I have had it!

[WAB]

Well folks i have had it! I either want to start an intentional community or join one. Anyone interested? I live in South Carolina. I would like to stay in the south. Any ideas or people thats truly interested? Just PM me.

[mtman]

there are some people that are looking for the same idea
personally if you cant manage your own place i dont think i need a partner like that

[Jan Doling]

Maybe some folks feel fellow HT members would make better neighbors than what they've been dealt? A community would provide a safer haven for single moms or newbies just learning homesteading skills. A lot of folks could do it on their own, but some might prefer not to.

[Piney Woods]

Also a group's purchasing power can net a whole lot more acreage, equipment, etc.

[seedspreader]

Originally Posted by Piney Woods

Also a group's purchasing power can net a whole lot more acreage, equipment, etc.

You mean let someone else drive my tractor? I would rather share my toothbrush.

[rambler]

Originally Posted by Jan Doling

Maybe some folks feel fellow HT members would make better neighbors than what they've been dealt? A community would provide a safer haven for single moms or newbies just learning homesteading skills. A lot of folks could do it on their own, but some might prefer not to.

This forum has been down this path many times, so not to be swinging a hammer:

Most folks on this site are fiercely indepenedent, & simpley cringe at the thought of sharing.

Also, many folks willing to come into an arranged commune type of thing do not, frankly, bring much to the table - so there is little pooling of resources.

Kinda makes such deals an odd duck around this site.

That does not mean I'm against others look for, discussing, or persuing such a living arangement. In fact these are some of the most interesting threads I read here, as the concepts & ideas of such a place are so totally different from anything I would think of or wish for. I enjoy seeing things out of my usual path.

--->Paul

[labrat]

Be careful what you get yourself into; my stepdaughter joined up with an intentional community near Cosby, Tennessee where there are three communities, she hooked up with one that had room to accept her, not the one she wanted and found out that this was nothing more than a weekend hippy hangout. By that I mean, during the week they would do the corporate career thing and then in the weekend pretend to be free and have no cares. Now granted, not all are like this but be sure to investigate the community you intend on partaking in.

http://directory.ic.org/

Intentional communities are all over the world, not just here in the states; they are a big part of life in Central and South America, as well as Europe and Asia.

[susieM]

What have you 'had it' with?

[WAB]

I dont mean a COMMUNE! I would love to work with a few more families and form a community. Whether we get together and buy land or move into a community of like minded people,makes no difference to me. If you want someone else to drive your tractor, that would be up to you. Just to have neighbors that will be there if something happens and you need help or vice-versa. I am as independent as anybody else. We teach your children the way you want to. Grow you own food, make your own electricity,etc. Wouldnt you want your children to be able to play safely in the neighborhood or your wife walk down the street without having to worry?
I am tired of "being alone" and the only one who worries about whats coming. We are headed for hardtimes and I cant do it by myself. My whole family and everyone else that I know refuses to prepare for anything. They are like the rest of the sheeple,wait till something happens and the let big brother come to the rescue. I dont want to be like the Katrina sheeple.

I am sick-to-death of the PC sheeple. There are bad times coming and cant get anything done because of them. I just cant do it by myself.

[cindyc]

This is going to get me in a lot of trouble, but it is how I feel.

From the other side of the coin, many of us actually would relish the idea of a homesteading I.C., but every time there is a discussion about one, it ends up not going anywhere. That is because what people want out of an I.C. (how we view an acceptable structure, rules or no rules, open or sectarian, ownership or shared etc...) There is not agreement on those things. From my perspective we have all had an angenda that we are not willing to lay down for this common goal, and as long as that is true, we really CAN'T be a community, can we? That is not a bad thing. It tells me that our REASONS for wanting community are very different, and without that commonality, (even with it) it is very difficult to make an I.C. work. We may think it is a good idea, but we value our opinion and our independence more than that.

SO, I dispair of this ever happening, and have started looking for my own land. It is not what I want. It is a concession, but if we can't manage to even converse about the parameters of community and find common ground, I fail to see how we are going to be one. I have come to the conclusion that if I am committed to the things I can't let go of (hope house...) and nobody else shares that passion, then perhaps I am meant to do it alone.

Now my two cents are not worth much, but there they are.

Cindyc.

[sewsilly]

I'm in SC too. And I do live in a wonderful community... have lived here all of my life.
We grow a lot of our own food, we do NOT make electricity but get ours from a cooperative, I feel my children are safe and I use public schools here, with very happy results. We can pretty much go anywhere and do anything we want and feel very safe. We are part of our community. Not only do we work and care for others, but when we've needed it they work and care for us. We're, individually, for the most part in this community, pretty well prepared for hard times. Most of the 'old folks' lived through them a couple of times at least in their life times and I'm 45 and we're capable of managing quite well. We don't weather 'storms' WITH our neighbors, we weather them side by side. We work hard, and protect our property and our belongings. We live pretty simply and respect others, and expect to be respected. The community that I live in will help you, if you are helping yourself! We all work, worship and play side by side. I know most of my neighbors, for miles around, and they know me. They know my kids. I wouldn't want a better community.

Are you in a city??? and what are you fed up with?

[Piney Woods]

Just for clarification - an intentional community is not the same as a commune, and even intentional communities can be set up different from each other. Most co-housing groups, for example, have their own residence and money and life for that matter, but share the big ticket items and make their home area more hospitable and safe. For example - grouping the cars around the outside part of the community and keeping the inside area - where all the houses face - for pedestrian activities like a playground, garden, mail drop, workshop..... whatever. Residents can share or not share, as they like.

[MaineFarmMom]

Just to have neighbors that will be there if something happens and you need help or vice-versa. I am as independent as anybody else. We teach your children the way you want to. Grow you own food, make your own electricity,etc. Wouldnt you want your children to be able to play safely in the neighborhood or your wife walk down the street without having to worry?

That's where I live. Small town life in the boonies is nice. We've had a population boom. By the end of the month there will be 74 residents. Two young families have purchased land and are building homes.

This is definitely not an intentional community but it doesn't have to be to have great neighbors.

[WAB]

This is exactly what I am looking for and talking about. Whether I can find one or have to create on is what I am looking into. Not a commune or compound but a community.

Originally Posted by sewsilly

I'm in SC too. And I do live in a wonderful community... have lived here all of my life.
We grow a lot of our own food, we do NOT make electricity but get ours from a cooperative, I feel my children are safe and I use public schools here, with very happy results. We can pretty much go anywhere and do anything we want and feel very safe. We are part of our community. Not only do we work and care for others, but when we've needed it they work and care for us. We're, individually, for the most part in this community, pretty well prepared for hard times. Most of the 'old folks' lived through them a couple of times at least in their life times and I'm 45 and we're capable of managing quite well. We don't weather 'storms' WITH our neighbors, we weather them side by side. We work hard, and protect our property and our belongings. We live pretty simply and respect others, and expect to be respected. The community that I live in will help you, if you are helping yourself! We all work, worship and play side by side. I know most of my neighbors, for miles around, and they know me. They know my kids. I wouldn't want a better community.

Are you in a city??? and what are you fed up with?

[WAB]

Originally Posted by MaineFarmMom

That's where I live. Small town life in the boonies is nice. We've had a population boom. By the end of the month there will be 74 residents. Two young families have purchased land and are building homes.

This is definitely not an intentional community but it doesn't have to be to have great neighbors.

See, I know these places are out there, just have to find one.

[Alice In TX/MO]

I think a good start would be to tour the area you want to live in. Check out small towns that already exist. Find one that you like. Rent a place there for a while. Become part of the community that already exists.

It is my personal belief that small town USA offers what you want without the socialist trappings.

[rambler]

Ok. So, then I get confused. How is an inteniuonal community different from the neighborhood one lives in right now?

Folks pitch in & help each other if needed. Mostly keep to themselves tho.

Isn't it like that where you are?

If not, why not? And, why would it be any different anywhere else?

I don't understand people's desire to be away from their current neighborhood, and think it will be better somewhere else. Home is where & what you make of it, and neighbors are the same - we all have bad apples among us, and we all have some gems.

What defines an intentional community maybe? How is it different from just a community where one is right now?

Honest question, I have always had trouble understanding how the word 'intentional' changes anything from just being a community & being neighbors as things are now?

--->Paul

[beorning]

The "intentional" in intentional community is supposed to be the difference. The term is not generally applied to your average neighborhood. It implies that discussion has been had regarding whatever particulars the group agrees on, that there is some degree of regulation and planning regarding things like membership, etcetera. usually, you can't move to an intentional community, be it co-housing or a full blown commune, without much discussion and arrangement, often accompanied by a trial period. Once you're there, you usually have some sort of say in who moves in next to you. Or with you. or whatever. There is also usually a good degree of control over what is permissable activity, even in a co-housing situation where everyone owns their own land. Think neighborhood association on steroids.

In a non-commune setting, IC is usually an artificial attempt at creating a "good" neighborhood. Where I've seen it break down is when you face the fact that you are possibly not dealing with people who are kind and respectful because its their nature, but because the rules say they have to. Depending on the type of governance of the group effort, things can stagnate quickly. I've seen folks have to move out of land trust situations because of consensus stalling over whether or not they can install a septic system. I've also met folks who like the co-housing/land trust thing and would rather do nothing else.

The biggest issue that I've experienced is that people are different when you are sitting around a living room chatting about doing something like this, versus actually doing it. In my community experience, I was always struck by the fact that I loathed people who I would probably get along very well with in a conventional setting. I think this is largely due to trying to counteract deeply ingrained socialization. We aren't socially programmed to share everything in a large, non-family type group. When decisions that drastically affect ones life are given up to discussion and decision making by other people, things get tense and unpleasant.

I have seen a lot more natural arrangements of neighborly behavior and unintentional community functioning for long periods of time than I have seen successful IC attempts. People never consider the gravity of completely altering a few millenia of societal norms and structure until it's way too late.

If one was thinking about doing this, I would reccomend doing it with people that there is inherent commitment from allready. Like extended family.

[Fire-Man]

Originally Posted by sewsilly

I'm in SC too.

Hello Neighbor. What part of SC do you live in?

How about you--WAB?

Anyone Else in SC?

I Live in SC too. In Conway--next door to Myrtle Beach. Randy

[Arkie1]

Each of these threads is interesting but it is also humorous.

I don't know the demographics of the people who visit the HT site but we can assume that maybe 60% are homestead minded & as you read All of the forums you'll see they can't agree on a few rules and get upset when they're told they can't do something by a mod. If you put a bunch of them in an intentional community setting I wonder how they'd learn to work together without insults, threats or attacks like we see on HT. Members constantly get upset and complain about something; how in the world could they ever work together cooperatively in a 24 hr a day, 7 day a week community?