Hello to Mellon and anyone else, my name is Dan and I live in Delaware and have been trying to raise awareness of community for quite some time now. I think we may be getting traction here as we are starting on a cohousing arrangement here pretty soon and we have ideas to do some projects and whatnot. But, yeah just living here for now and welcome any visitors or people that want to travel together, Ive been to a few communities along the East Coast and can give recommendations. My main interest is bringing people together and trying to get things going, my other interests are sustainable living and psychology in community.

You stated that you know of some communities that you have visited. Do you know of any other than Acorn, Twin Oaks or any FEC community that welcomes families. My husband and myself along with our 3 year old daughter are ready to head out from Michigan in search of a community in May of this year. Any insight? Thank you soooo much. Dawn

Hi Dawn, I replied to your message on your original post, kit about where you end up!

Thank you for the reply on my other post. Esser's Peace-Dancing in the Light seems like a wonderful place. Not our cup of tea, but nice. Any other thoughts, my husband and I have agreed to go anywhere in the US at this time, just to be happy doing something we have dreamed of for years. We still want the freedom to enjoy a drink occasionally (homemade is nice ) - Have the ability to work off-site a couple of hours a week to help pay for child support for 2 children or have enough income within the community to support it in exchange for our hard work, sweat and wonderful conversation. Here is an intro that we have drafted for any community that has an opening and willing to enjoy the company of a middle-aged couple with a 3 year old daughter.

We currently live in Grand Haven, MI with family. We are open to type of region except for down south near Louisiana or in Alabama - my husband wishes to at least be within a 10 hour drive or so from home for any family emergencies, but then also stated he will go anywhere at this point, just to be happy doing something we have dreamed of for years. If we had the funds, we would start our own We would like the full-on community aspect. The more the merrier. We love people, are really outgoing and enjoy good company, games, singing, playing with our daughter (Ivy is our little social butterfly). We wish to live as minimal as possible, living off the land and the bare necessities. We do have to pay $365/month in child support for Troy's 2 girls that he doesn't get to see. No fault of his own. One lives in AZ and the other in MI - we still get to see Cyan in MI, but she is too busy growing up to want to come and visit. Her mother holds a tight reign on her and it is unfortunate. So, the type of environment we are seeking would be a community or community farm that would be able to provide this payment in exchange for hard work, sweat and wholesome company - or hope to find a part-time job outside of the community to make this obligation, but preferable would never want to work in the mainstream society. We want nothing more than to live to work, instead of working to live. Do as you would to keep the business going and thriving, will all your heart and soul. We want to be in a community with other children for Ivy. As the saying goes "It takes a village to raise a child". Also, a community that practices homeschooling. Troy would love the opportunity to teach Ivy and others if given the chance. He is the smartest person I know. Quite an intriguing person, full of ideas and dreams and great conversation.

We have to wait until we get our taxes back to make the move which could be anytime from now thru April and just picked May to get situated and off we go. We sold all our belongings moving from Dawn's home state of Colorado to move out to Michigan to pursue an opportunity working on a farm co-op. More on that below. So, this is the reason for having to wait or we would jump at the chance now. We do have about $1000 now if the right chance came along and we would just keep our bank account open to allow for the direct deposit from the IRS to take place. We are expecting another $3-$4,000, but I had to file an injured spouse form to get a portion of the $7,000 we would have gotten, but Colorado Family Support gets around half of it.

Here is a little introduction letter we drew up to send to different communities. Enjoy...

Hello, My name is Troy and my family and I are interested in visiting your community to explore the possibility of full-time residency members. I am 39 years old, my wife, Dawn, is 37 and our amazing daughter Ivy just turned 3.

I am from Michigan, where we currently reside. I moved to Colorado in 1998 for a change of life. I met Dawn about a year after moving there after being acquainted for 3 years. We immediately fell in love with each other and we have been married for 9 years now.

I currently work in a factory while Dawn stays home with Ivy doing freelance graphic design part time. I have worked as a bus driver, sales, concrete truck driver, resort maintenance man and appliance install and repair. Dawn has worked as an administrative assistant, cook, waitress, sales, customer care specialist and accounts payable and receivables.

Our first experience living in a communal environment came about us, when we became homeless due to getting laid off during these hard economic times and the businesses we worked at closed permanently. We lived in a motel for 4 months, while living with others that also lived there temporarily. I was currently working as a cell phone store manager until that business shut their doors permanently, while Dawn stayed at the hotel with our newborn daughter Ivy. After realizing we had no more money and no where to go. Dawn researched shelters for us to live in while we got our lives back together again. We moved into a shelter living with 20 other families including 100 single men and women that we fell in love with, cried with and helped gear them in the right direction to a sustainable life. Dawn had been researching how to get out of homelessness and found it be a benefit and god-gifted ability to share that information with others. I myself became an ordained minister when I was young and took classes on marriage counseling, which enabled me to help those families that were experiencing difficult times due to their situation. Some families latched onto us and we created a different environment for everyone. The families at that time were extremely separated in their own rooms, only coming out for meals and snack time. We took it to another level when we asked the board if we could create activities. We started family movie nights, game playing, babysitting for others to run errands, found resources for free dental help, arranged outings where we could invite a family or 2 to join us at a free day at the zoo, or museum, etc. We only lived there for a short time until Dawn found a well paying job as a customer care specialist with a very large food distributor and we got our own place. This was our first experience with communal living and sadly missed the close relational living we experienced there. Unhappy with the life as normal, we made plans to move back to Michigan where I was from to visit with family and explore the option of living on a farm co-op nearby. After finding they were more interested in charging a large amount of money from their residents for rent plus chores, we realized that was not the community we were looking for. We were searching for a place to join others in all aspects of living off the land, sharing life with others, working together and the whole shebang.

That brings us to the present time were I have been working in a factory for nearly a year.

Now on to our hobbies and interests. We have been researching for years on the desire to live in a community with other like-minded individuals and families with children. We enjoy gardening - We tore up my mother's back yard last spring and planted everything we could fit into it - Companion Gardening. We researched how to grow organically by companion planting with herbs and such to prevent certain bugs from attacking others of course surrounded by marigolds to attract all of nature's bees. We planted and harvested, carrots, yellow and red onions, jalapenos, yellow peppers, potatoes, green bell peppers, cilantro, brussel sprouts, radishes, bush green beans, cucumbers, sweet basil, mixed lettuce, oregano, peppermint, strawberries, zucchini, tomatoes, summer squash and so much more. We also enjoy cards and games with our friends. Dawn loves to garden and has made plans to expand her interests into canning and learning to naturally preserve food for the winter. I love to write. I will write about anything just to put thoughts to paper which is why I am being tasked with this letter. I also love to learn and teach and intend to home school Ivy. I feel children should be educated in life skills as well as general education.

We have long dreamed of living in a community to raise our child. It takes a village as the saying goes and we believe that. Ivy has a unique personality and is very social. The thought of her being raised on tv, fashion and video games is saddening to us. We seek a natural life with food grown from our own garden and fields. We love people and love spending time with friends and family and hope that is how we would feel there. The time we spent on the farm here in Michigan was a wonderful experience. I remember my first weekend there I was tasked with mucking the goat barn and I found myself becoming close with the billy. I missed him like I would a family dog. No one went near him due to the smell so it was like I had my own part of the farm and spent much free time there. I had to say goodbye each time before we left. People thought I was nuts. Dawn and I both worked together with Ivy, doing a variety of different tasks during our weekend visits at the farm. Troy made a swinging gate for the Little Cuba (A group of Cubans had moved there a long time ago and built themselves a home - calling it Little Cuba - which is being renovated enough to be used as a residence), built a swinging entrance gate to the home, fixed wooden steps down to it, installed a wood beam to hold up the sagging roof, cleaned it out, collected branches throughout the property to be used for fencing, mucked the billy goat barn, fixed up the pig bed for the new babies, collected eggs from the chickens and geese, fed the cows and so much more. Dawn is the cleaner in the family and enjoyed cooking up some grub for ourselves and a couple of full-time members (they provided the food if she cooked it), she washed the rags and cloths for the kitchen, cleaned up the community house, re-organized the community clothing bins and recycling center, organized for the spring harvest festival that we worked at for the day (introducing the company and their products of hormone free meats, eggs, goats milk and more), she learned how to milk the goats and got it the first time (they say most people are never able to do it). We were busy and loved every minute of it - to put your work into something so worth while and feeling the satisfaction that it is for something better than anyone could ever imagine. For yourself and the community - what a joyous experience.

Overall, we are very healthy with no medical issues. Gonna lose lots of weight and can't wait.

As far as special skills most of my experience lies in running businesses and sales but am quite capable in the areas of building maintenance. I have done plumbing, minor electrical, drywall repair, installed windows and doors, minor vehicle repairs, I love to cook and I have tilled ground. I can accomplish any project I am assigned. If I don’t know how, I will research how and get it done. Dawn is a cleaner, she loves to clean and organize, she has experience in inventory control and loves to garden. She is a self taught graphic designer and is very motivated in organizing and completing new projects. Ivy says she is “a very big helper”. She is also a good motivator and provides comedic relief. We all love to be outdoors but are willing to do any variety of jobs indoors and out. There is not any work we are not willing to perform, we look at the community as an extended family and as such you do what needs to be done to be sure your family is cared for.

Apart from Ivy, Dawn and I have 3 other girls. Dawns daughter Jasmin is 19 and lives in Colorado. I have two daughters, Cyan and Heather that I unfortunately don’t get to see very often, one lives in Michigan and another in Arizona.

None of us are on any medications, as I stated we are healthy.

We are fine with any living situation. We will defer to your judgment since we are a family of 3 and you know best what is available.

We are available to pack up our small amount of belongings - since we sold everything we owned back in Colorado to move out here to Michigan and head out your way in May. We would be driving there in our 1995 GMC Suburban that we would be happy sharing with the community - since it does seat 8 people. I will be resigning from my job prior to our visit and have no desire to return to a “normal - mainstream society” way of life after this experience. This is the life we have long dreamed of and have decided we will settle for nothing less. We are committed to living our lives in a community, we are a mature couple, skilled in many different areas and willing to learn anything, we have no emotional issues and live life to the fullest, we have experience making and keeping commitments in our workplaces, ourselves as a couple (my wife is my best friend), and our children are the future. We truly wish to make this a long-term commitment to life with you and your family.

Thank you for taking the time to learn a little about us and we look forward to the opportunity to share in your lives there forever if given the chance. We hope to hear from you soon. Here are some pictures of our family so you can put faces to the names.

Peace, Love and Happiness: Troy, Dawn and Ivy

Cool, the letter is pretty informative and paints a picture of whom you are. I'd include it as an attachment to your initial contact with any community, because most communities that are put together get alot of correspondence and really the only way to know if you mesh with them is to visit and get to know them. There are quite a few communities out there to choose from, it seems like you all like a little more freedom then what Twin Oaks has to offer. There is a community in Maryland called Heathcote, they don't share income so much but they have a few businesses and are family friendly and have a nice plot of land.

Once you start visiting places, you'll get to hear about others all around, but keep researching and thinking about what will work and what won't work for you as a family as it's a difficult process trying to find a place that works with your desired lifestyles

I have received a lot of responses from a couple of communities that we were seeking a visitation with. I will let you know where we end up. We are currently creating a dialogue with a farm that is converting it into a community, but then received a response from a farm that has been in existence for 40 years now and would be a dream come true as they own a couple of income earning businesses. Thank you for the feedback, we have used that letter and change it to adapt to the community that exists. We don't want freedom, far from that, we want nothing and nothing more than to give in return. No more TV, sustainable living, gardening, building, you know staying busy. We want to leave this corporate world and realm we have lived in for something better and that to us means getting rid of everything and living off the land. I'll let you know either way. Take Care.