Intentional Communities

I've lived in rented apartments for over 10 years. But now I'm getting to the age where I think I would really like to invest some of myself and some of my money in a place.

Unfortunately, I live in one of the most expensive cities in the country. And real estate prices have been rising quickly over the past five years so I don't want to risk losing a lot of money when the market inevitably cools.

I often wonder whether commune-style living could work for me. I don't need a lot of private space -- pretty much just a bedroom and a refrigerator. The rest of the space I'd like to invest in -- a big yard, a living room, a bathroom, a kitchen, an Internet connection, a garage, even a car -- could theoretically be shared, given the right arrangement. I actually like having people around. And, while there are inevitably conflicts among people who have to share spaces, the built-in community, the shared destiny (if 10 people depend on the Internet connection then ~10 times as many resources can be dedicated to fixing it when it's broken), and the diversity of skills might make up for the work required to resolve conflicts.

Last night I finally did a little googling and reading and found that the modern, PC term for a commune is intentional community. It looks like people have done lots of thinking about and experimentation with various models. Parameters include: work affiliations, how income is shared, religious affiliations, decision-making style, and much more.

I think I'd favor a fairly capitalistic arrangement. I'd like to save money and build community by sharing big, expensive things, but I would like the freedom to work and spend the rest of my money how I please (entertainment, travel, food) without these private decisions being subject to community review. I also might be willing to pay others to do community chores I'm not interested in doing.

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