That's always been the case. Hipsterism, hippies, counterculturalism is a phase for most participqnts. There is a 1% of the old school "back to the land" hippies that are still around, but inorder to survive they have more or less adopted capitalism, even if begrudgingly. Landownership is always friction in "communal" relationships eventually just becomes a dystopia HOA.
Check out Northern California, especially around Napa/Sonoma. Or out around Middletown in Lake County. Harbin Hot Springs is out there and there's a big older hippie (very nudist friendly) scene out there.
Napa/Somoma is a great place for rich people to LARP as hippies.
There's nothing at all hippy about anyplace in Lake County. Most of Lake County is rural Mississippi level poor and home to more tweekers and sex offenders per capita than any other place in California. Middletown is by far the nicest place in Lake County (but that's not saying much).
Definitely the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts. Northampton has become priced out, but check out Franklin County for more affordable (and more rural) places.
Fantastic post. A) full of cool hippies b) lots of “college town” amenities (living next to really cheap theater is fantastic, for instance) c) many of the hippies are “do-er” hippies, ie they own book stores or farm or whatever d) not far from Boston if you need an airport etc e) pretty close to some serious outdoor amenities. Skiing in VT
That's really funny. When I think of the hippies I've known, they've all lived very narrow lives with set opinions and resistant to any change. I tend toward the free spirited side of life, but find the hippies too rigid for my taste. Anyway, interesting to hear someone else with this opinion, I thought it was just me!
https://www.yogaville.org/ I don’t know about the walking around naked.
I think the retirement word is not gonna bring up the kind of communities you want online.
You should do search for intentional community, coHousing community (they have ones based on spirituality etc.). The more you try searches the more you will find what best words are.
The obvious issues are that the healthcare needs are greater, and the question is who is bearing those costs and doing that care in intentional communities.
There might be a cult/cults there. But, there are a variety of spiritual communities as well. Buddhist, Hindu, crystal people, you name it, they’ve got it.
Its on the edge of broader goofy Colorado region called San Luis Valley. I recently read a book called Cheap Land Colorado about characters living in the area. One of heirs of a Mexican land grant subdivided a part of the valley into cheap five acre lots. That triggered a neo-homesteading of people wanting to escape civilization. The choice lots with water and road access were snapped up long ago. Most of the lots are stark scrub subject to searing summer heat or extreme winter cold.
I usually drive through this area every year on the way to New Mexico or the beautiful mountains bounding the valley.
There is a movement called co-housing that tries to assemble "communities" while avoiding property disputes that inevitably arise in communistic groups. For unclear reasons they seem to evolve into groups of senior female creatives.
I have read of remnants of the 1960s communes. Those people are senior citizens now, with few eking out a living on the land.
Need to go to a Rainbow Family gathering and ask them. Missed it this year, they are usually on National Forest land and the Forest Service gets bent out of shape because they won’t sign a permit. They follow their rights under the constitution.
There are local groups that meet monthly or have local “Drum Circles”. Start looking it up, lots of like minded people.
Good year to have missed it. https://sfist.com/2024/06/27/rainbow-family-gathering-ordered-out-of-national-forest-for-first-time-threatened-with-fines/
I worked for the Forest Service and they had camped on the Forest twice. The second time the Forest brought in a special team to manage it (similar to a fire overhead team). As usual many of the locals didn’t like it, while others wanted to visit. The group is well organized, they would send out an advance group to find a good location, will find a spring and pipe the water to camp, build latrines and have their own “police” force. Had special areas for drunks and drugs, first aid station, kids. It was usually a walk in camp, so vehicles wouldn’t tear things up. When they left everything was cleaned up, and once the rains come the vegetation comes back. The California forest must have used a fire closure order to enact the closure. The Rainbow family utilize the right to assemble that is in the constitution. The Forest Service requires a permit to prevent resource damage, the permit is usually overly restrictive.
There was an influx of old school buses, and long haired folks, don’t know about crime increase, the grocery store did a lot of business.
I get it. Just seems like a weird place to ask, but that’s just me.
Edit: I know what esalen is. I have lived in the Bay Area. Given that it is a retreat center, I thought it'd be weird to call them up and ask suggestions on where to live. That said, it's not bad to call and ask. It's a good idea. Just something I'd feel a bit weird doing.
I would imagine the idea is, you go there and easily meet people with similar interests and get feedback about communities out there which might sound appealing. The crowd at the institute (guests, staff, faculty, whoever) would probably have better insight than most people in this sub. That seems like the idea, anyway.
There’s tons of cults, cult offshoots, new age religions out west.
Same as always lol. Plenty of people are willing to play hippie with you, not shower, make up fantastical stories.
Good luck
Eugene, Oregon
Definitely
Baker City and Enterprise also have a bunch of old hippies IMO.
And Ashland.
Ashland, OR! Mountain meadows specifically. I’m visiting my grandma here right now.
Eugene resident. Can confirm.
This was the first place that came to mind. Hope you like gloomy, rainy winters.
I love em. Though it’s been sunny for more than a month and will be until Halloween.
Yeah they're great until it's 48° in May and it's been pissing rain for 6 months already. Fuckin depressing
Nah fam that’s my jam. Love going to the Coast in February too. Makes me feel alive. Hot and sunny weather can get stuffed.
Yeah being cold and gloomy and stiff and artificially sad from the lack of sun is so fuckin fun
Then don’t come 🙃
This little dandy gets sad when he doesn’t get enough sun lol
Was up there in June and couldn't take the rain and cold.
This is the insider info I’m looking for. Stay high my friends.
[Intentional Community Directory](https://www.ic.org/directory/listings/?country=United%20States)
Look into Twin Oaks Community in Louisa, VA *edited to correct town
Right state, wrong town. TO's in Louisa.
They’re talking about the twin oaks intentional community.
Well aware, former denizen of east wind. Twin oaks is in Louisa, va, NOT floyd, va. (to is short for twin oaks)
Sorry I misunderstood what you were saying.
Thanks for the correction!
I was going to recommend doing an intentional communities tour and seeing which communities you vibe with.
That would be a great idea!
There’s [this community](https://www.lamafoundation.org/about/) in Taos, NM
Puna, Hawaii has a lot of your kind.
Santa Fe as well
Would recommend [the Commons](https://santafecohousing.org) on W Alameda.
Sedona
This is my first answer. Just hope OP has some money
The hippies here are play-acting. Tho that may be the case for 99% of hippies now.
That's always been the case. Hipsterism, hippies, counterculturalism is a phase for most participqnts. There is a 1% of the old school "back to the land" hippies that are still around, but inorder to survive they have more or less adopted capitalism, even if begrudgingly. Landownership is always friction in "communal" relationships eventually just becomes a dystopia HOA.
Check out Northern California, especially around Napa/Sonoma. Or out around Middletown in Lake County. Harbin Hot Springs is out there and there's a big older hippie (very nudist friendly) scene out there.
Napa/Somoma is a great place for rich people to LARP as hippies. There's nothing at all hippy about anyplace in Lake County. Most of Lake County is rural Mississippi level poor and home to more tweekers and sex offenders per capita than any other place in California. Middletown is by far the nicest place in Lake County (but that's not saying much).
Arcata?
Arcata is very nice. College town hippie vibe.
There is some nudist colonies in the Palm Springs area still.
Might be out of necessity this time of year 🤭
Out near Joshua Tree or the Salton Sea would be my recommendation for howling at the moon with like minded folks.
There are some in Florida too and the entire population in them is basically retirees.
Definitely the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts. Northampton has become priced out, but check out Franklin County for more affordable (and more rural) places.
Fantastic post. A) full of cool hippies b) lots of “college town” amenities (living next to really cheap theater is fantastic, for instance) c) many of the hippies are “do-er” hippies, ie they own book stores or farm or whatever d) not far from Boston if you need an airport etc e) pretty close to some serious outdoor amenities. Skiing in VT
And the Berkshires!
I grew up in a hippie community, and I have to say that hippies are some of the most uptight fussy people who are difficult to get along with.
That's really funny. When I think of the hippies I've known, they've all lived very narrow lives with set opinions and resistant to any change. I tend toward the free spirited side of life, but find the hippies too rigid for my taste. Anyway, interesting to hear someone else with this opinion, I thought it was just me!
All "rebelling" in the exact same way. Just like biker gang typesbb
Happy Cake Day!
There’s a decent-sized hippie community in the vicinity of Morgantown, WV, especially to the East near Terra Alta.
https://www.yogaville.org/ I don’t know about the walking around naked. I think the retirement word is not gonna bring up the kind of communities you want online. You should do search for intentional community, coHousing community (they have ones based on spirituality etc.). The more you try searches the more you will find what best words are. The obvious issues are that the healthcare needs are greater, and the question is who is bearing those costs and doing that care in intentional communities.
Thanks very helpful.
Crestone, CO
Came here to suggest Crestone.
I also came here to suggest Crestone, CO. Can get a little hard in the winter though I hear.
So…join a cult?
That place is definitely a cult
Someone who didn’t come here to say crestone, please elaborate.
https://www.hbo.com/love-has-won
There might be a cult/cults there. But, there are a variety of spiritual communities as well. Buddhist, Hindu, crystal people, you name it, they’ve got it.
Its on the edge of broader goofy Colorado region called San Luis Valley. I recently read a book called Cheap Land Colorado about characters living in the area. One of heirs of a Mexican land grant subdivided a part of the valley into cheap five acre lots. That triggered a neo-homesteading of people wanting to escape civilization. The choice lots with water and road access were snapped up long ago. Most of the lots are stark scrub subject to searing summer heat or extreme winter cold. I usually drive through this area every year on the way to New Mexico or the beautiful mountains bounding the valley.
Noooooo
Bisbee, Az.
I thought this would be the #1 answer
Me too!!
Slab City
Madrid N.M. or Takilma OR
Mount Shasta
There is a lot of this going on in central Florida
Sign me up
There is a movement called co-housing that tries to assemble "communities" while avoiding property disputes that inevitably arise in communistic groups. For unclear reasons they seem to evolve into groups of senior female creatives. I have read of remnants of the 1960s communes. Those people are senior citizens now, with few eking out a living on the land.
Need to go to a Rainbow Family gathering and ask them. Missed it this year, they are usually on National Forest land and the Forest Service gets bent out of shape because they won’t sign a permit. They follow their rights under the constitution. There are local groups that meet monthly or have local “Drum Circles”. Start looking it up, lots of like minded people.
Good year to have missed it. https://sfist.com/2024/06/27/rainbow-family-gathering-ordered-out-of-national-forest-for-first-time-threatened-with-fines/
I worked for the Forest Service and they had camped on the Forest twice. The second time the Forest brought in a special team to manage it (similar to a fire overhead team). As usual many of the locals didn’t like it, while others wanted to visit. The group is well organized, they would send out an advance group to find a good location, will find a spring and pipe the water to camp, build latrines and have their own “police” force. Had special areas for drunks and drugs, first aid station, kids. It was usually a walk in camp, so vehicles wouldn’t tear things up. When they left everything was cleaned up, and once the rains come the vegetation comes back. The California forest must have used a fire closure order to enact the closure. The Rainbow family utilize the right to assemble that is in the constitution. The Forest Service requires a permit to prevent resource damage, the permit is usually overly restrictive. There was an influx of old school buses, and long haired folks, don’t know about crime increase, the grocery store did a lot of business.
Old people are known for committing crimes. Errbody knows that. /s
Slab City by the Salton Sea in SoCal
Very polluted area
VT
Rabbit Hash, Kentucky. Notable for repeatedly electing dogs for mayor. Sometimes they run against a cat.
Arcata, CA might have what you’re looking for. It is a college town so lots of younger demographics but plenty of old hippies too
go here, and ask https://www.esalen.org/
Esalen is a retreat center
I think they mean ask people at the retreat center for suggestions.
I get it. Just seems like a weird place to ask, but that’s just me. Edit: I know what esalen is. I have lived in the Bay Area. Given that it is a retreat center, I thought it'd be weird to call them up and ask suggestions on where to live. That said, it's not bad to call and ask. It's a good idea. Just something I'd feel a bit weird doing.
Esalen has a storied hippie, holistic, new agey history going back to the 60s.
I know what esalen is.
I would imagine the idea is, you go there and easily meet people with similar interests and get feedback about communities out there which might sound appealing. The crowd at the institute (guests, staff, faculty, whoever) would probably have better insight than most people in this sub. That seems like the idea, anyway.
There are other posts if you do a search like this: https://www.reddit.com/r/ActualHippies/comments/18nu7zw/im_looking_for_hippie_communes_any_leads/
Eureka Springs, Arkansas
There’s tons of cults, cult offshoots, new age religions out west. Same as always lol. Plenty of people are willing to play hippie with you, not shower, make up fantastical stories. Good luck
Floyd VA
Slab city
Crownsville, Maryland
Olympia Washington and Bellingham Washington
Portland OR.
Baker City, OR
Boise /s
Goa, India
slab city or the Salton Sea
What’s the mother ship?
Benevolent aliens, AFAIK.
Slab City, CA
Northern California. Especially Eureka, Ojai, and Sea Ranch.