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I don't think any situation changed that suddenly made it make more sense. The advantages (and disadvantages) of communes are largely fixed with respect to external references and externalities. So long as a person can find the advantages of such a lifestyle outweigh whatever disadvantages they may see, then they should weigh it heavily as an option to pursue.
The hard(er) part is arguably getting people to organize, and getting them to agree on the particulars of the plan. Depending on the group of people, that can be a bit like herding cats (meaning cats don't like to be herded). Having a group of like-minded people helps, but even that may not be enough because certain groups like to be herded a little bit less than others.
If funding (or money issues, in general) is a persons primary motivation for wanting to create such a community, chances are that will also be their biggest obstacle. Such a person might want to explore some of the preexisting communities out there, if they have not already. The preexisting communities have already done the hard part, so to speak, which is funding the community and getting the residents to agree on its location, etc...
You have to get along with a lot people. What is your plan for that?
20-30 people to start or more....and the aim would simply be 'secular'...or 'practical'....
I mean think about it...30 people...$1000.00 each...$30,000 dollars = land, and or land and small farm or ranch and or enough for very large down payment..
But it would be best to buy it out right...or land with a lodge on it...large dinning haul and all...with 20-30 acres, people don't have to live all bunched up...get land with lake on it or stream running through....
And that's only for one month....the $20,000 that is....or $30,000....
The main goal would be a place where people could live, and be left alone...people who want to get back to 'living' and not just hussling for a dollar every day....
I will write up a charter or constitution of this communal society later and post it...haven't time now...
But as induvisuals, most of us will never achieve the type of living we want, or be able to afford a nice mountain home or homes, but if poor working people pool their money, like the rich and wealthy already do...then that could change...
The commune members are going to have to hold onto their $8/hr jobs, at least for a while. Figure a lot less income than you're looking at, since they're still going to have gas, insurance, food etc. costs. So for 30 people (remember they're still paying taxes) ...
30 people @$8/hr * 173.32 hrs/mn = $41,597 gross
@80% take home after taxes = $33, 277 net
Food for 30 people @ $10/day/person = $9,099
Gas for 20 cars (conservative est.) @ $12/day @$3.50/gal = $5,200
Car insurance @ $150/mn for 20 cars = $3,000
Incidentals @ $5/day/person = $4,550
NET - $11,428
That's at a bare-minimum, highly conservative level - not counting medical care, alimony, child support, car maintenance and repair, life and medical insurance, clothing, OTC medications and a ton of other things.
Realistically, you might end up with $7-8K/mn to put into the common kitty. Better plan on a longer time frame to get things rolling ...
Without some external (or really internal) factor that binds these people together...
that is beyond merely saving a few dollars on food and shelter...
these things will fizzle out, or worse, and then implode like a bad marriage.
And all that still assumes they each bring some useful skill to the group...
in addition to the pile of cash the kitty will need.
Without some external (or really internal) factor that binds these people together...
that is beyond merely saving a few dollars on food and shelter...
these things will fizzle out, or worse, and then implode like a bad marriage.
And all that still assumes they each bring some useful skill to the group...
in addition to the pile of cash the kitty will need.
Here is a better vision of my plan...
Photos do wonder...I can't post any here...so read what I wrote here instead...
You have to get along with a lot people. What is your plan for that?
Easy...people already for the most part get along...
After I write up the charter...if it's what people want, great, if not...they can continue to struggle in life at a measly income...
Basically it would be a secular refuge of sorts...
And like SufiPhil said, many would continue to work..either full time or part-time...
Until we really got what we wanted...but everything would be paid for in cash pretty much...
We would aquire land with a farm already on it, or a ranch...like in Kansas or something, or Wyoming, Goergia ect ect...
A certain core would be there full time, getting things in order, and another core would continue to work for a while (this could even be done on a rotating shift type deal)....
Remember...the people coming or joining aren't going to be your Beverly Hills materialistic types, rather they're already going to be types who have always wanted to do this...
The unity and bond, at least initially, will be the pride and joy in knowing we can sustain ourselves, live a slower, fuller, more quality pace of life, while 'cheating' the system....
Having our own land, housing, simple housing, and knowing it's all paid for...
These are just the basics...
And yes, everyone would bring their own special skills to help the place function, from accountants to truck drivers to masons ect ect...
Thing is, with us pooling our money, we would be able to aquire anything from bulldozers to a semi truck and trailer to even our own radio station...
We could do all this on 50 or 100 acres of land....
A society within a society...like a Indian reservation kind of...
The alternative is for induvisuals to continue to struggle just barely getting buy and taking handouts from the Government...
20-30 people to start or more....and the aim would simply be 'secular'...or 'practical'....
I mean think about it...30 people...$1000.00 each...$30,000 dollars = land, and or land and small farm or ranch and or enough for very large down payment..
But it would be best to buy it out right...or land with a lodge on it...large dinning haul and all...with 20-30 acres, people don't have to live all bunched up...get land with lake on it or stream running through....
And that's only for one month....the $20,000 that is....or $30,000....
The main goal would be a place where people could live, and be left alone...people who want to get back to 'living' and not just hussling for a dollar every day....
I will write up a charter or constitution of this communal society later and post it...haven't time now...
But as induvisuals, most of us will never achieve the type of living we want, or be able to afford a nice mountain home or homes, but if poor working people pool their money, like the rich and wealthy already do...then that could change...
Land and homes on that land would be possible...
Where do people get these figures from...?
$30k isn't getting you the land you need for 30 people. Average land usage per person for self sufficiency is 1 acre per person, and that's ignoring buildings, energy sources, water collection and storage etc. It also depends on climate, 1 acre cultivated here in AK isn't going to produce the same or as much as 1 acre in FL.
You should bank on 1 acre minimum per person, ideally 2 (you'd like milk, cheese, meat, eggs), and half an acre per family for living space, storage, water, power. So that would require at minimum for 8 families (say 30 people) 34 acres, so work from there. It depends on the cost per acre too, good accessible arable land you could be looking at $5k per acre or more ($6k per person starting costs at that price), depending on where it is it can drop to $500 per acre, but that's unknown quality for cultivation, so if you want to make sure you need a bigger land area to guarantee you have the cultivatable land you need and to carefully survey, and will need a lot of work, time and/or money to get going, for access routes, soil and soil amendment etc.
One important point too, is that's land without any buildings, often even a $2k in materials shack can double the price of the land it's sitting on (yes even in Alaska). If it's got living quarters, a barn, well, sheds, and so on then the prices go up from there.
I'm not sure what you mean by...
"And that's only for one month....the $20,000 that is....or $30,000...."
Are you suggesting people are committing $1k per person per month? I've worked with people who could afford to commit $1k per month income to this kind of project for a family of four (I used to be one), and they're not looking for a commune. They're all type A personalities, in greater or lesser strengths. Having a "commune" or even a community like that would be like herding cats.
Anyone else who would be prepared to commit that kind of income, would be committing their entire monthly disposable income, so they'd be cancelling cable, internet, cell phones, eating Ramen, making only required trips by car or selling it entirely, which would make me highly suspicious of their motives, financial resilience and their priorities, and highly suspicious as to whether I'd want them to even be there, especially in any emergency or when self sufficiency is required.
Finally of course there's your statement of...
"I will write up a charter or constitution of this communal society later and post it...haven't time now..."
Why do you need a charter or constitution...? Isn't the current Constitution sufficient (I'm talking about the one for the US, just to clarify)? What is this charter or constitution's purpose? To enforce someone else's will on the unwilling? If so then you've already failed. If not then there's no point. People in general know the rules and social contracts, if you have someone in this plan who doesn't live by these rules or contracts, then a piece of paper isn't going to help. You'll need a contract for those people who are crazy enough to sign up for the scheme, but not so crazy as to just give you their money without outlining what it is they're expected to get back. Anything else should be drawn up and discussed by the members, or it's not a "commune", it's the "Realm of Time and Space" or whatever name you go by in the real world.
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