Anyone Interested in Starting a Commune? (Denver, Boulder: apartment, houses, school)

[rybert]

Originally Posted by ColoradoHereWeCome

Also, I never said I was not going to work? Can you show me where it says that? It says work LESS, live more. Not don't work at all. Also, we are being realistic - we are going through school as a backup plan. We could always switch from part to full time. If you want to waste your life falling into the trap society has built for you, slaving away just to barely make it - then that's on you, and I wish you luck with that. I'd rather connect with people and my environment and be happy. You only live once, if I fail, I fail. But if I'm happy - I don't see any failure in that.

I already tried the New Urbanist approach with a few of the CD City-Data members... they're too comfortable for any change. So good luck with this discussion.

[ColoradoHereWeCome]

Haha, I am loving these responses. I am not discouraged - I have been told a few times Boulder may not be the place for this unfortunately but we will find some place for it. Boulder is just perfect for this type of living (the whole part where you can appreciate the world around you). I know there will be struggles - I don't imagine lollipops and butterflies and rainbows everyday - just a community, a family, a team of people who share the same views and values in life as I do. NEO: That sounds great but I really, really want to be dead center to nature. I'm on the East Coast too, maybe I should consider Vermont or Mass. Stick around where people DO this kind of stuff on a regular basis. I do have a few friends living in the "mountains" of Vermont haha. You guys are absolutely right - it will be hard but I really feel it will be worth it - whether I fail or succeed. Thanks again everyone. Movement: I hope you are really in!! Feel free to message me. Thanks.

[ColoradoHereWeCome]

Rybert, thanks for the support. I think I may look into Vermont where this stuff happens daily. (Many people from my high school still love living in the Vermont "Mountains" after about six years). It's a lot cheaper, easier to grow on, etc. I just figured I would ask in case anyone was interested. I didn't say this was the best way to live, just that I hope it will be MY way to live and anyone else who dreams of life like this. It would be perfect, to me. You say they are "too comfortable" for change and that's fine, I don't want anyone to change if they don't want to. However, I'm NOT comfortable with NO change in my life. I wanted to open the opportunity to anyone who may have thought of this and was shut down or felt stupid for thinking of it. That's all. Thanks everyone.



LASTLY; I would not miss Amsterdam for ANYTHING. Haha!!

[rybert]

I don't think you should pack your bags and leave this discussion. It's something worth talking about. There is nothing wrong with living simple (simple means many things to many people I understand that)... I'm a fan of the community approach to survival. I know there are quite a few commune-esque neighborhoods/communities in Colorado (although many of the inhabitants still have "regular" 9-5 jobs). There is bound to be somebody on this forum that has first-hand experience with this lifestyle... don't let Bullfish bully you out of the forum/thread.

[frogandtoad]

Originally Posted by ColoradoHereWeCome

Haha, I am loving these responses. I am not discouraged - I have been told a few times Boulder may not be the place for this unfortunately but we will find some place for it. Boulder is just perfect for this type of living (the whole part where you can appreciate the world around you). I know there will be struggles - I don't imagine lollipops and butterflies and rainbows everyday - just a community, a family, a team of people who share the same views and values in life as I do. NEO: That sounds great but I really, really want to be dead center to nature. I'm on the East Coast too, maybe I should consider Vermont or Mass. Stick around where people DO this kind of stuff on a regular basis. I do have a few friends living in the "mountains" of Vermont haha. You guys are absolutely right - it will be hard but I really feel it will be worth it - whether I fail or succeed. Thanks again everyone. Movement: I hope you are really in!! Feel free to message me. Thanks.

There's lots of this going on in maine. No idea how successful it is, but give a call to the co-op in Blue Hill Maine. I bet they could put you in touch with others. Boulder does not seem like the place with the cost of land and the regulations. You need to be a bit more off the beaten track than that it seems to me.....

[bullfish15]

OK. I understand that you are 20. Perhaps you skipped school the day they talked about economics. Your experiment has already been planned and executed. Do the names Marx, Lennin, and Engles sound familiar? Probably not. They are the fathers of communism, the concept which you are embracing. Communism was the socioeconomic philosophy that united workers to the same class to avoid the traps of society. "Do it for the greater good". Communism promised wonders and success but provided nothing but slavery and misery. Sure, your unsustainable commune may not bring about the next Stalin, but it sure won't work.

Why did you buy into the concept that we all will slave away and just barely get by? Your success in life is only going to be what you make it to be.

Tell me this... Even if you can get enough people to agree to live like this, If you can find somewhere to live... How much do you plan on working? How much do you plan to put aside for retirement? How much do you plan to spend on medical care? What about kids? Are you going to buy kids clothing, take them to the doctor, buy them diapers? What about repairs to the commune facility? Will you and your cohorts remotely be mechanically inclined? You plan on using little or no electricity. Are you going to heat your facility in the winter, or will the warmth of your souls spread thermal greatness throughout? What about your extracurriculars? Are you going to grow your own or will you purchase it on the black market? (That gets pricey). Cigarettes are expensive as well. What about water and sewage? Are you going to use pit toilets? Running water? What about insurance? Health, life, car (Or will you use the mass transit that won't be stopping where you are living, given the remoteness needed for your pricerange) What about telephones? Internet? I doubt your affinity with the internet will change, given you already use the internet and probably use a cell phone at the minimum. How will you pay for your building? Taxes, insurance?

I could go on and on, but I won't. Seriously. Your complete misunderstanding of how life works is painful to my eyes.

[bullfish15]

Originally Posted by rybert

I don't think you should pack your bags and leave this discussion. It's something worth talking about. There is nothing wrong with living simple (simple means many things to many people I understand that)... I'm a fan of the community approach to survival. I know there are quite a few commune-esque neighborhoods/communities in Colorado (although many of the inhabitants still have "regular" 9-5 jobs). There is bound to be somebody on this forum that has first-hand experience with this lifestyle... don't let Bullfish bully you out of the forum/thread.

Rybert, you have come up with some off the most off the wall things in your days and this fits your consistency. I am not bullying this person off the forum, I am calling out irrational thought. If someone wants to live in a fantasy la-la land around me I will kindly bring them back down to reality.

I am unsure of what commune-esque neighborhoods you are talking about. I would imagine those neighborhoods are full of individually deeded properties and apartments who are consuming electricity, natural gas, water and gasoline. These people buy their own groceries (I'm sure at Whole Foods) and own their own furniture. They use their own computers and drive their own cars. They watch their own TVs and play their own music.

If you want to rely on other people (and ultimately government) to live your life, go for it. I am independent. I don't rely on anyone but me. I make my fortune and my future and I reap the benefits.

[Katiana]

Growing 25% of your food in the mountains above Boulder is a pipe dream, let alone 50%. There is practially NO growing season up there. Boulder is iffy. We have a garden in Louisville. This year it is fabulous, some years we hardly get anything due to: late spring, early fall, too hot, too cool, watering restricitons, etc. There isn't enough natural rainfall here to have a garden, you have to water. Vermont or the midwest may be better for you.

[rybert]

I was referring to the idea of cohousing... it seems like a weak version of a commune.

[bullfish15]

Are you talking about many people living in one house? Personally, that has never worked with me. Believe it or not I am really easy to get along with but the people that have ever lived with me have been lazy good for nothing absorbers. My better half and I have moved out of an apartment with 2 "trustworthy" "friends" who moved to Denver with us. They ended up stiffing us for $850 and were greasy smelly nasty lazy SOBs. For crying out loud, CLEAN THE STOVE ONCE IN A WHILE!!! Take the trash out, take care of your dog, pull yourself away from world of warcraft and wash your clothes! But that is enough with my rant...