What about the first month?

Hello, young couple ready to pay our boot camp fee and get groovin (as soon as we make sure everything can work out). I’m a bit confused because I saw somewhere say it takes one month of boot camp to get land but somewhere else says 4 months. What are the sleeping arrangements before those 1-4 months? Commute? I ask because I have a (very well behaved farm) dog who gets nervous in a new situation. She has never barked at anyone but has more of a docile response to her anxiety. She lived on a farm for 4 years and has been camping many times near other people, she only gets anxious in closed quarters near people. Due to my own fears I never have her off leash and she is the definition of lazy farm dog so I know once we are on our own land she will find her lay spot and spend most of her hours in that spot.

Hi Michayla!

if I remember correctly, after one month, you can pick a plot to work/stay on. After 4 months, you have earned 1 year of rent on that plot (some Boots work for 4 months to get their year of rent, and then become an "Ant," or work for a while at a different job and then come back to work on their plot. Lots chose to stay in Bootcamp for 2 years earn a lifetime of rent on their plot--which seems like a sweet deal to me!).

Before you've been there a month, there's a variety of things that can work out, and none of them require a commute. There's a bunk room on the main house (you can see some pictures here), or you can chose to camp. If no one is renting one of the numerous rentals, you two might end up in one of those. Some Boots chose to pay to rent one of the structures, and that way they know they won't get bumped out if someone pays to rent it.

I'm not at Wheaton Labs, so I don't know all the particulars, but I'll see if Lara can come chime in, as she's at Wheaton Labs and is a lot more knowledgeable about the nitty-gritty details than I am!

Michayla Deane wrote:Hello, young couple ready to pay our boot camp fee and get groovin (as soon as we make sure everything can work out). I’m a bit confused because I saw somewhere say it takes one month of boot camp to get land but somewhere else says 4 months. What are the sleeping arrangements before those 1-4 months? Commute? I ask because I have a (very well behaved farm) dog who gets nervous in a new situation. She has never barked at anyone but has more of a docile response to her anxiety. She lived on a farm for 4 years and has been camping many times near other people, she only gets anxious in closed quarters near people. Due to my own fears I never have her off leash and she is the definition of lazy farm dog so I know once we are on our own land she will find her lay spot and spend most of her hours in that spot.

Hi Michayla,

Thanks for reaching out about the bootcamp. After one month of bootcamp, you may choose a plot to play with. After 2 years of bootcamp, you achieve "deep roots" and get rent for life on your plot. Or, after 4 months of bootcamp, you can trade those 4 months of work for one year of rent on your plot and become an ant in ant village. You can read about Paul's policy for dogs in this post but essentially, while you are a boot, you live wherever the bootcamp needs boots (either at basecamp, or the lab) and basecamp is not currently fully fenced (nor is the lab). So the logistics of living at Wheaton Labs and working full time in the bootcamp with a dog might be tricky, unless you have a solution for the dog while you are working. We do not have any dog-friendly rentable structures, so camping might be your only option besides a home on wheels... If you came in a warmer month, it might be possible to put something of a structure up in your free time before winter. I hope this helps!