What sparked your interest in living in community? Was there one moment or a particular event that called to you?
I got inspired by visiting Tamera in Portugal for Love School and getting curious about intentional community
I am not exactly sure. I think it was probably the mind programming I received as a young person.
Shows like “Fraggle Rock”, “Rainbow Bright” and “Sonic the Hedgehog” and even “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” in the 80s and 90s, as well as others, often showed and idealized communities of freedom fighters living in resistance to aggressive gangsters and dominant paradigms. That probably planted some early anarchistic thoughts in my head. But there may have been some inner guidance too because the dehumanizing depictions of supposedly native people in Disney’s “Peter Pan” didn’t sit right for me.
Anyway, I later found out many of the creators of shows intended for children were artists or idealists in some way or were at least willing to borrow the ideals for (or at the expense of) commercial interests. I viewed most effort at resistance futile until I saw it for myself.
After I experienced some hauntings, I woke up to “weird stuff” being real and not just Coast to Coast AM style entertainment. I quit my advertising job, I joined a building restoration effort, then lived on an organic permaculture farm in the late 00s, I met a bunch of resistance organizers who visited there, and then traveled and lived with an independent alternative researcher, and then moved into a co-op sharehouse, and so on. I realized it wasn’t just some childish whim but a serious adventure one can embark on in this life … to boldly resist the mundane, and heal and have fun doing it too.
So to summarize maybe … 1. childhood idealism reinforced by subversive messages in (or escaped from) colonizing culture and 2. paranormal experiences forcing me to wake up from and reject “default purpose” handed to me by colonizing culture
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It is my dream to live with a group of people, in peace. I may not be able to change the world, however living harmoniously with a group of people, seems more feasible (and perhaps useful to the world). I believe that can be much easier if I share common goals, purposes, or interests with those people, and have effective tools to realise those goals and purposes.
I think I’m naturally drawn to connect with others, like hardwired to do so, it “feels” good. Being able to truly trust people, flow in a group, know I’m safe and can depend on others. I believe many tools present in community and ecovillage projects facilitate that.
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I’m drawn more to nature & staying connected; as far from the city & [overbearing] society as I can get. I’m looking for an area that has access to water & in/near a large forest. I happened upon your website looking for an ideal place to plant my feet.
I don’t know exactly what I’m looking for in a community. I do know that I’m looking for a community that’s diverse (religiously, dietary, creativity (creative ideas/skills)), adaptive, open minded, & willing to teach/improve even the most basic of skills.
I’m not saying that I’m the dumbest person, I’m also not saying that I know everything — God knows I don’t. I’ve recently realized that I plan ahead of where I should be, yet such planning ends up helping me when it becomes the present; this is likely with almost everything I do. If I need to do something in the present, I usually wing it and hope for the best. My guess is I need to be a part of a community that can help me hone my planning processes. Fair warning: I can be stubborn & a pain in the rear — please have more patience than a spider waiting for a meal.
I apologize if any of the above is off topic.
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Back in 2019 I happened upon the concept while searching for a community house to live in, rent-splitting for cost-effectiveness etc. I lived in 2 different housemate situations, one with 2 housemates and one where myself and a housemate lived in the basement apartment while the landlord and her husband lived upstairs. Both situations weren’t good fits for me, nor I for them I suppose. So I learnt that coliving in the same household with people not related to me, or not married to me, doesn’t work for me.
But there are so many intentional communities out there that involve units or houses with some privacy so I didn’t want to give up altogether because I kept being drawn back to the idea. Back in spring I decided this was important to me so I started the process of hoping to start a community, with fellow founders of course. But though so many friends like the idea they don’t have the wherewithall to really dive in as founders with me because its lots of work.
Fast forward to wintertime, during summer I gave up on intentional community, I went through a personal situation with my now former best friend (we still care about each other but I can’t be close with her anymore, long story). It really shook my confidence in my ability to organize and understand people. If I couldn’t manage this relationship with my best friend whom I loved then how could I get a community going? But time has softened my fears and I’m ready again to seek. Maybe I won’t be the initiator of the community, but rather be a founder in someone else’s community goals, or perhaps we’ll join a community that already exists who seeks new members (though I don’t see any good fits in the area we want to live in (Washington or Clackamas Counties, OR, but not Portland itself, must be within public transit range or have an amazing rideshare system).
Why do I want to live in community?
I want myself and my husband to live in a community where people _want to be neighbours and friends, its annoying to say hi to our neighbours in our complex when most of them don’t bother to say hi back.
I want to never feel the isolation of lockdown again, as a neurodivergent extravert I can’t tell you how poisonous that lockdown situation was for my mental health. I want to be in a community where we’re rebels and don’t always obey when poisonous rules like that are enacted, even if its just getting together in each other’s houses instead of the commonhouse, or doing things together outside, zoom does nothing for my social needs. I want to be with likeminded people who, at least for some of them, fear won’t stop them from socializing in person.
My husband is a social introvert, he likes people a lot but loves being home, a community will expand his perception of what “home” looks like (we’ve talked about it), so the commonhouse and grounds of the community will be part of his concept of home, meaning he’ll have an easier time socializing.
Having others in close proximity is a motivating force for me.
I want to be part of more systems in which I can encourage, support and help others thrive and enjoy life.
I want to live a lifestyle which involves growing food and increase my connection with the earth in new ways (spending time in nature is already a crucial part of my well-being, this will enhance that and also add me to a community system where others want similar things.).
I’m a Ren/fantasy faire/pirate campout person, that’s my tribe. I’ve had friends tell me that where I belong is a village, a place where we all know each other, choose to be connected, do for each other, help and support each other, cocreate happiness together, along with the earth and the waters, etc. I really think they’re right.
It would be so neat to have a community made up of fairefolk and other adjacent creatives/reenactors/enthusiasts/homesteaders/free thinkers, etc. I’m not really that particular I suppose because so many types of people would be wonderful to share life with, I don’t want us to all be the same.
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