Forum Post: Living together in style

A lot good has been written already about founding new community structures. These ideas seem part of a concept for the moneyless gift society. Inside your home you shouldn't have to pay for anything. You would have free access to all you require and wouldn't have to hoard.

In that sense, be a little more imaginative. Living together means, we share the same living space, so we are free to openly design it as we like. We don't have to live in containers like ants. We don't have to make it boring and repetitive. Imagine it exciting but nevertheless efficient and realistic.

The idea of sharing grants us freedom in architecture. Ask yourself, what is so exclusive about the things we do at our (current) private homes, that we couldn't do in communal places and/or enjoy together. There are some obvious exceptions, like sex, and I'm not promoting group sex orgies here.

You can easily set up rooms for intimate activities with a nice romantic atmosphere or in general areas of retreat, where the individual can be alone. But since you cant have sex or sleep, or reflect your life 24 hours a day i guess these areas can be shared as well and you would pass the keys to the next person(s), like it works with hotel rooms.

For example, if we set up computer rooms and internet terminals, we don't need our own computers. We got our online accounts where our private data is stored safely. Or we don't need a big wardrobe or carry spare clothing around with us, when moving around, when we can get clothing for any current occasion at the local community store.

Of course this lifestyle is a more spontaneous one that might require some flexibility from its "users" specially in its early stages. But that could actually be part of the excitement of not knowing exactly how you would take care of certain situations and having to adapt to the location you are coming to.

it isn't said tho, that you had to wander around, like a restless vagabond. Especially if you got family, You would stay in the area that you feel most convenient, that contains the flair and cultural aspects, that you desire and help to build it further and maintain it. Communities can be diverse and theme-oriented, but would still share the common values.

It needs to be well organized the more it grows, no doubt. You cannot have everything at the same time in the same place, like a chaotic hippie commune. Areas should have a certain level of dedication. It wouldn't be that different to communal structures we know, with hubs and mall-like structures that connect the areas of different activities, needs and interests.

We would offer each other free service, whether it's a stylish haircut, a good meal, a massage or a dancing lesson. We just receive and in return we provide the community with whatever talents we got. Its give and take without silly calculation of who does what and how much. People will show the spirit and contribute. No one has to work his/her ass off, just do the things you can do with joy and sympathy for those you gift with it. Working "at home" will become a new meaning, knowing that it's well invested in the place you love and share with your friends.

Yes, the idea is to grow the gift-economy from inside such shared living structures. The more people join this project, the more resources and manpower flows into these new homes. By time we'll become more autonomous, having less affair with the money world.

Many people are lonely and feel isolated, they suffer and lack the love. Thinking of ourselves as a family in a deeper sense is not so far off our current mentality. We just have to break through the walls that set us apart and a whole new world awaits.