I share your interest in a rationality and life-hacking house. I’d like to coordinate with you on that, if only to help see that it happens. I wonder how it might intersect with my friend’s interest in creating a neighborhood of “Tiny Houses”—affordable and economic housing, that definitely forces you to be aware of all your stuffs’ utility.
Also think programming of rationality exercises is a good idea. I’ve been ruminating on the idea of starting a less intensive but more long-term version of minicamp in my area, that I’ve in good humor dubbed “Nanocamp”. Online practice exercises is one way to keep lessons consistent and progress trackable.
Coordinate: Bounce ideas off each other through skype/email, draft roommate agreements, partially finance if I can, move in myself, plan and lead house projects, etc.
Like minicamp is still very different from minicamp when you’re talking about going from four days together to all-year-round. Is this targeted towards young graduate-age? It’s going to be a very different kettle of fish depending on whether college is involved, or kids.
The actual place seems less important to me than that I actually like and trust the people next to me. That’s probably why I like the idea of the mini-camp house so much; I implicitly trusted everyone at mini-camp. This was partially because I pegged the group as coming from a demographic that was unlikely to screw people over a priori, partially because I trusted that most people there would have good reason and an admirable plan before trying something, and partially because I’d gotten all sentimental and couldn’t help but identify the group as my tribe. But there wasn’t enough time or pressure there to be proven right or wrong. We’d have to work hard and intentionally to keep an enriching, collaborative environment like that going long-term. The exact kind of intentionality I haven’t seen put into keeping in touch after minicamp, by myself or anyone else. (That’s harder to admit than I thought it would be, that I’ve been failing miserably in my plans to keep these connections open and that it counts as evidence against the feasibility of creating my own long-term community.)
As far as places go, my mind keeps being drawn back to my friend’s efforts to create a tiny house neighborhood. It’s highly available to me, and the criteria just seem to overlap so well. Affordable, good amenities, close to working places, intentional community… I’ll get back to you about actual places once I finish my own research.
I have assumed a certain level of compromise when considering living situations. For example, I have assumed that people would not be willing to move a specific city for the primary purpose of joining an awesome living environment, but would instead be willing only to optimize within preexisting geographical constraints.
If there were enough people willing to relocate somewhere for the primary purpose of establishing an awesome living environment, that opens up a new class of opportunities more appealing than the ones I’ve been considering. For example, if there were several people interested in working for their own startups, maybe they could lease a building together, or utilize collective purchasing to lower the costs of bookkeeping or legal services. (Is anyone interested in doing that?)
I think such an intentional living community would be significantly more difficult to create than finding a few compatible roommates in a particular city, but I’m willing to look into it further.
I feel like the first paragraph of my original explanation of my situation addressed this, so maybe I don’t understand what you’re asking. Can you either rephrase your question or give an example of the kind of response you’re looking for?
I share your interest in a rationality and life-hacking house. I’d like to coordinate with you on that, if only to help see that it happens. I wonder how it might intersect with my friend’s interest in creating a neighborhood of “Tiny Houses”—affordable and economic housing, that definitely forces you to be aware of all your stuffs’ utility.
Also think programming of rationality exercises is a good idea. I’ve been ruminating on the idea of starting a less intensive but more long-term version of minicamp in my area, that I’ve in good humor dubbed “Nanocamp”. Online practice exercises is one way to keep lessons consistent and progress trackable.
Taboo “coordinate”.
What do you think are the best places to live?
Coordinate: Bounce ideas off each other through skype/email, draft roommate agreements, partially finance if I can, move in myself, plan and lead house projects, etc.
Like minicamp is still very different from minicamp when you’re talking about going from four days together to all-year-round. Is this targeted towards young graduate-age? It’s going to be a very different kettle of fish depending on whether college is involved, or kids.
The actual place seems less important to me than that I actually like and trust the people next to me. That’s probably why I like the idea of the mini-camp house so much; I implicitly trusted everyone at mini-camp. This was partially because I pegged the group as coming from a demographic that was unlikely to screw people over a priori, partially because I trusted that most people there would have good reason and an admirable plan before trying something, and partially because I’d gotten all sentimental and couldn’t help but identify the group as my tribe. But there wasn’t enough time or pressure there to be proven right or wrong. We’d have to work hard and intentionally to keep an enriching, collaborative environment like that going long-term. The exact kind of intentionality I haven’t seen put into keeping in touch after minicamp, by myself or anyone else. (That’s harder to admit than I thought it would be, that I’ve been failing miserably in my plans to keep these connections open and that it counts as evidence against the feasibility of creating my own long-term community.)
As far as places go, my mind keeps being drawn back to my friend’s efforts to create a tiny house neighborhood. It’s highly available to me, and the criteria just seem to overlap so well. Affordable, good amenities, close to working places, intentional community… I’ll get back to you about actual places once I finish my own research.
Thanks for this detailed post!
I have assumed a certain level of compromise when considering living situations. For example, I have assumed that people would not be willing to move a specific city for the primary purpose of joining an awesome living environment, but would instead be willing only to optimize within preexisting geographical constraints.
If there were enough people willing to relocate somewhere for the primary purpose of establishing an awesome living environment, that opens up a new class of opportunities more appealing than the ones I’ve been considering. For example, if there were several people interested in working for their own startups, maybe they could lease a building together, or utilize collective purchasing to lower the costs of bookkeeping or legal services. (Is anyone interested in doing that?)
I think such an intentional living community would be significantly more difficult to create than finding a few compatible roommates in a particular city, but I’m willing to look into it further.
Kansas is not as much as a disadvantage as it used to be, with Google Fiber at $70/month.
What are you trying to optimize for?
I feel like the first paragraph of my original explanation of my situation addressed this, so maybe I don’t understand what you’re asking. Can you either rephrase your question or give an example of the kind of response you’re looking for?
Madison Wisconsin!