Getting Started with Communal Living

[aworldsman]

Hi Comrades -

I'd like to start a communal living arrangement.

An arrangement based on individuality, affection, trust, cooperation, respect, artistic and intellectual pursuit. Enclosed anarchy.

I envision a 2-3 bedroom house with 20+ people living together, sacrificing a bit of comfort and privacy for the sake of financial freedom (ie time to study and collaborate). I imagine that in a situation like this, rent could be as little as 100 bucks per person. Obviously we'd have to screen for a landlord that wouldn't mind this (or find out), and we wouldn't be able to list more than a few people as residents due to zoning requirements. It would be like one big, activist slumber party.

I have a car and a motorcycle that anyone can use. I wouldn't mind fronting someone's share while they find a way to make $200/month, or however much rent+food ends up costing.

This way our ideas, philosophies, and aspirations will intersect and might give rise to actionable plans. Emergent theory in action.

My background is in software and project management - if this works out I think we could network with other communes and maintain an internal network. I can assume responsibility for building any apps/software that can help this.

EDIT: One example of something I'd like to build is an internal p2p/torrenting network that we can use to distribute and discuss movies, music, text, and other media. Keeping it internal will keep the media relevant and will keep the content trustworthy.
/Edit


I'm ready to move out of my current apartment immediately to pursue this. I'm located near Washington DC now. I need to stay in Northern Virginia area. This could be convenient for rallies/demonstrations in DC.


If you're interested in participating or providing feedback with regard to this, please! Post your thoughts. I'm eager to learn and act so we can close the gap between where we are and where we should be. Much love,

-M

[ellipsis]

You are going to need more room for that many people. I suggest a loft/warehouse space, zoned commercially and then you build your own rooms. a 2-3 bed room house wouldn't cut it.

I see you are in northern VA. I suggest that you visit/talk to the Wingnut Anarchist Collective in Richmond, VA. they will be able to answer any questions about the process because they just went through it all.

[aworldsman]

Thank you :)

[ellipsis]

also I am helping a new collective space get built/established here in San Fran, so i can try to answer any question you may have.

This process of establishing collective spaces is an important part of the current revolutionary project, building post-capitalist infrastructure NOW, creating the mechanism for the revolution to thrive, before the revolution has begun.

[Susurrus]

Plus grouping likeminded activists together is an excellent way to get more stuff done I should imagine.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

It sounds like the most difficult part of this will be finding a landlord that allows that many people in one apartment.They like to make the most money they can so usually four or five people per apartment is the maximum amount.I honestly cannot imagine any landlord letting that happen....I would go with a warehouse/loft as previously mentioned.

Good luck with your goal,be sure to keep us updated on whether or not things work out.

[Susurrus]

Why not just gather a bunch of funds and buy a house? Seems a lot simpler, particularly when the house market is low.

[Sheepy]

Why not just gather a bunch of funds and buy a house? Seems a lot simpler, particularly when the house market is low.
Well, it's like theredson said. A regular house may not be big enough for 20+ people, as it would be rather crowded. What he may be looking for might be a bit more expensive, even in the current market.

[aworldsman]

Thank you for the input.

Unfortunately, I'm a recent grad with 60k in student loans. I think buying a house would be perfect but that's not an option for me right now, at least not with a good amount of support. I'm still calibrating with this new worldview so that will take some time, I'm sure.

I definitely don't think it will be easy to find a landlord willing to facilitate this but I also don't think it's it's impossible.

I'm going to get in touch with the folks over at Wingnut and see what they're all about - thanks again for that Red.

[ellipsis]

http://wingnutrva.org

[Susurrus]

Well, if you could manage to get the funds, there are a lot of big properties in rural VA, and some with land that you can't use for agriculture are comparatively cheap. You could easily build shelters to house more people and what not there, in addition to the house already there.

[DeBon]

When you say commune, do you mean a group of like-minded individuals living together, with jobs and putting all the money together? Or do you mean like taking out a loan to purchase a couple of acres of land and living off said land and being nearly self-sufficient? What exactly are your ideas for your this commune?

[StarCityPartisan]

I am in south west Virginia, and our most active members all share a one bedroom apartment. The living room is also a bedroom now. It does offer financial freedom, and the ease of meeting management is simple: Roll out of bed, walk like zombie to the local coffee shop, smoke a few cigarettes, and start planning and management. I highly recommend it, but suggest you break into groups in the same part of town. Too many people in one place draws the wrong attention.

[Dimitri Molotov]

I would love to live there! But I am only a 16 year old high school student who lived in Western New York state... haha. But I would love to join when I am older because I want to do the same exact thing and I don't mind leaving this area i live in now. :D

[Sheepy]

When you say commune, do you mean a group of like-minded individuals living together, with jobs and putting all the money together? Or do you mean like taking out a loan to purchase a couple of acres of land and living off said land and being nearly self-sufficient? What exactly are your ideas for your this commune?
Like-minded individuals working and living together. The latter is merely just farm you keep to yourself which isn't communal in anyway.


I am in south west Virginia, and our most active members all share a one bedroom apartment. The living room is also a bedroom now. How many people live in your commune? Would like to get an exact number to compare with a 20+ capacity.

[aworldsman]

Debron - I'm going for your first option.

Starcity - glad to hear that's working out for you. What kind of work do you guys usually do? What are your lifestyles like?

Dimitri - get your friends involved now and open up shop instead of going to college!

[StarCityPartisan]

Starcity - glad to hear that's working out for you. What kind of work do you guys usually do? What are your lifestyles like?

Only 4 live in the same apartment I live in. Two members, our Director of Media, and Transitional Chairman. One is an artist, one a mechanic, one electrician, and one in food service. Two of us are vegans, one vegetarian, and another guy has a typical American diet. Two have college experience, one veteran of the military, and one well traveled computer genius.we share rent, eat communal meals with all present, and host some party meetings with our Transitional Vice Chairman, Our Security advisor, and our Director of Party Standards. we all enjoy hiking, camping, and walking. Don't own a TV, but we do have internet access, a couple computers, and a smart phone. We have more places like this in my city, and others across the country. Works great for our purposes, hope this helps.

[Decommissioner]

Hi Comrades -

I'd like to start a communal living arrangement.

An arrangement based on individuality, affection, trust, cooperation, respect, artistic and intellectual pursuit. Enclosed anarchy.

I envision a 2-3 bedroom house with 20+ people living together, sacrificing a bit of comfort and privacy for the sake of financial freedom (ie time to study and collaborate). I imagine that in a situation like this, rent could be as little as 100 bucks per person.

Whoa! Where the hell do you live (don't ahve to answer that) that rent is that expensive??

Where I am, if I lived in a three bedroom house with 20+ people, rent would probably be under 30 bucks per person...and I am talking like nice, spacious houses with multiple bathrooms and garages.

[aworldsman]

Good stuff Starcity - I hope you don't mind if I pick your brain some more down the road. What you have seems very close to what I'm looking for.

Decommissioner - I'm a stone's throw away from DC. A 2br place with enough room for 20 people (big living room, rooms, storage) would easily run $2k+. My estimate is ~$100 each.

We could each get some 5-10 hr/week job to do this, and focus on reading, theorizing, and strategizing with our free time.

Imagine if 20 people were able to totally focus on history, economics, psychology, math, science, business, marketing, and other topics, for years. We could do anything.

[StarCityPartisan]

No problem, just PM me about anymore details.

[Rusty Shackleford]

if you got that many people who are working that little time then i would suggest doing a LOT of community stuff too. Work on a large community garden near by or something. organize demos and shit too. join pickets and stuff.

with 20 people you could all be working in shifts on each thing very comfortably. (for example, if Sacramento PSL had 20 members we would be getting shit done like no other)

sitting around and theorizing all day will burn out fast or produce some really weird theories. put it into action as well.

[aworldsman]

I don't mean theorizing for the sake of theory; I mean hypothesizing, investigating, analyzing, and concluding until we have some substantiated and actionable results to work with.

I just think we need to avoid "ready fire aim". I'd rather err on the side of caution and overanalysis.

That's not to say we shouldn't spend time picketing and protesting, but if we spend that time figuring out how to raise awareness through the study of psychology, history, marketing, etc then I think we could build more potential energy, and quietly so.


I see it as kind of an Edison vs Tesla approach - Edison was all action, all effort. Tesla was all analysis, all theory. Both came up with some revolutionary discoveries.

“If Edison had a needle to find in a haystack, he would proceed at once with the diligence of the bee to examine straw after straw until he found the object of his search.
I was a sorry witness of such doings, knowing that a little theory and calculation would have saved him ninety per cent of his labor.” - Tesla


I think a middle ground is needed. I'd personally attend rallies and protests but I wouldn't spend my energy organizing action right away. I'd spend my time arousing genuine curiosity, discomfort, desire, and quiet collaboration among my peers (or at least learning how to do so). I envision a sudden, drastic, unexpected change fueled by a silent revolution. Anything small and overt will be squashed.

That's just my taste though, and that could change tomorrow :).

[Zav]

I think you might want to look into squatting. That will be easier than finding a bourgeois land-owner who will let you set that up, but then again, I don't have experience in your area, so maybe it wouldn't be.

[ellipsis]

Also finding 20 people who can and will live together for any serious period of time will be hard. People move, people fuck each other which will lead to drama, etc.

That would be a serious commitment, one few are going to take on.

You are also not accounting for beer, drug and tobacco money, dental and medical care, debt, food, etc. all of which adds up to $ and people have to work more, have less time to organize, etc.

[ellipsis]

Please keep us updated on any progress or progression on your related thoughts.:)