Unschooling-friendly community

[Julie B]

My family is moving to an unschooling-friendly ecovillage sometime in 2009. My dream is scooping you all up from here and transplanting you to my neighborhood! If you've ever dreamed of living in community with unschoolers, you might want to check out our website: http://www.whitehawk.org

I should be clear that this is not an unschooling-only community. It's an ecovillage where a number of the families already involved are either unschoolers or interested in it. Of the six families with children, four are homeschooling families, and two of those are unschoolers. The other two households (with pre-school-age kids) are interested in unschooling. We will eventually have a total of thirty households.

We're just down the road (10 min.) from progressive Ithaca, NY, and we'll have our own bus stop so it will be easy to take advantage of all the great stuff going on there.

[Sylvia Toyama]

It sounds like a great idea. We have an unschooling tribe here, including several families I could see living in a big community with. I've always liked the idea of intentional communities, but wonder how it works out in real, everyday life.

Anyone here living in an intentional community? I'd be interested to hear what it's like day to day.

[Julie]

Julie
This sounds like a great adventure for you and your family. I would really be interested if it were not for the fact that I HATE THE COLD. How did you come across this one, and what made you make this choice. Where are you moving from? Did you find that there were a lot of the intentional communities that were "not" for you and your family? Did you visit many of them?
I know-I am always full of questions...but maybe you have the answers?

[Julie B]

Julie wrote:
> I would really be interested if it were not for the fact that I HATE THE
> COLD.

Yeah, Ithaca is definitely not a good fit for you then! Ninety degrees today, though.

> How did you come across this one, and what made you make this choice. Where are you moving from?

We currently live about an hour away from Ithaca (Endicott, NY). We stumbled across an ad for White Hawk in a cooperative grocery store newsletter on one of our trips to Ithaca. Years before that, we had explored the idea of intentional communities, Dancing Rabbit in MO in particular, but it was too far away from us and we didn't want to leave our favorite NY climate.

> Did you find that there were a lot of the intentional communities that
> were "not" for you and your family? Did you visit many of them?

We're not poster children for good and careful research. We explored other intentional communities on the web, but the only ones we've physically visited are EcoVillage at Ithaca and White Hawk.

Yes, there were some that were not for us. EcoVillage at Ithaca is beyond our price range and is a little big for our tastes (two thirty-home neighborhoods, with a third planned). We also didn't get a really warm fuzzy feeling when we visited there--got the sense of it being more insular, I guess. (This could be completely unfair because we've only been there a few times.) Plus their meeting information seemed to make a big deal about kids being elsewhere--not too welcoming.

It's neat to be where we are in this project at White Hawk because so much is yet to come. We're still building our culture, our physical infrastructure in the village, and welcoming new members. A lot different than stepping into an already-established community. So I continue to dream about attracting a healthy tribe of unschoolers to play with us!

[Julie]

Wow! You really answered many of my questions very fully. Thanks so much. As my 17 year old is graduating next year, my dh and I are hoping to make a move. The question is where...RV full time? I love the land too much. So we are contemplating an intentional community for ourselves, or even perhaps starting one. Although it seems like a lot of work.

Your answers and perspectives were great, and will help me with my own quest to further the joy in my life. Thank y ou for taking the time to adress them.
I agree with you about being on something that is new rather than jumping into a pre-existing community. I would think that you would have a lot more say in the direction it takes. I am in MA, maybe someday, I will have the chance to go up that way...In the mean time, I look forward to your updates about this fabulous adventure. Congratulations to you.

[Tracy Liebmann]

this is very interesting to me, went to the website trying to find out more about the general finacial commitment. How different $$ wise is it than just buying a house in a regular neighborhood?

[Julie B]

Let's see...first you would apply to become a member of the community. There's a $250 application fee.

Once applicants are voted in, they pay a $750 membership fee. Right now, this money helps us pay for our phone line, outreach, attending festivals, printing, and any other expenses we have.

When first voted in, people are associate members. When they are ready to transition into full membership (which brings with it the right to block consensus on decisions and the ability to choose a lot), a household pays 10% of the common costs (also known as the lot fee). That would be $4,000 (phase I), $4,500 (phase II), or $5,000 (phase III).

Once mortgage financing comes in (or anytime if you're rich!) the remainder of the lot fee is paid. Lot fees pay for our infrastructure (roads, parking lot, septic, water, electric and gas service, etc.) and our common house. Much of the infrastructure is in, and we'll build the common house after phase III is complete.

There are three homes under construction at White Hawk. The first one is around $145,000 for 1200 square feet. This includes the lot fee. The second one is around $180,000 for 1500 square feet plus a basement. The third one is ours! If all goes well, our lot fee plus 1008 sq ft house cost will be $128,000.

As far as ecovillages and intentional communities go, we're at the more affordable end of the spectrum. There's a place in VA where home prices start at $300,000.

[Tracy Liebmann]

thanks julie, that really helps me understand what ballpark i'm playing in :-) sounds very reasonable!

[HippieMama]

That sounds so great!

[Sandra Dodd]

So you own the building but not the land? Like a condo, kind of? (Legally speaking, I mean.)

[Julie B]

Yeah, it's a lot like a condo. Having never lived in a condo, I can't say exactly, but our eventual legal structure will be a cooperative with thirty families holding the whole 120 acres in common--each household has an equal share. I think we may actually have share certificates or something like that.

The first family moved in last week, so this is a big step for us!

[Katherine]

I looked into Zendik an intentional arts community which used to be in NC but has moved to WV. I was interested for a long while but what held me back were the ideas of the founder and the reverence for the founder that I didn't want to get into. So I definitely think there are a lot of intentional communities that one could get into only to find that they're not a good fit for you. Definitely research the thought behind the establishment. It might make little difference to you once there but on the other hand it might make a huge and maybe devastating difference. Some of these places have a legal sign on the dot clauses that could make it difficult to leave financially. Dunno. That's another consideration. Philosophy and finances. Both important considerations.

[Julie B]

Can't speak for other communities, but ours is more like a neighborhood. When you want to leave, you just move. Incoming people have to go through the membership process, but since there is always a waiting list at the other local ecovillage, it doesn't seem like there will be a problem finding buyers for homes who also want to be members.

The only reverence I've seen people exhibit is for the hawk who inhabits the land. "There's the hawk," they'll exclaim in hushed tones. Joe, on the other hand, has taken to saying "There's the hawk" every time he sees a crow, sparrow, or robin. I'm still learning not to look.

We've also been known to indulge in a little black humor about what would happen if the hawk moved due to our homebuilding. Perhaps a remote-controlled device we could use on tours? So far he's still there, though.