?”
• “Other than consensus and resolution of disagreements, what problems have existing cohousing communities experienced and how have they been solved? What should new communities do differently?”
• “Affordability is my greatest concern/hindrance. How can we be more creative?”
• “1) It would be most helpful to better understand the culture that allows some groups to quickly reach the point of purchasing a site while other groups (like us) take many, many years to do so. Is it because Cohousing is mostly an upper-middle-income phenomenon? 2) Here in Chicago, we've contacted many architects and some developers about creating a cohousing development which would express many environment-friendly design elements, but, quite surprisingly, none of them is interested. So, our question is, since there is a lot of interest in greeen technology here in Chicago, what is missing in our communication that says we are not a good opportunity for these professionals to invest their time and energy in?”
• “What, if anything, is going on outside CA and CO! The magazine is slanted (‘sloped’ actually) toward the west coast. What about all of us middle-country people?”
• “More good and bad – honest look at problems and issues. For example, I really wonder about intimate relationships in cohousing; surely there are cases of affairs that wreak havoc on communities and individual households. Surely there are communities in which difficult individuals have brought the community to the brink. I sense that such issues are dismissed as not particular to cohousing or too sensitive or too embarrassing, but surely there is a way for them to be shared without hurting individuals and communities. I think that not bringing them out has a huge cost.”
• “Affordable cohousing - perhaps mobile homes or other pre-fab housing?”
• “How not to keep reinventing the wheel. One cohousing group I know spent hours and hours on rental policy. What it needed is some written guidelines and the different policies that can be modified to fit the community’s individual needs."
• “What have mature communities learned about living (in cohousing): which ones have had a major blowup and survived?”
• “We need a Whole Earth Catalog for cohousing.”
• “I am most interested in elder cohousing and financial options.”
• “Ideas? 1. The most difficult situation your group ever faced and how you handled it.
  2. Stories of tough meetings that were handled outstandingly well. 3. Interviews with people who decided to leave cohousing and why. 4. A strategy for going from 100 to 1,000 cohousing communities within the next decade. 5. How the cohousing movement can leverage its resources through further cooperation, i.e., where is the cohousing insurance company?”
• “Great resources for crafting community vision/values/goals that will help a community start off strong and unified.”
• “How to include affordable housing in with market-rate housing.”

Some information already exists

Some responses asked for information that already exists on our website:

• Where do you go for advice? Could there be a list of people willing to correspond on specific topics free of charge? Response: Sign up for the cohousing listserve, Cohousing-L. This online discussion is invaluable. In addition, our Resources page points out valuable references from cohousing books to websites with comprehensive information such as those compiled by Tree Bressen and Rob Sandelin. Under its "Useful Links" eight-year cohousing veteran Arthur Okner has volunteered to help those new to cohousing by answering their questions via phone or email. Although Arthur is not an official spokesman for Coho/US, his passion for cohousing and his practical experience will be vital for information-seekers. (We hope to add other volunteers to the Resources page. Stay tuned.)
• A couple of comments asked why doesn’t Coho/US facilitate vacation home exchanges. Response: We do; the Marketplace has a category for home exchanges.
• Others lamented that Cohousing magazine is no longer printed and mailed: “I miss the old print journal, which I could read in bed or on my couch over a cup of tea or while riding on the subway.” Response: We had to abandon the print magazine because it was depleting our meager financial resources. Also, because it was only available by paid subscription, it was seen by a small fraction of those who now receive our free online magazine and use it regularly as an entrèe to our increasingly information-rich website.

The question about what kind of advertising would serve our readers elicited lots of comments that recognized advertising is needed. As one person explained, “I think that Coho/US needs ads to help support the organization, especially since cohousers are such tight-wads... myself included of course.” That tight-wad label was immediately contradicted by someone who wrote, ”Where does one send a year-end donation to help finance the national organization, and is it tax deductible?" Yes, donations are tax deductible. The Contribute link is at the top of almost every page of our website and here.

Just as generously, an astonishing 41 individuals suggested ideas for articles they might be interested in writing. We will be in touch. We will also be creating volunteer editorial positions and recruiting columnists to oversee some of the new content you’ve asked for. For example, we need: someone to write a regular column that highlights recipes for common meals; a person to oversee community news and events items; a letters editor; and other possibilities. Please editor [at] cohousing [dot] orgif you are interested or want more details.

Finally, we were very pleased to read how much you appreciate Coho/US for our work. On behalf of the Association, thank you. Let’s keep this conversation going.