Hi, my name is Erin Kaitlin I'm 18 and I want to live in a hippie commune. For the longest time now I have wanted to live in the wild living off the land and it's herbs. Is there any established or forming hippie communes in America preferably in central Florida area? I was looking for a place where they are totally 60's hippie (drugs, sex, rock&roll you know just like the good old days). I'm currently wanting to go on my own into the wild with the wind at my back but seeing how I've never gone camping for more than a week not mentioning not by myself I feel that might set me up to fail even though I'm putting together a handbook on survival and natural living for when I go out. Is there anywhere out there for me?
I'm afraid it may be difficult for you to find what you're looking for. Communes founded on the principles of "Drugs, Sex, and Rock 'n Roll" don't tend to last very long before falling apart. The ones that have stood the test of time and have continued since the 70s tend to be the ones with more rigid mindsets and fairly strict policies on letting new members into their homes-either because they started that way, or they learned hard lessons over time. I've been travelling the country living in communes and establishing organic farms for them since I was 18. You always hear rumors of the good ones, the Utopias, but when you finally arrive or talk to actual members, you tend to find everyone is a bit jaded. If you ever find the place you're looking for, I would love to hear about it. But be careful. There are places I've given all my heart and energy to for a year or two, just to find out it was all to make the leaders rich. And when I got too sick to work constant 20-hr days anymore, they threw me away and found some other poor idealistic kid. Now I'm more doing 'Homesteads' than 'Communes.' Fewer people, who I feel like I can can actually trust. I'm closer to living the life I wanted -completely off-grid, except for the phone line coming in; all our own power and water collected here on-site; establishing really sustainable food production; and, the best part, way out in the wooded hills, miles from neighbors. Somehow hippies are drawn to each other, though, and we have some really cool ones from the area who come visit and hang out here. Anyway, that's my little warning. Here is a list of all the registered 'Intentional Communities' in Florida. There is also a good map-based community finder on that website, too. I wish you luck, Erin!
My dream sounds alot like yours, i want to find a woman and live a hippy/vagabond lifestyle in the future.
Hi Erin, I agree with Rutz. As far as I know, none of the 'anything goes' communes lasted unless they changed. We have been around since 1968 and I think we offer an amazing quality of life and enjoy a remarkable diversity of lifestyles - we still consider ourselves to be 'social astronauts', and the San Francisco Bay Area is a pretty broad-minded place. However it takes some effort to find us, learn about us, and move in. You can read about us here, most folks who are interested in living with us start out living at our Oakland house.
If you are looking for a good community, you are going to have to travel. Joining a commune is a very large commitment and it is something I feel you should put a lot of thought into. Do your homework, read on the internet and listen to what people have to say. Here is a good place to start: http://thefec.org/
Does anyone on this entire communal part of the forum know about a commune in Orlando, Florida that has or had it's econamy based on the internet for the most part? I wanted to check it out. I saw it maybe 2 years or mroe ago, but now I can't find it in the Intentional communities directory, or at least now now. Maybe I didn't look hard enough. I'll keep trying for a while. It's emphasis was on fun.
Erin, ic.org is a good source. I've contacted a number of the communities listed there and they are pretty much stand-offish, unless they want donations. I think it's a great idea, what you're saying, but you're only 18. You have so much to learn. I think if you go live at a commune for a year or two you'll have a different set of ideas or have a better idea on how to accomplish what you want. Zwag, bigotry is totally uncool. So hit the road Jack, we don't want your crap.
Hey, I haven't taken the time to recheck this post out, but I think it's the one where teh person doing the warning against communes says that he/she was in a commune where all they did was get rich off of you if you're poor, then ask you to leave. Well, have you ever been to JPUSA (Jesus People USA)? Is that how they do people too? Iv'e seen youtube videos about the place where people have talked about it, at least one lady who lives or lived there. She said they live below the poverty level. I've read their history pages on their web site, www.jpusa.com and although I don't agree with everything they do there, I'm hoping and praying I could get a lot of help and start a commune similar to theirs if the government won't crack down on it too much. I like all hte different kinds of busineses that commune has to offer.
I'm hoping and praying that I can get at lesat 100 people, bugt preferrably 500 people to start a commume like JPUSA www.jpusa.org and also like the allalujiah community. www.yeslord.com
