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From: gadfly@ihuxn.UUCP (Gadfly)
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: Re: living alone
Message-ID: <1149@ihuxn.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 29-Aug-85 22:40:10 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihuxn.1149
Posted: Thu Aug 29 22:40:10 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 31-Aug-85 09:24:22 EDT
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--
[The question]
> Is the general concensus out there that living alone is
> unnatural, or at the very least, not preferable? 

[One answer]
> Living alone is, at this time, preferable.  That's not to say I
> won't change, but it suits me right now. 

> Having lived with a variety of, uh, unique roommates through
> college, I can firmly state that living alone has its advantages. 
> You have only one person to blame for the mess in the sink.  You
> have only one person to cook meals for.  And you can be alone
> whenever you want. 

> However, living alone has its disadvantages too.  You have only
> one person to blame for the mess in the sink.  You have only one
> person to cook meals for.  And you can be alone when you'd really
> rather not...

[Ken's shpiel for co-ops, coming right up]
I've been "doing" housing co-ops since 1969.  I've seen hundreds
of folks pass through co-operative houses I co-founded, probably
as many of them turned off to the lifestyle as turned on to it.
But whatever attitudes co-oper's come away with, it's because of
what they themselves make of the situation.  Because with a co-op
it's all yours--you (plural) own it.

A lot of people think they've lived "co-operatively" because they've
had roommates--usually too many--in dorms or apartments.  But it's
just not the same.  As a tenant, you're fundamentally at the mercy
of your landlord.  You're stuck with (and in) what you rented.  Hell,
even the words "tenant" and "landlord" evoke the Medieval relationship
they represent.

With your house, you can make whatever of the space you have, including
more space.  You also have the responsibility to maintain it, but such
is the price of freedom.  Buying collectively your money goes further--
toward a bigger place that can be used much more efficiently than the
traditional family ranchette.  And you can tailor the accrual of your
collective equity so that folks can come and go--buying in and out--
while the house remains under a continuing collective ownership.  It
can become a stable and powerful force in the neighborhood, which
ownership has a way of making you care about.

Oh golly, I'm getting a bit long-winded here.  The bottom line is,
co-ops are a vehicle for taking control of your life.  They're
certainly a cheaper way to live, usually a more exciting way, and as
we always used to say, good practice for the revolution.
-- 
                    *** ***
JE MAINTIENDRAI   ***** *****
                 ****** ******  29 Aug 85 [12 Fructidor An CXCIII]
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