A commune or a cult would be better than this circus lol
From Biblical Babylon to modern scientology The problem with cults, at least according to me / Is that it’s so hard to see the purpose, meaning or point in them / And they’re never any fun, but still, people keep joining them
Amateur Rappers, by The Burning Hell
Why not a commune IN the city?
Not saying this is you, but I feel like a lotta people who wanna live in the country also want all the city amenities - internet, garbage pickup, municipal sewage, etc.
To me, the problem isn’t cities, it’s late stage capitalism - gentrifying neighbourhoods, driving rents beyond reach, displacing communities. Plus its zeal for car-focused infrastructure, conspicuous consumption. All that stuff.
Anyway communal life is very appealing - I long for my college days of living in a house full of peers. Even if i’m off-base with my capitalism ruins the city argument, I think we’d all do better at coping with modern life with a wider support network.
I hear they are growing more popular in the bay area? Gideon Lichfield, outgoing editor-in-chief at Wired, mentions he spends half his year living in a commune of sorts and would like to do it full time in this podcast.
If I were younger I’d be looking at Mexico. Elevation and arable land can be found. Aboriginals would have survived if not for guns. And I think it will be a long time before the US ruins them like they do all over the world. I believe you can pretty much survive with 1acre per person in the commune. At least according to Fukuoka Masanobu.
I don’t come anywhere near close to meeting the requirements for intentional communities. Chronic illness is a real bastard. I don’t need much and the quality of my life could so easily be improved by just a little help from others, but everyone - even intentional communities - is caught up in focusing on how much others can help them. What I can give is less tangible, and therefore dismissed.
I don’t want to abandon society but I do recognise we’d all be far better off if we lived in ways which were less isolating. Every person/family for themselves harms us all.
I feel pretty happy in a city where I feel welcome and the neighborhood is fun. I got my family and friends around, and my bf only lives a short drive away :)
Nature isn’t too far away either.
Not really, no. The idea of living in a small community makes me feel nauseous and panicky, and the more remote the commune the more intense the aversion.
But I wouldn’t mind some sort of arrangement between some others who also like the idea of being off-grid but who loathe the idea of being in a small community, where we’d be off in the wilds with a LOT of space between us, but still come together occasionally to help each other out with various things, or be available be radio or whatever.
Similarly, the idea of being part of a nomadic group seems quite appealing to me, especially if more people join along the way and others dip in and out.
I’ve thought for a while that it would be cool to buy up a block in a suburb and do urban farming as a community.
see if there are any community gardens in your area. they’re basically what you’re talking about, although usually only the land owner and/or farm manager lives there. my favorite one around here also has a rotating volunteer position who lives on site.
No I like not to have to worry about food every day and potentially die if I have some medical issue.
Don’t drink the Kool-Aide
Avoid the apple sauce too.
Does the cult have a good plan for healthcare? If so, please send me your newsletter, manifesto, religious tract, pentabarf, whatever.
I’d settle for a cult with a good dentist tbh. According to US healthcare eyes and teeth are separate from the rest of your body.
We call teeth “Luxury Bones” up here in Canada.
I’m honestly so close to going home and living on a kibutz
As somebody who was once part of a cult, it’s just the same circus but worse.
Very often I would like to abandon my life in reality and become a part of an ideal world which I have imagined. It is surprisingly easy to become part of a rural cult (look up “intentional communities”) so it’s a backup plan I have in mind if necessary, but with people we’re going to be dealing with a different version of the same set of issues. We as a species are nuts.
Lol yeah I love intentional communities, I so want to join one if I could!
I used to live in a housing co-op and loved it. That being said you are going to have to deal with people intimately in that kind of living situation, so quality of life is greatly influenced by how well you mesh with the others around and things can change.
No, but finding a job in a slightly less fucked country would be great once I have sufficient work experience.
You can do it, I believe in you!!
Thank you. <3
My dad did it back when he was a hippy.
He still talks very fondly of the time he spent out in the Arizona desert all those decades ago.A piece of me would like to drop out of society and live in solitude.
While I lean towards being a loner, I realized that I am probably mostly a hybrid.
I enjoy some human interaction, but also love being alone to do whatever the fuck I want.
To me a commune would be too intimate and I think would end up being like a small town type of scenario which doesn’t appeal to me.
