Ender,
What an awesome adventure you're soon to embark on. The tool Alder shared is a great one, but extensive.
Stop reading here if you do not want to read advice from someone who doesn't live in an IC, but has studied small cultures for decades including the kibbutzim.
I only decided to respond to your post because of your name and the chance that you may be Shawnee and therefore not far from the IC I will provide a link to.
How do you choose? How do you sort through all the information? How do you trust what's written about an IC to be an accurate reflection of the community? Each place is so different from the others, it's impossible to
think there is a universal kind of
experience with ICs. For example, in another
thread someone was inviting people to come join them in their IC for joyous living, but they said that you must integrate Irish Wolfhounds into your life or don't consider coming. The best you can do, short of trial living in one, is to talk to others in person, via email, phone, chat, text and in this forum, such as you have done. Good on you, Ender! As I indicated, I've never lived in an IC as most think of them, but I have heard good feedback on one in our state (Missouri). I'll provide a link to their website below. But, be advised that whenever you gather human beings together negative social issues will arise - it's inescapable. One of the secrets to a successful IC, in my non-expert opinion, is how the IC has a system set in place to deal with negative social issues. This is critical to living in a collaborative way with others. Additionally, equity is a key issue. I'm not referring to who owns what or what assets are accessible. I'm referring to equity of inidviduals. I personally wouldn't live in an IC where I wasn't considered equal to other members of the IC regardless of our tenure in that IC. Without equity, a
class system forms. Maybe that's okay with some folks. Others don't want that. In the USA, age is a definer of class. The very old and the young are often second class. You'll need to protect yourself because people will see your youth in various ways. It sounds as if you want a bit more independence in your way of life. That can be a challenge in an IC that is trying to help people live in harmony with each other, but require each other's participation in order to make the place operate successfully. Living cash
free is one thing. Living without an official record may limit your choices in an IC. Though an IC may have its own order, rules, and governance, they also exist in a county, state, and federal system that some ICs won't want to violate. Be sure you are clear about your desires when you are interviewing leaders of any IC you are considering. You'll need to know what you won't settle for and what you might compromise on. Then, ask about their trial period or their probationary period. Anyway, I've rambled too long. Here is the link to Dancing Rabbit Ecovillage about which I've heard good things.
https://www.ic.org/directory/dancing-rabbit-ecovillage/
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