Anyone living in or previously lived in an intentional community ?

[RosemaryandThyme]

Hello, I live in an intentinal community and am wondering if anyone else does or did ?
Ours is a community for the education and welfare of it's members, of which there are about 9 families (plus a few floating extras) living in an collection of houses and a main maor house in a rural hamlet - anyone else in a similar position ?

Sex really isn't an issue, there have been a few folk over the years who have arrived with one partner and left with another, but most of the long-stayers are pretty typical family units. Once a couple are expecting a baby they have the option of a cottage, several different sizes are available and most choose to leave to be honest, those that stay are just like any other families.

Women do the bulk of the domestic work and are not expected to work outside of the community at all, some do in the early days but most drop it as they prefer to either pursue qualifications and/or raise a family.

Our community funds come from both earned income and from articles based on the mathmatical and scientific work done here. We have fully functioning labs of course.

I find the idea of communal living very interesting, and think it has the potential to return to the old way of villages all working together so the old village it would take to raise a child sort of thing. I also think by it's nature, a commune has the potential to go very very wrong. I suppose it is the same as any community though, it is only as good as the people in it.

I have a few friends who are spread around the country who all share similar views on society and education, as well as child raising and we have often said that we should start a commune and all live together. Between us we have all the basic skills needed to be pretty self sufficient, enough of us can work from home as to raise the funds for anything we couldn't make or grow ourselves and we could certainly educate to primary level between us. I somehow think that it would be lovely in theory but wouldn't work out in practise though.

So, domestic chores, frumpy clothes and being contractually obliged to suck all the blokes off at their whim: OP, you aren't selling this very well as a utopia, really.

I would be quite interested to see your answers to the questions Queen answered on the last page though, R&T, if you wouldn't mind answering them?

What's the point of qualifications if you don't work?

Pious - why do you think it wouldn't work ?

I am riveted by this thread. Especially the idea of the 'fully functioning labs of course'.

No meditation

Happy to answer further questions - anything to challenge the stereotype of a commune that is portrayed on TV etc.

What is the mathematical and scientific work you are doing?

And how do you make money writing peer-reviwed academic papers? Or are they not actually that? Are they more of the Gillian Mckeith style of 'science'?

Our community funds come from both earned income and from articles based on the mathmatical and scientific work done here. We have fully functioning labs of course

That didnt really answer my question though. :)

What happens if one member of the community were to inherit a substantial amount of money, making them much wealthier than the others?

shineoncrazy you've got me going now aswell.

Queen's setup sounds brilliant. Not so sure about R&T's, starting with where she said "the dads fix leaks..."

I could quite fancy it in a survivalist kind of scenario I think.

My ExP used to live in a commune/squat, in what was known as Elgar's old house somewhere in the middle of the countryside. He was ostracised when he left to travel without his girlfriend who was (unknown to either of them when he left, as telecoms not up to much in those days) pregnant with his daughter. Other commune members had a hissy fit and destroyed his LPs. Bummer, man.

Maybe there's a very very small hadron collider under the root cellar.

OK, think I've answered all except friendship and community ideals - yes people do have friends outside of the community - though to be honest as the years go by friendships do tend to falter, and some friends/family do not like the time commitment and ethos of the community so deliberately distance themselves.
Not sure why everyone thinks there is lots of bonking going on.

briefly as a child, and I thought bunch of twats too, interesting that so far the people who experienced them as adults think they're great places for kids, and the people who experienced them as kids thought they were... well can't think of any better way to put it, yes, a bunch of twats sums it up!

Personally I couldn't stomach it because I am a control freak and hate compromise at the best of times.

I knew a crusty community years ago - anyone who washed regularly, drove a car and had a job (other than fucking street theatre and juggling) was treated like shit.
That is the problem with some "alternative lifestyle" bods - they are invariably more tight-arsed and narrow-minded than the suburbanites they despise and ridicule. And a load of them are trustafarian brats of wealthy parentage.

This is a load of old cock surely?

I want to know about the scientific would too!

The only person I knew with commune experience gassed herself in a car years ago :(

It wouldn't be for me, other people piss me off!

I dunno, it just reminds me of a bad flat share, where some bugger always uses the last of the coffee or nicks your yoghurt or never washes up.
Lots of petty arguments that lead to lifelong hatred.
It's human nature

Oh sorry yes the bit about one person having lots more money - to be honest I don't know what everyone has in their own personal accounts, only that a chunk of everyones income goes towards communal bills. I think as long as everyone does their bit any surplus is just seperate.