I'm a 27 y/o SWM who wants to join an intentional community eventually, but my personal situation feels pretty daunting. Sorry if it seems like a messy summary of my life, and I'm happy to clear anything up if I seem incoherent at any point along the way.
I guess I should just ask this first: "Are there any communities that would be willing to take on a relatively fit single guy with a ton of enthusiasm, but no developed skills and only basic permaculture knowledge?"
Otherwise, it looks like I'll need a long-term plan to master permaculture theory, attend workshops/apprenticeships, and save up 200-300k to cover all the costs of acquiring land, materials to build a house, and installing utilities. I guess another important question is, "Am I wrong? What's the estimated cost to join some of these communities?"
It's been immensely difficult finding work in the midwest US because I only have a bachelor's in Psychology (I discovered permaculture shortly after graduating). It also doesn't help that I got 2 marijuana charges - a felony for intent to sell at age 21 which has been expunged, and a misdemeanor for possession at 24 which is still visible by the permies. Both show up in criminal background checks despite the expungement. There aren't a lot of dumber things you could do in this world, and I'd give anything for society to believe when I say that I just want to move forward.
I've already tried working in multiple trades and gotten rejected, either because of my record or they thought that I wouldn't be too keen on working with my hands because I have a bachelor's in a white-collar discipline. I'm disappointed that I won't be able to kill two birds with one stone by simultaneously securing a stable career and mastering a skill that I could share with my future community (i.e. plumbing, electrical work, carpentry), so I decided to just move on to a different field where employers might be more willing to take a chance on me. On the bright side, at least I won't get permanently injured or killed while working at a desk.
Right now I'm in the process of becoming a self-taught web developer/programmer, which looks like one of my best options when you consider that they tend to overlook criminal records if you're skilled enough.
It would also allow me to work remotely, which would seem to make it a great fit for living in an off-grid community. I'm about 6 months to a year away from full-time employability as of now.
I guess another question I have is, "should I continue pursuing a job in modern tech, or am I better off opting for a less mainstream trades job such as a natural builder or greenhouse/organic farm laborer where I'd learn valuable skills, but probably only make 1/3 of the money?" Working for a nonprofit like the Sierra Club is another option that has been suggested to me, but I hear it's very competitive and I would seem to be a reach for most positions based solely on my track record (though the passion is definitely there).
Option D would be going back to school for environmental engineering, which would be the biggest all-or-nothing route given that I'd need to sacrifice 3+ years of opportunity cost, take out a massive loan to pay for school, and seriously improve my analytical skills to make it through the program. However, the reward would be the highest in the end, as it would have the strongest regenerative effect on our planet. While I'm on the topic of additional degrees, I suppose I could also return to school for just two years to get the rest of the credits I need to turn my Environmental Science minor into a major. This would probably qualify me for a Sierra Club position.
Please feel free to point out any ways in which I might be misguided or if you have any other suggestions for me. References to outside sources are also welcome, though I don't know if they're allowed in these forums (this is my first post).
Thanks SO much to everyone who read the whole thing!
