r/intentionalcommunity

This site is something I have been working on over the last few weeks with the goal of solving the loneliness crisis.

The goal is not just about matching you to existing communities, but rather to help connect people together to form communities of their own together.

I wont explain much because this is not a sales pitch. Just want some honest feedback on how it can be improved in any way.

The service is planned to be free for people and only cost money for community listings.

Let me know what you think!

Intentional sovereign community wisdom is the solution to poverty!

I use the phrase "intentional sovereign community" to describe a community built with the intention of upholding human rights and innate value, economically liberated from imperialist parasitic systems, and inclusive rather than exclusive.

This is why I believe we need intentional communities across the United States to give people alternatives to poverty and homelessness.

I have seen what is happening in this country, and it's not right. But what's really not right is that anybody is homeless at all. Nobody should be.

The return of common spaces should become a thing. When the United States was first founded, we had common spaces where people who had nothing could set up something for themselves. On top of that, the Indigenous people who had been here for thousands of years knew how to share. Nobody was supposed to be homeless. Nobody was supposed to be getting a ticket from a cop simply for existing.

For literally thousands upon thousands of years of human history, people have been willing to create communities to provide comfort and security. But capitalism has purged this essential wisdom from our hearts, and it's our job as the intentional community movement to bring it back.

I firmly believe that the creation of intentional sovereign communities is fundamental to being human. I believe it is fundamental to healing.

We must get rid of the idea that wealth determines the value of your humanity. We must learn to see the benefit and the value in everyone.

This is what I've seen, and this is why I believe this.

There is a sense of dread that just seems to haunt me now.

Every three years, I go on a road trip across the US. The last time I did it was 2024, and when I looped back, it was 2025. I can tell you that I have never seen homelessness like that.

I saw more homeless people in the United States than I had ever seen before. I saw whole parking lots filled with families. I saw small towns with more homeless people than housed people. I saw a town that only had a handful of jobs.

I used to tell people to go to college because that was the best way to improve their lives, but the reality is that this is not necessarily true anymore. And I don't know what to tell people. I don't know what to tell myself.

I have a degree from UC Davis, and it was a pretty decent degree at one point. But back in 2023, when I first used ChatGPT, I realized it was able to do most of what I had learned in my computer science courses in seconds. It wasn't perfect, but I knew that was the end for many coders. Since then, it has gotten extremely good, and I know a lot of people don't like to hear this, but I'm tired of the cope.

We have a real problem.

The economy was constructed with white collar workers as the foundation, with money trickling down to trade workers, and in turn, that money would work its way down toward the service industry and its various layers. I do not put firefighters or police officers in this because they are in a totally different category, and in reality, their jobs are far more protected.

Anyway, white collar workers are getting eradicated. The job loss is extreme. It's far worse than is being reported. And it's decimating many other industries.

If you look at the huge number of layoffs and the lack of hiring right now, it's very clear that this is happening because there just isn't an influx of money from white collar workers like there used to be.

So I don't know what to tell somebody who wants to improve their life, because the opportunities are evaporating. You could become a cop or a firefighter, but not everybody has the body for that. Some people have physical injuries, and they really depended on white collar jobs to get out of poverty.

I have friends with business degrees from Ivy League schools who have been unemployed for two years, and it doesn't look like they're going to get a job anytime soon. I have friends who are awesome coders, true geniuses, and they can't get a job anymore.

I know this is going to get worse every year until we have some form of guaranteed income in the United States.

I also see that nobody in our elected government right now, except for a handful of people, has any desire to actually help ordinary people. And I'm not certain that congressmen and senators are interested in the suffering, because they don't go to the dark places. They don't go under the bridge. They don't go to the small towns. They don't go to the parking lots at night with the homeless families and the babies crying.

I've seen these things directly. I've seen teenage girls standing on the side of the highway, prostituting themselves so they can buy diapers for their younger brothers. They haven't seen this, but I have.

I'm horrified, and I can't get this feeling out of me anymore.

I know it's going to get worse until somebody, somewhere, starts a massive social revolution where we overthrow the rich and start sharing. There is no reason why a person should be able to have ten yachts, several mansions, personal planes, and even a personal army to protect them when there is a homeless family living under a bridge, a 14-year-old girl standing on the side of the highway to take care of her family, or a family with a baby living out of a Walmart parking lot with nobody coming to help them and no money for gas to get out of there.

I see the building of intentional sovereign communities that redistribute wealth and give everyone a safe place as part of that revolution! I believe that anybody who believes in the innate value of people and a basic right to dignity is part of a revolution! The building of communities can truly be part of a real solution, not just to wealth redistribution but to the epidemic of loneliness and sorrow.

Community is the answer.

So what would you like to share?

How do you think we can build intentional sovereign communities for every group in the United States?

How do you think we can build them in every part of this country?

Do you think we need to seize homes that are owned by banks and sitting empty?

Do you think that any building that has been empty for long enough should be given to a group of people to build a community in?

It seems like, with solar panels and some basic moisture farming, you can turn almost anywhere into a small intentional community that provides safety, security, comfort, and dignity to almost anybody.

Do you think it's time to take the idea of intentional sovereign communities and turn it into a movement where we advocate for the redistribution of wealth into communities?

Please share your wisdom and your vision for a bright, beautiful future for everyone! Have fun, be respectful, and share openly in the comments section!

I have an idea that I genuinely want to turn into something real.

I’m a student, and I want to eventually build a small village/community for people who have lost their homes or are struggling to afford a safe place to live.

The idea isn’t just to build houses. I’d like the community to have things people actually need — a school, clean water, electricity, basic healthcare, safe roads, and opportunities for people to work and build their own lives.

I know this is a huge goal, and right now I don’t have the money, an organization, or a large audience. I’m not asking Reddit to send me money.

I’m posting this because I want to know: how would someone realistically start something like this?

If you have experience with charities, NGOs, community development, construction, fundraising, or similar projects, I’d genuinely appreciate advice or suggestions for where I should begin.

Maybe one day a small idea can become something that actually gives a few families a better life.

37, at a crossroads in life — looking for spiritual community, intentional living & a different way forward

I'm hoping this reaches the right people.

I'm not looking for harsh judgment, armchair psychology, or advice based on someone projecting their own experiences onto mine. I'm hoping to hear from people who have actually walked unconventional paths — spiritual people, travelers, homesteaders, people who have lived in intentional communities, volunteered abroad, built unconventional lives, or simply found a way of living that doesn't revolve around the traditional 9-to-5 grind.

I'm looking for the people who understand what it feels like to know there has to be more.

A little backstory, because I think context matters.

I'm 37 years young. I'm an Aries Sun, Scorpio Moon, Gemini Rising, and a Life Path 11. I've experienced a tremendous amount of loss and trauma very young in life. I lost my mother when I was six and my father when I was twelve. Between those losses, abuse, instability, and being passed between family members, I learned very early how to survive on my own.

By 16, I was essentially raising myself.

I'm not sharing that for sympathy or to make this a sob story. It's simply part of understanding who I am and why I've developed the way I have.

I've spent a huge portion of my life taking care of other people. I'm naturally nurturing, protective, empathetic, and a giver. Unfortunately, I've also spent years giving those qualities to people who didn't deserve them. I've repeatedly found myself in relationships and situations where I poured everything I had into other people and lost pieces of myself in the process.

I've also gone through what I would describe as a major spiritual awakening — ego death, questioning everything I was taught about life, becoming much more aware of myself, other people, energy, patterns, intuition, and the way I experience the world.

I've traveled. I've experienced a lot. I've learned a lot.

And yet, somehow, I'm still stuck.

I feel like my nervous system has been in survival mode for so long that I don't really know what it feels like to simply live.

I'm tired of constantly operating from fight-or-flight, trying to make ends meet, taking care of everyone else, and trying to fit myself into a life that doesn't feel like it was made for me.

And I know I'm capable of more.

Not necessarily more money, more possessions, or some stereotypical version of "success."

I mean more life.

More connection.

More purpose.

More community.

More creativity.

More nature.

More learning.

More helping people in ways that actually matter.

More experiences.

More freedom.

I want to put some of the energy I've spent giving to everyone else back into myself.

Right now I'm at a crossroads.

I have around $2,000 saved. My vehicle is basically on its last leg, although I may be able to sell it and add that money to what I have. I'm currently staying in a hotel in North Carolina, and I don't have a huge safety net behind me if something goes wrong.

That's the part that makes me hesitate.

I'm not afraid of traveling or starting over. I've already done things that terrified me.

But I also know that being adventurous and being reckless are two different things. I need to find something that is safe, sustainable, and realistic for someone starting with limited resources.

And this is where I'm hoping Reddit can help me.

I know there are opportunities out there that I probably don't even know exist.

I've heard about:

• Intentional/spiritual communities

• Homesteads looking for help

• Work-exchange programs

• Volunteering abroad

• Animal sanctuaries

• Retreat centers

• Farm stays

• Ecovillages

• Communities where you trade work for housing/food

• Caregiving opportunities

• Nannying or working with children

• House/pet sitting

• Places where people essentially create their own chosen family and build a life together

I'm also very interested in spirituality, intuition, energy work, and exploring what I believe may be psychic/intuitive abilities. I'd love to be around people who are open-minded about those things and could help me learn, grow, and explore them in a grounded way.

I love children. I love animals. I love helping people. I love organizing and turning chaotic spaces into something functional and beautiful. I'm a natural caretaker. I'm adaptable, resourceful, and I'm willing to work.

What I don't want is to spend the rest of my life exhausted, working a 9-to-5 simply to afford to keep working a 9-to-5.

Maybe that's not realistic. Maybe I'm romanticizing alternative living. I'm open to hearing that from people who have actually lived it.

But I'm also wondering:

What options exist that I might not know about?

If you have personally lived in an intentional community, volunteered abroad, worked on a homestead, participated in a work-exchange program, lived communally, traveled inexpensively, or completely changed your life with very little money — what did you do?

Where did you go?

How did you find the opportunity?

What did it actually cost?

What should someone like me watch out for?

Are there communities that genuinely welcome newcomers and aren't financially predatory or cult-like?

Are there places where someone can contribute through caregiving, animals, childcare, organizing, cooking, gardening, etc. in exchange for housing/food/community?

And if you were standing where I am right now — limited money, a vehicle that's on its last legs, no huge safety net, but a strong desire to build a completely different life — what possibilities would you research first?

I'm not looking for someone to tell me what my life should look like.

I'm looking for people who have actually stepped outside the conventional path and can say:

"Here's something you probably don't know exists."

That's what I'm hoping to find.

Maybe there's a place I haven't heard of.

Maybe there's a community I should contact.

Maybe there's a type of work-exchange I've never considered.

Maybe someone reading this has already lived the life I'm trying to figure out how to build.

If that's you, I'd genuinely love to hear your story and any resources, communities, websites, organizations, or opportunities you think I should look into.

I'm at a crossroads, and for the first time in my life, I really want to choose myself but I want to do it wisely.