Deb
Good to stick to your principles at least when you know for sure that you can't deal closely with
people who don't line up with all of them. Don't start something that bends you the wrong way. Bad juju. That said, I agree with all the comments above, ie. that for many reasons you select out almost everybody. Not a problem if it all seriously matters for you. Over time, you may decide that some things matter less. Or you may not.
One thing I have learned in life, though, and painfully at that, is that the perfect person... I won't say doesn't exist, but rather there are _huge_ dimensions to a person that simply don't show up on _any_ check list. And there _will_ be "challenges", promise, absolutely guaranteed. So if your list is an attempt to prevent difficult situations of the kind people get into whenever, however, wherever they live closely - I'm afraid nobody will ever work out, in the end.
Tyler's comments on your presentation seem valid to me. Pictures, more vision, fewer negatives. Just mention a couple of the most important things like
vegetarian, and maybe one other point. Include a sentence about "discuss personal beliefs and practices further after talking together". Or something like that. It's not as easy as requiring them to clear all the items on the a requirements list before any contact, but it may avoid discouraging valid candidates (or close) who get scared of the HR form (essentially) you have put out there now.
Religious communities, some of them, are the only place I know where you might find a pool of people who choose and practice most of your requirements. I'm can't give that source an unalloyed thumbs-up, though. Strict religious practices usually attract people with serious convictions, commitments and habits. I'm not talking about weekend retreat venues. I'm talking about monasteries where people stay for years. So there is the good, and with it may come the unbendingly odd.
A final thought. As a practical matter, your requirements aside, who, what person doing what in what situation do you (or anybody in your position)
think would normally consider some kind of arrangement on your land? Most of us (some are luckier than others) have practical needs, a history which determines skills and attitudes and baggage, and responsibilities which we need to at least try to meet. Somebody above mentioned
job options around you; that seems like it might matter. But really, what sort of person can pick up and commit at least months and maybe years to an uncertain situation? That takes resources of one kind or another. Youth? That's the obvious one, but youth comes with evolving changes and hormones and ignorance of just about everything, especially themselves. Older, wanting to leave the rat race? Sounds like they're taking a gamble, which is fine. But what does that mean to _you_? What do they bring to the table, how deep are they resources and commitment? Can they _afford_ to leave? I think there are a few threads here where people talk about what they learned viz woofers, volunteers, etc etc. I'm really sorry, but I don't know how to craft a search which would hit most of those threads because I come across them by accident and sometimes they're only a few posts withing a larger
thread. I know Paul has developed over the past few years certain rules of thumb regarding visitors et al; he's not the only one. If I were going to dig, I would probably use google and include the "site:permies.com" phrase in the search terms; google search provides easier access to some specialized search capabilities like how old do you want the hits. Used to be far better, but it's still the best I know of. It might give you a lot of useful info if you can find discussions by people who have experienced what you're attempting.
Best luck.
Rufus
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