Looking for a Tribe (Zones 8-10)

Well, hello, friends. Nice to meet you all. We've been secretly stalking you for months 😂. We are New Yorkers getting ready to get the heck out of the city life to start a new life working hard to learn skills and procure a living doing all sorts of things. After realizing that our empty consumeristic lives were helping destroy our planet and our health, we learned there’s a way to do things right. We learned about Paul and this amazing forum through a summit. We read Paul’s book and it has been life-changing. Now, we are ready to leave the nonsense behind to find a community and the possibility to buy a few acres of land. We will be doing our best to get rid of everything during summer and hopefully by the end of the year we will have made some friends and hopefully find a place to go and learn all the amazing things you do. About us, this is me and my son. Just the two of us 😂 We’re looking for a community in zones 8, 9, or 10. If you have any ideas, please comment. We would appreciate any insight on how to proceed. I’m very good at baking, making stuff with my hands, I’m crazy good with children and I’m also a workaholic. We’re willing to work our butt off and learn all we need to be able to join a community. It would be nice to start making some friends since we are new to this way of life. Thanks so much in advance! Thanks Paul for everything you do. We truly appreciate you and this community.

I haven't found much in New England, you might get some luck somewhere in the Midwest or down south, but I would recommend thoroughly vetting the communities before hand.

Hello Toria!

Paul has created a beautiful community called Wheaton Labs near Missoula Montana.  

https://wheaton-labs.com/

We have a lot of fun, growing food and learning permaculture skills.  

It is a little colder than what you were looking for but part of the fun here is creating microclimates where we can grow warmer season crops.  One of the experiments at Wheaton Labs is seeing if we can grow lemon trees outdoors like Sep Holzer does in Austria.

The summers are hot and sunny, the winters cold and brisk with rocket mass heaters to keep our cabins, workshops and classroom cozy and warm.

https://permies.com/wiki/367505/Visit-Wheaton-Labs

Jack Sato wrote:I haven't found much in New England, you might get some luck somewhere in the Midwest or down south, but I would recommend thoroughly vetting the communities before hand.

I totally agree, Jack. That’s why I thought starting earlier. That would give us some time to get to know each other better. Thanks so much for your advice. How do you make sure a community is right for you, in your opinion?

"How do you make sure a community is right for you, in your opinion?"


Well, I guess what are you looking for in a community, how grassroots would you like to go? lol

Check this website out, they have a pretty good descriptions of established communities you can use them to do most of the legwork for you.


https://www.ic.org/directory/


I attached a screen shot of a community I was going to reach out to.

Thank you so much. This is exactly what I need!

In order to see what you are getting into, I would second the vote for Wheaton Labs as Boots. The investment is minimum in terms of cash, you will get a real taste of what the life is like, and you may pick up some new skills.

very cool! good luck on your journey

Welcome to the site, Toria!

It seems to me that there are a few really critical elements to finding a community:

1) The people and how they handle conflict. Ive been reading on failed intentional communities and the majority of failed communities were because of infighting and disagreements. Some study can help but ultimately you need to get to know the people, and get to know them really well before committing. People arent enough either...what are their processes for handling disagreements? Long stay visits are a must. Longer stays are better. This one has the highest potential of wasted years when you find out you cant work out a problem with your IC years into it.

2) Religion/Belief:  a lot of ICs come with explicit or implicit beliefs you need to share to get along.  Some are looking for christians only. Some are strictly vegan. Some want you to only eat together. Some ICs plan to live together. Youll want to figure out which of these are no go for you.  SPECIFICALLY: i recommend putting in your post a clear hypothetical description of the lifestyle you are looking for.

3) Finance and ownership: when it comes to brass tacks, this is it. Who finances the land you live on? Who covers your expenses and how? Do you plan to buy land yourself in an area near a community or do you plan to live on a community's land?  Financially do you have enough to support yourself (or an ongoing remote job?) Or are you planning to be valuable enough to an IC via your labor that they dont mind giving you what little finances you still need?

I think if you can clearly articulate answers to these three, you are well on your way to finding a community that works.

John F Dean wrote:In order to see what you are getting into, I would second the vote for Wheaton Labs as Boots. The investment is minimum in terms of cash, you will get a real taste of what the life is like, and you may pick up some new skills.

Thanks, John. I tried to contact Paul but got no answer. Maybe he is too busy…. I agree. It is a great option and the experience is incredible.

Toria,

First off, if the journey to the right place is a long one, don't get disillusioned. A lot of people dabble in permaculture and homesteading (I'm one of them!) but don't have a full blown community milling around them. Success for you might take on a couple dozen guises. Be flexible. Don't be afraid to pull the plug early if something seems off. I think you'll know with little doubt when you find the right place. You might have to put in some time and miles to find it.

Best of luck!

j

Toria Rozo wrote:Well, hello, friends. Nice to meet you all. We've been secretly stalking you for months 😂. We are New Yorkers getting ready to get the heck out of the city life to start a new life working hard to learn skills and procure a living doing all sorts of things. After realizing that our empty consumeristic lives were helping destroy our planet and our health, we learned there’s a way to do things right. We learned about Paul and this amazing forum through a summit. We read Paul’s book and it has been life-changing. Now, we are ready to leave the nonsense behind to find a community and the possibility to buy a few acres of land. We will be doing our best to get rid of everything during summer and hopefully by the end of the year we will have made some friends and hopefully find a place to go and learn all the amazing things you do. About us, this is me and my son. Just the two of us 😂 We’re looking for a community in zones 8, 9, or 10. If you have any ideas, please comment. We would appreciate any insight on how to proceed. I’m very good at baking, making stuff with my hands, I’m crazy good with children and I’m also a workaholic. We’re willing to work our butt off and learn all we need to be able to join a community. It would be nice to start making some friends since we are new to this way of life. Thanks so much in advance! Thanks Paul for everything you do. We truly appreciate you and this community.

Daniel Andy wrote:Welcome to the site, Toria!

Thank you, Andy! I totally agree 100%. Living in a community is tough. Getting to know people really well is easier if you live relatively close, but, living in different states is a challenge. A long stay, yes. At this point I’m looking to rent something for about a year. A year will help us determine if the community is right for us. I would prefer a community that share spaces/work, but I would like to have privacy to avoid conflict. I can work and I’m willing to work as a team, but, I’m also an introvert after a long day of sharing everything 🤪😂

You have great points that I haven’t even considered yet, but they’re extremely important. I will answer all these questions so I can have a better idea of how to look.

THANKS A BUNCH

Daniel Andy wrote:Welcome to the site, Toria!

It seems to me that there are a few really critical elements to finding a community:

1) The people and how they handle conflict. Ive been reading on failed intentional communities and the majority of failed communities were because of infighting and disagreements. Some study can help but ultimately you need to get to know the people, and get to know them really well before committing. People arent enough either...what are their processes for handling disagreements? Long stay visits are a must. Longer stays are better. This one has the highest potential of wasted years when you find out you cant work out a problem with your IC years into it.

2) Religion/Belief:  a lot of ICs come with explicit or implicit beliefs you need to share to get along.  Some are looking for christians only. Some are strictly vegan. Some want you to only eat together. Some ICs plan to live together. Youll want to figure out which of these are no go for you.  SPECIFICALLY: i recommend putting in your post a clear hypothetical description of the lifestyle you are looking for.

3) Finance and ownership: when it comes to brass tacks, this is it. Who finances the land you live on? Who covers your expenses and how? Do you plan to buy land yourself in an area near a community or do you plan to live on a community's land?  Financially do you have enough to support yourself (or an ongoing remote job?) Or are you planning to be valuable enough to an IC via your labor that they dont mind giving you what little finances you still need?

I think if you can clearly articulate answers to these three, you are well on your way to finding a community that works.

I may be a unicorn. I have beliefs for different things, not at all incompatible. But it seems I won't find community in agreement for all those things. I will have to compromise on something, that is not then a shared belief or value.

From someone who has spent a good part of my adult life in intentional community settings, my one bit of advice beyond what others have already posted (and I totally   agree about the site ic. org as a great place to start!) is to not be too hasty and make a bad decision that way.  Try to take or make some time to tour around several communities in your area of interest, maybe even volunteer at some.  Say a week or so at each.  What you want to catch is first, a general vibe of whether that life will really work for you (especially as contrasted with homesteading on your own), and secondly, the vibe of that particular community or type of community....they vary a good deal from one to another.  Especially pay attention to how newcomers would be incorporated in, and the dynamics between private ownership or stakeholding versus communal ownership.   Be aware that life happens, not only to yourselves, but to communities, and not all of them last forever.  Ask yourself, and the people you visit....what happens if 10 or 20 years down the line you or they decide that it just isn't working any more, what then?   Some communities can do this gracefully, evolving into a collection of neighbors who stay friendly, whereas others....well, speaking from experience it can get pretty spectacular.

Alder Burns wrote:From someone who has spent a good part of my adult life in intentional community settings, my one bit of advice beyond what others have already posted (and I totally   agree about the site ic. org as a great place to start!) is to not be too hasty and make a bad decision that way.  Try to take or make some time to tour around several communities in your area of interest, maybe even volunteer at some.  Say a week or so at each.  What you want to catch is first, a general vibe of whether that life will really work for you (especially as contrasted with homesteading on your own), and secondly, the vibe of that particular community or type of community....they vary a good deal from one to another.  Especially pay attention to how newcomers would be incorporated in, and the dynamics between private ownership or stakeholding versus communal ownership.   Be aware that life happens, not only to yourselves, but to communities, and not all of them last forever.  Ask yourself, and the people you visit....what happens if 10 or 20 years down the line you or they decide that it just isn't working any more, what then?   Some communities can do this gracefully, evolving into a collection of neighbors who stay friendly, whereas others....well, speaking from experience it can get pretty spectacular.

I don't think I have that privilege or luxury of the ability to travel to different communities to find what corresponds best, what is right for me would be having enough communication before I would come, if I do, with being assured it is right. I already want the very simple living.

J Garlits wrote:Toria,

First off, if the journey to the right place is a long one, don't get disillusioned. A lot of people dabble in permaculture and homesteading (I'm one of them!) but don't have a full blown community milling around them. Success for you might take on a couple dozen guises. Be flexible. Don't be afraid to pull the plug early if something seems off. I think you'll know with little doubt when you find the right place. You might have to put in some time and miles to find it.

Thanks so much, J. I truly appreciate your kind words. I’m trying to figure things out and for now, I’m going to continue to study for my PDC and work on starting my business. I’m not going to get too stressed about it, if something comes up, I’ll do what you and others have recommended which is basically, making sure it’s the right place for us. I’m truly hopeful.

Alder Burns wrote: Some communities can do this gracefully, evolving into a collection of neighbors who stay friendly, whereas others....well, speaking from experience it can get pretty spectacular.

Haha. Yes. Believe me, Alder, all these thoughts go through my head. I think we as humans tend to believe that the grass is greener on the other side, when in reality, it could be very different than expected. It’s our fault for idealizing a place we want to fit in. You mention several things that are really great considerations. Thank you so much, because I can add these questions to my growing list of things to ask when looking for a community. 😊😊😊❤️

Fred Frank V Bur wrote: I don't think I have that privilege or luxury of the ability to travel to different communities to find what corresponds best, what is right for me would be having enough communication before I would come, if I do, with being assured it is right. I already want the very simple living.

Haha. I agree with you. I don’t have that privilege either. Specially with everything that’s going on! Tough