What do ya'll think of communal living?

[okiegirl1]

This is a questions just for my own curiosity.

It seems that is would have so many benefits because not everyone is good at everything SS. There have been some real wack jobs that have turned into a cult thing, so now just the idea turns people off.

If it had nothing to do with religion, what do ya'll think?

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

I know what you mean by communal living, but when I think about it, I picture an old time fort like setting that houses an entire village together, working together for survival.

 

[Wifezilla]

How many successful communes are there out there in the US right now?

Anybody know?

I know that I wouldn't be very well suited for it.

 

[Big Daddy]

Every commune has to have a leader and some kind of governing system. I would feel like a worker bee. I think communes fail because it's supposed to be shared but there is always someone not pulling their fair share. Of course in a true commune there would be a lot of jealousy issues too.

DW and I have discussed making our walkout basement in to an apartment when the kids are gone. It would be great to find a young couple that could help tend a garden and help out around the place. In exchange for credit on rent and sharing in the fruit of the labor. Of course you would have to be really careful who you picked. It could turn in to a real bad situation if you picked the wrong tenant.

 

[Ldychef2k]

At one piont in my life, I thought communal living would be awesome. I loved the idea of being free. And then I realized that there is no freedom at all in a commune. There is The Group, The Whole, The Family. Once I figured out who I was as a person, I realized that what I really want is to be completely independent, to be on my own, to be left alone, especially by those who would like to control my every move. I don't want to live in a group and share everything. I want to give to those who need it, and be left alone otherwise.

 

[Iceblink]

I don't think communal living necessarily means a commune. Co-housing is pretty popular and seems to be growing.

I worked for a family that lived in a co-housing community and it was great. Everyone had their own small house or duplex and they all shared a 'common house' with a laundry room, workshop and meeting areas. It seemed an especially great idea for single parents, older people and women alone. It was very safe.

A lot of military communities are technically communal living. They are mostly duplexes and you get to know your neighbors really well and share a lot. Lawn mowers, barbeques, hoses, snow shovels, plants, ect - the things you often leave behind when you move frequently. Most of the active duty members carpool and the spouses have all kinds of groups. Again, it felt very safe, especially when my husband is deployed.

Now that I live in the civilian world again, I have to lock my doors and fend for myself a lot more.

 

[mekasmom]

I think it becomes difficult for people to live too closely. As romantic as "sharing the work" sounds, people's personalities and ambitions eventually lead to resentment and problems. That's the reasons bands almost always break up over a period of time. Everyone eventually has their own goals and visions, so a split occurs.

 

[FarmerChick]

I don't have the personality for it at all.
I am very independent and wouldn't fit in well in a "group share all" situation.

I think it is a great "idea" on paper---but then you have to add personalities and goals etc. into it and comes down to----could you stand it or not. Me, nope.

 

[frugal_me]

Last month I saw a min documentary on communal living. Thirty years ago four families bought 10 acres and built a shack. It was a total of nine people living together.
Over the years that shack turned in a very big remodeled house with an industrial modern kitchen with beautiful gardens all around it.
What I liked most about the documentary was they seemed like normal working class people who were family orientated. They ate dinner together every night and they even had the normal arguments that families have .
A statement was made during the interview that made me go..*yeaa* was, " All the good here out ways the bad!"

I think that in today's society people have become to materialistic to enjoy what life really has to offer. We tend to forget the order of things...our needs come before I wants.

 

[PamsPride]

I have this grand communal idea in my head but, I am thinking the only way it will work is if it is JUST my family! It seems that you can get away with it and not bring attention to yourself if it is all family but if it is nonrelatives as well it somehow becomes cultish.
But, given my and my DH's overall personality types we would not make it in a commune! I am WAY to touchy about people telling me how to raise my kids.