Well, possibly one of the most life-changing weekends of my life. As many of my readers might be aware (and ohhhh, do I have readers), Sharon & I have been looking into cohousing for some time-actually, since Sharon brought the notion back from her time in the Peace Corps-but we have only started seriously exploring the subject in the past few months. Coupled with that is the feeling that we have had of "we're not city people." In recent times, we've started to feel like there are certain things (the whole "cultural elite" deal) about the big city that we would really miss, but the fact is that our spirits really do hunger for living in wide, open spaces with nature (or at least the countryside) at our doorstep.
Anyway, this weekend, we went down to visit a place in Southeast Minnesota (about 15-20 miles southwest of Winona), called Zephyr Valley. A group of 7 families that cooperatively own 500 acres, 40 of which are operated as an organic farm and the rest of which are natural areas. Reading I had done on the place made it seem too good to be true-beautiful, rolling, forested hills, and a group of people that seemed, at least philosophically, on a similar page as us. Of course, having fears of the whole thing being a Kool Aid-drinking cult was unavoidable, but upon visiting, we found that, if anything, the stuff we had read had undersold the place.
Our experience there was amazing-almost too much to try to convey in a post like this; but the nuts & bolts are that, upon seeing the valley & meeting the people, we were both having the feeling that this is (as is everyman's dream) the type of place were we would like to have the house that we someday die in. Anyway, they are (through a lengthy-sort of "getting to know you" process) interested in adding a few new families, and seemed excited about Lucy-who would be only one of two kids under nine (one of the very few drawbacks). They'd like to really kind of get a new generation going there. Hopefully, there would be other parents of toddlers that would look into the area as well.
Job? Yeah, reality sets in. More than likely, I'd be working in Winona. I've actually applied for a City Planner position already, but unless that worked out (which is probably not extremely likely), I'd have to get into a position where I'm making a similar amount to what I am now, or else Sharon would have to rethink her part-time work status.
A lot of other things to consider-how much will it cost to construct our "dream home" (which, I can tell you, would be a heckuva lot cheaper than most people's dream home), and how much will our Mpls house's equity help out there. What will it take to live on in that area? Daycare? All sort of things like that. But I do believe that if you follow your heart, things will sort themselves out. Now, if we can just have the guts to walk the walk...
(oh, and for reference)
http://directory.ic.org/records/?action=view&page=view&record_id=2150
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
8 comments:
I would suggest looking into yurts as a type of housing. I believe they offer much more in the way of amenities than you would imagine.
If nothing else, it might provide a place to live on-site while a more permanent residence was constructed.
Although there are people far more knowledgable on the subject, probably in the community itself, I would be happy to offer whatever design assistance I can towards creating a truly sustainable home.
Very cool.
http://www.spiritmountainyurts.com/
Also...
http://www.rammedearthworks.com/facts.html
Very interesting to consider! Sharon had a friend at her park district that left with his partner to go up to the North Shore. They were very Mixdorfian in their know-how. They built a yurt while they worked on construction for a permanent home, off-grid. They also currently have a Yurt at the nature center where she works-mostly just used as a winter warming house.
One thing Sharon is talking about for the permanent home is strawbale. Know anything about that?
The R value is very high. It would last almost forever if it is kept dry. Your walls would be thick and sound proof. Very environment friendly. Plus you dont have to worry about phamaldahyde fumes from artificial insulation. Wise choice. I believe that it would limit your design a bit.
Also, should I end up with any big bad wolves for neighbors, I could be in for heartbreak.
Didn't want to be a downer, so I wansn't going to bring up the wolves thing. You will have to keep those damn horses away from the house! Keep them tied to the covered wagon.
The circus tent style house is very funny. You could have a circus theme as you build a real house. :)
Don't know much about strawbale houses, about as much as I do about yurts and rammed-earth, but it certainly has a long track record, and with modern improvements, it sounds like good stuff.
Fuck the wolves man - you ain't no pig.
Post a Comment