My wife and I are starting to ponder our options when coping with our non-easy-care house on ten rural acres near Salem, Oregon gets to be too much of a chore for us.
Some days, I feel like that day already has arrived.
We've got a large early 1970's house; something regularly goes wrong. We've got a large yard in addition to the ten acres; something regularly needs attending to -- leaves, mowing, pruning, whatever.
But we're healthy (albeit with a few nagging problems).
And maintaining our house and property helps keep us that way. We just are looking ahead to the time when it seems right to reluctantly say "goodbye" to the pleasures and pains of our current lifestyle.
Last night we watched a DVD sent to us by folks at Panorama, a continuing care retirement community in Lacey, Washington.
We like the Northwest, so were interested in Panorama. Lacey is adjacent to Olympia, Washington -- which strikes me as a much cooler state capital than Salem is.
Plus, Washington has two additional pluses: it has legalized marijuana and assisted suicide (if you have a terminal condition). Being baby boomers who came of age in the 1960's, and are now in our mid-60's, we aren't interested in living a golf course and bingo retirement.
Especially not in a right-wing state like Florida or Arizona. So the left coast likely is where we'll spend the rest of our days.
Watching the DVD made us realize that this won't be in a continuing care retirement community. At least, not until they pull my longboard/skateboard out of my land paddling senior citizen arms.
This is not a dig against Panorama.
It appears to be a great retirement community for those who are attracted to having assisted living and skilled nursing facilities available, allowing them to smoothly transition from being independent to needing regular health care and other help.
The people interviewed in the Panorama DVD are not like us. Again, not a criticism. Just reality. This was evident from their clothes, home decor, manner of speaking, interests, and what they liked about Panorama.
Laurel and I don't think ourselves as old, even though we're 64 and 65. We damn sure don't enjoy acting like we're old. We dress as youthfully as Social Security recipients can get away with. We enjoy the MTV Video Music Awards. In short, we're aging ex-hippies who still embrace the Flower Child dream.
I'm sure marketing genuises in the 55+ community industry must recognize this. However, a bunch of Googling hasn't revealed any "active adult" developments aimed at the Aging Hippie demographic.
I think there's an opportunity here. Give me a call, planned community developers. My wife and I would be happy to serve as consultants on what people like us are looking for when they decide to leave their current home and lifestyle.
Dog-friendly/dog park. Not only allow skateboarding; encourage it. Multi-use paths in natural settings. Coffee house. Brew pub. Movie theatre that does not show On Golden Pond. Tai Chi, Yoga, and meditation classes. Intellectual stimulation.
And a community bus that looks a lot more like Ken Kesey's than a retirement home's.
Old blog post but maybe you're still there? How did this work out - now that it's 4 years later. Would be interested to hear.
Posted by: Susan Snow | November 14, 2017 at 01:33 PM
I have a place to share with kindred spirits. It's a sweet, beautiful wooded property of 13 acres in the Columbia River Gorge, in Lyle, WA. I bought it many years ago (as bare land) with the intent to eventually share it with like-minded folks. I've been developing it ever since, and there's now a main house (where I currently live), a barn with goats, a chicken pen, a garden space (that I'm not very good at producing anything in), an awesome stone circle of rock pillars(!) under big open sky, an outdoor "village area" that is used for neighborhood parties, a wood-sided yurt ready to be occupied, and a spacious tiny-house ready to be occupied. Neither have indoor plumbing, and I must now build a shared shower house for them to use... to be most efficient with water-usage, and to avoid installing plumbing running in all directions. Both do have electricity, small equipped kitchens with cooking appliances, mini-fridge, and RV water tanks for drinking and small washing in a large bowl/sink. Both places are wonderfully built with love! If I can connect with the right people for this shared arrangement, we can work something out until the shower house is built. The main house can be where people do laundry, take showers, gather, etc. I am also open to one or two more people arriving with their own tiny-houses on wheels. My intent (at 60) is to share the remainder of life with a small tribe of really kind, gentle, responsible people -- in a way that we all feel safer and supported by having each other around -- and we get to joyfully live in and protect a beautiful and peaceful place. (The surrounding neighbors are kind folk too!) Please note that I do not want to be around aggravated, bossy, or combative folks (I'm into peace, joy, and laughter), nor am I willing/able to take care of people physically or mentally who cannot be balanced and take care of themselves. It is understandable that we all may move a little slower, and naturally we would care about each other's well-being, but this arrangement is not an assisted-living arrangement. It is a little more remote and self-sufficient than that. However, it's only 15 minutes from Lyle, and 25-30 minutes from Hood River, Oregon. There is snow in the winter months, and it's smart to stay stocked up on supplies to limit trips out, but I hire local people to supply firewood, shovel paths, etc. As a small tribe, we would hire for whatever outside services we need individually or collectively. It shouldn't be hard to be cooperative and fair and loving. Financially, I'm focused on protecting and maintaining the property/lifestyle... by paying the mortgage and keeping up on maintenance and necessary supplies (so that I and others can retire in peace). I'm envisioning that each residence here, whether I provide it or you bring it, contribute $600/mo to be here, as a contribution for securing our collective home. I have considered setting up an Airbnb business, but my heart's desire is STILL more aligned with sharing this living arrangement and a happy, fulfilling life with a small tribe. If you are interested, please email me at: [email protected]
Posted by: Ripple | November 14, 2017 at 01:35 PM
Susan, I'm definitely still here. But my wife and I aren't any closer to finding our perfect retirement community. The best news I can come up with is that when we visit "regular" (as opposed to hippie) retirement communities the salesperson tells us that the baby boomer types who are beginning to live there are changing the place in various ways, given the different ethos of people who came of age in the 1960s, compared to those who came of age in the 1950s.
So it is looking like some sort of hippie retirement community will come to pass in most, if not all, of the current retirement communities -- simply by virtue of the baby boomers coming to dominate among those who live in the communities. I realize that this is way different from what is optimal, but it is more realistic. We're still living on ten acres in rural south Salem, Oregon. We actually took a tour of a Salem "continuing care" retirement community yesterday and found it pretty likable.
Like most people, if we can't stay in our current home until we die, the next best thing (in our view) is to stay in the town where we have deep roots. The thought of starting over in a new town just isn't very appealing to us, though I understand why it is for others.
Posted by: Brian Hines | November 16, 2017 at 09:09 PM
Hello and peace to all-The last blog I see on here is 2015--Are there any updates on an aging hippie community in the works or that has been established. ? I am a woman 69 living alone in South Dakota. I am in the land of rednecks.. My health has taken a couple serious hits the last few years and I am now thinking of where and how I want to spend the last leg of the journey. I am thinking the more peaceful and like -minded people I am around--whether living with or near to--the more beneficial it will be for me-I am a lonely little petunia in an onion patch here--and I meet few like minded folks. It is lonely--Someone please email me or post something about what is going on in this part of aging population. I so miss my people. Peace,Cheryl--I am posting my email--please feel free to write and please put hippie in subject line--Make my day!!
Posted by: Cheryl | January 21, 2018 at 10:27 AM
where did my blog go--? Please write me--cherilyn10 I am on America online--put hippie in subject line
Posted by: Cheryl | January 21, 2018 at 10:29 AM
Wow, so glad to find this blog and connect with so many like minded people. I see your posts are from a few years ago and wonder if since then anyone found a community suitable to an aging (65 this year) yoga, Qigong, meditation teacher! If you have, please let me know, I am at [email protected] I would love to talk with you :)
Posted by: Cheryl | February 01, 2018 at 06:33 PM
I am looking for exactly this type of opportunity for my older sister, but am distressed to see it all seems to have come to an end THREE YEARS AGO??? Where did you all go? Did anything every come of all this excellent energy and positive vibes?
Posted by: Carla Koeffler | February 02, 2018 at 02:42 PM
What you are looking for is called Crestone Colorado. As far as I know it is the last Hippy haven on planet earth. Look us up on line and you will see what I mean.
Posted by: Merlin | February 07, 2018 at 08:29 AM
I'm looking for the same thing. I'm 63 and my husband is 67. I'd like to scoot around in a golf cart, but am in no way interested in golf! I just want to be around good people and have some fun in a clean, safe, peaceful environment.
Looks like nobody has posted here for years. Is anybody home?
Posted by: Debbie | March 06, 2018 at 11:43 AM
I'm 65 and wondering the same thing. Where do we end up when we dont fit the norm. I once read a book and I really wish I could remember the title but it was about an old man in a retirement home that couldnt take it any more. He still owned a home and he and his friends left the retirement home and moved intot the old house and made an agreement to live together and care for one another as they aged. It was quite lovely story and with the cost of retirement homes these days it would be a great solution to the current issue. I want to live where I can use the alternatives medicines that I choose and not have to worry about someone locking me up for refusing medical care. I've been dealing with chronic illness and the establishment labels people like me quacks...because they have nothing to offer me in the way of help. I want to live where there are animals and kids and gardens. I am very interested in the senior playground model. A place to play and use my body. I believe it is time we got together and figure this out. There are enough of us who are going to need it. I am 65 and ready for my forever home.
Posted by: Ela | April 08, 2018 at 09:02 AM
I wonder if any of you would be up to putting this on facebook so we could share ideas and connect more? I would if I were able.
Posted by: Ela | April 08, 2018 at 10:01 AM
Whoever wrote the original article, it would be very helpful to post this on Facebook, and anyone who responds to this original article, ought to leave their facebook name, so they can be contacted, and let's get likeminded people on here and DO something about this. I am back in Brookdale for the 2nd time, in Houston TX. & OMG, I didn't think the food could get any worse, but it sickens me literally after I eat it. There's no music played in the dining room, or out by where everyone sits, or the main hallway; NOT EVEN MUZAK. It's so depressing. I want to move, & DID at one point out to the country, but I got lonely. I miss having someone to cook for, and a little rock n roll playing while preparing for dinner. I was born in '57, literally ushered into school w/a Beatles lunchbox. Where do I go? Debbie Meek
Posted by: Debbie Meek | April 09, 2018 at 08:16 AM
I keep coming back here to check if anyone has found an answer...how the hell did this even happen? Were we so consumed by buying our kids umbros and reboks that we forgot to look out for ourselves? I'm so shocked that a generation of WELL EDUCATED, well informed people (with tons of resources) have not built something...
I'm retired @59 and female, I am not living in one of those cookie cutter communities. I want a place to be with others around a campfire at the end of the day if I choose. Listen to some guitar. Get together on Sundays and cook a big pot of stew.
I have a 35 acre farm if anyone comes up with some bright-assed ideas.
Posted by: Terry Lynn | May 18, 2018 at 04:12 PM
Terry Lynn, we are the generation that swore never to get old; youthful self-absorption and enthusiasm for living life differently led to a lot of great adventures, but ignorance and denial have led us to our present dilemma. I am only 60 and in pretty good health, and after navigating through one parent’s terrible terminal illness and the other’s chronic condition that meant pretty much homebound starting at 77–and unable to help the person he loved more than anyone else through her last months in their 80s—it seems obvious to me that a community for old hippies will seem like a lot of fun while everyone is still in 50s and 60s, and maybe into 70s. But serious stuff will start happening to at least some of us in our 60s, and definitely in our 70s. We will all be able to help each other compensate for a while, but the longer we are there, the less we will be able to manage. So I don’t know how to explain why we haven’t gone in with our friends or old college buddies on building little cottage communities near decent home health services and nonprofit hospice programs while we are still young enough to enjoy it, except that we have been busy with families, work, divorces and parental end of life issues, good old fashioned denial, and magical thinking. Or we realize that there would still be another decision to make down the road and we understand that it is probably the more important one, so we get stuck.
BloggerBrian: I think those salespeople are right on about changes coming gradually. Think about it—my parents were in their late 40s and early 50s when their parents died, not even close to wondering how they should plan for their golden years, partly because they didn’t expect to live longer than their parents did. Well, they are, and so my years as a possible retirement community “customer” are overlapping with theirs. The differences between what they would want in a community and what I would want are immense. It’s going to be awkward in those big complexes for a while. Fortunately I am at the younger end of the cohort, so am counting on you all to pave the way :-) By 75, I need to have found my place. The earlier post about living north of Puerto Vallarta got me dreaming.
Posted by: J | May 19, 2018 at 02:31 PM
PS. BloggerBrian, what place did you visit in this area that was “pretty likeable”? If you tell me they had Ohio Players “Love Rollercoaster” playing in the elevator, I am ready to sign up today. If it was Jerry Lee Lewis, I’ll sign up my dad LOL
Posted by: J | May 19, 2018 at 02:44 PM
J, that must have been Capital Manor in West Salem. Actually my wife and I weren't wild about the place, but we put down a deposit anyway, saying we preferred a detached house, thinking that we might find Capital Manor more appealing as we get older and/or develop limiting health problems.
No, there was no Jerry Lee Lewis playing. Naturally most of the people at Capital Manor currently are older than us (we're almost 70), so it will take a while before baby boomers influence retirement communities to a large extent.
Posted by: Brian Hines | May 19, 2018 at 02:54 PM
66 and 67 now living on Ometepe Island in Nicaragua. Looking for something different.
Posted by: Ron | May 23, 2018 at 11:20 AM
Someone had a problem posting a comment, so it was emailed to me. Here it is:
-------------------------
It was comforting to read about the "aging hippie" fellow and his partner in OR, and equally feel-good to hear supportive comments from others.
I'm a raging leftie female "Ann Richards Texas Democrat" & sixties child who 8 years ago made the foolhardy decision to come to Arizona (to help my aging uncle). Now, afraid to even open my mouth here--rabid Trumpers everywhere. I've got to get out of here and see if I can find my spirit again. But where?
The first time I "ran away" was in 1970 (from the Texas Panhandle), to the City of Light. Mac Davis's "I Thought Happiness Was Lubbock Texas in My Rearview Mirror" blaring on the radio.
Lived in SF in my 20's-30's, got my degrees at SF State, taught college level til education became broken in this country. So still thinking of West Coast as an escape route, but not Frisco.
I'm single now, SO missing those long afternoons and evenings when we were all discussing, with passion, the real ideas we lived by, and the ideals we helped each other formulate. (Remember?)
Anybody got suggestions for areas where Community might be found now? I don't have much money, but am ready to fly the coop and give the fates another chance around people who don't make me feel like I'm trapped in a Steve Bannon TV ad. Love to hear suggestions.
Thanks, Brian, for good, relevant blogs and posts.
Posted by: Brian Hines | July 09, 2018 at 10:20 AM
In reference to The Haight in the '60s, I'm more the age of the Diggers, but I'm a very immature 75! (lol) I think that the reason no one has found that Hippie Retirement Utopia in the years since this conversation string started is that it doesn't exist. I knew of lots of young idealists who participated in communes in the '60s and '70s, but none that I knew of survived. It was usually a case of idealism being overcome by physical reality, like everyone wanting to be an artist or craftsperson, but no one with any food production experience. Then what happens when someone gets appendicitis (did all of that happen in Easy Rider)? As we get older, access to medical care, even if only in an emergency, becomes more important, so the idea of living off the land in a commune at my age is not very appealing.
That doesn't mean I'm ready to move into a "retirement community," but I think it's possible to achieve a happy medium. As an independent thinker (sometimes cussedly so), I don't want to live where everyone shares a hive mentality, even if they agree with me. I also don't want to isolate myself from the "gen pop" (I learned that term from Oz, not from experience), but I don't want to live in a rabbit warren of condos, either. I would like to get rid of all of the material crap that I've accumulated over all of the years that I've been chasing "the American dream."
So here's my wish list for retirement (yes, I'm still working full time): An affordable, bohemian, diverse, socially-tolerant community where my wife and I can retire on social security income. Does that exist? Who knows; I just started looking.
Posted by: John G | July 23, 2018 at 09:02 PM
I am looking too. I am currently 62 years old, I am a certified Hypnotist and a natural psychic. I would love to live among Kindred Spirit. I am scouring the internet to find the place I belong. Trouble is EVERYWHERE I look seems to be out of my price range, I need to rent. I am open to any suggestions.
Posted by: Anita Zippiroli | July 28, 2018 at 06:56 PM
A big factor for me in terms of retirement community (or just a “place”) is the provision of healthcare. I want to love in a big old retirement “mountain lodge” or or retirement “country inn,” but I want healthcare/services embedded. Something on a relatively small scale (maybe 50-ish residents) would be fine.
Posted by: Joe Colicchio | August 06, 2018 at 07:00 AM
I'm 66 and SO very far from retiring from life. Here we are in 2018 and I'm still looking for the old hippie commune. Anything? ANYwhere??
Posted by: Barbara L Chambers | August 24, 2018 at 01:35 PM
I've only just turned 55 but I'm beginning to look for a comfortable, hippy-esque (I think they call it 'progressive' now) community where I will be able to slowly wind down my work life (horticulturist or whatever) and gradually settle into a "retirement" life with the comfort of like-minded folks around me. That I can afford.
I love the Intentional Community movement ( ic.org ), I'm open to all sorts of creative ideas on the subject and I'm hoping that someone, somewhere, is thinking along the same lines. I'll gladly help with the groundwork now while I can to help build what it is we are all looking for.
Posted by: Ted | October 16, 2018 at 04:47 AM
Well, I am also so happy to have googled just the right words to land on this blog. Every post I relate to. We really are a tribe us baby boomers! So my husband and I are 65 and 67 living in Alachua, Fl, (near Gainesville) for 33 years on 10 acres which includes a private lake and all the trimmings. We have raised 4 happy kids here and we have lived a full organic permaculture style life. We have our place for sale because we did not pay off our mortgage when we could have and now we do not want to live with one. This place is paradise with a 2600 sf house.We would be able to build one more home on this property or split it and build another house. Instead of selling for $400,000, it would be nice to have some like minded folks buy into the place and we could share the main dwelling and build one more. This could be done with 3 other separate buyers investing $100,000 each. Let me know if anyone is interested. ([email protected]) I own and operate a commercial organic rose nursery and would be interested in taking on a partner as well. All things are possible. We have been building a beautiful tiny house (almost complete) with my son as my husband is a master builder as well. Most of these posts are 2 years old unless I haven't reached the end of them yet. We are ready and willing to make this happen. We have many exciting ideas for our place and it would make an excellent retreat center too. Please write if interested.
Posted by: Pamela Greenewald | October 19, 2018 at 09:20 PM
Cooler care homes are needed for the baby boomers. We are not the Mares Eat Oats generation. That was our folks or grandfolks. I have a friend who is 69 and had a stroke. He can not help it. He is really a hip guy and lives in Kansas. Very intelligent and creative...loves cooking, gardening, and music. He went to look at very nice facility in our town. He freaked out. Everyone was 85 or 90 and they were just sitting in their wheelchairs staring around. He got really upset and scared by the whole thing. Plus the cost was 6,000 dollars per month. What.?.. We are going to hit these places like a grooving grey tsunami. These places are far from ready for us. I guess we had better get something going. Is there any place in Ka sar that cater to people .like us?
Posted by: Heather Harper | November 02, 2018 at 03:30 PM
I am retired, child of the 60's.Lived the best yrs.of my life in S.F.
I've been living in Az. but will be relocating to N.J. Any 55+ communities where hippies live? I am vegan, into animal rights, liberal..need to find same.
Posted by: Maray | November 08, 2018 at 02:05 PM
Count me in when this place is situated. I'm all of the above, healthy, active, and dearly want others of like minds, hearts and bodies around.
Posted by: Deborah Kilgore Inaba | November 10, 2018 at 06:40 AM
I just turned 56, divorced, and settled in a 40 ish community. I am looking for the aging hippy relaxed ATMOSPHERE WHERE THERE ARE SINGLES of my age!!!!
Posted by: jo- | December 07, 2018 at 12:58 PM
Hello vegan family
I am available for live in help for disabled person's or seniors who are vegan. I can assist with just about Anything & would only require a small space to live . I am female age 29 I aspire to become a full plant based or fruitarian .I have been transitioning to fully plant based for 3 years .Currently I live alone in south east Louisiana. Please email me @[email protected]
Posted by: Mariette R | January 27, 2019 at 12:23 PM
hey ----me too everyone that posted that they r looking for a old hippy place to live .y cant we all communicate together and get a place for our self's? susan Im really in a hurry to find what I need.
Posted by: susan becker | February 18, 2019 at 10:56 AM
me too Im a 79 year old going on 40 hippie looking for a place to do my art . need to do this quickly .help susan
Posted by: SUSAN JULIE BECKER | February 18, 2019 at 03:48 PM
We live in Seattle, a great lifestyle. We would love to find a REAL feeling retirement community on the California coast. Seattle gloom for 6 months just isn’t meeting ourweather needs. We imagine hiking and biking NO GOLF, BOCCE, SHUFFLEBOARD. No hideous carpeted over decorated dining room, no bad food. Instead, conversation areas, coffee, weed, art, writing, animals, computer lab, games. Definite diversity.
Contact me if there is such a concept.
Mary
[email protected]
Posted by: Mary levine | March 15, 2019 at 10:08 AM
I sold my little house 480 sq ft let go of my stuff bought a used little Casita and am doing a work gig for the summer ( not really my place) I am teaching yoga, do sound therapy and many other modalities that do not vibe here!!! l have no idea where I am going for the winter but l definitely lookng for my tribe I am currently n Rapid City South Dakota at Hart Ranch. Kenna
Posted by: Kenna | June 01, 2019 at 11:40 AM
We laugh at’a what’s funny. We shit on the chests of the weird.
HST
Posted by: Jack | August 07, 2019 at 05:36 PM
hey I want the same thing. hippie retirement home. what sucks is I am a 68 yr old widow. so. hmm. also I am (lost) In Iowa, originally from ny, a jew and into it. wish Hippie Home near nyc but not too near. need greenspace nature culture and ppl to hang with. weed friendly. privacy and community. does it exist or will it ever? l m k oh also cat friendly. diverse. not only jews but I can't take white christian America anymore.....
home should have a rap room, poetry room jam room. own space w privacy. n'exists pas..
Posted by: rebecca r | August 30, 2019 at 02:46 AM
It is so refreshing to see this community here I can relate to so many of the comments! I just happened to be thinking today if I won the lottery I would start and intentional Community with fun-loving people in their Golden Ages :-) please let me know if this exists anywhere! I even thought about moving to Jamaica! My number is 910-612-8167 I am cookie! I'm a widow my husband passed away with Lou Gehrig's Disease and I'm not ready to fold yet peace love and blessings!
Posted by: Gwendolyn Allen | October 05, 2019 at 04:12 PM
Check out Asheville, NC. Very eco-conscious. University town. Full of peace, love, and understanding.
Posted by: Buffy Weiss | October 05, 2019 at 07:36 PM
This is a bit morbid but true, people may be dying to find a hippie place to retire!
In all this time I would have hoped this void had be noticed, causing a wave of beautiful places at affordable prices (many would be low-budget, hippie style anyway). Alas, choices are slim to none in most places.
There must be some true hippies out there that have a lot of money and are lonely for the lifestyle and friends that all of us on here miss? This is not a pitch but this should not be the way things are now or ever. We are hippies and we know how to cooperate and do things that are meaningful.
I am a 61 y/o, lifelong married hippie man on disability. My wife still works but must live with her mother now to care for her.
I live alone and we have no children, no one will care for us in the same way.
I live outside of Bellingham Washington, which has been called the most hippie city in the US. I have lived here a long time but could not testify to that. I don't really know many people that would like to be called a hippie.
Now you go downtown near the university at night on the weekends and you may find a lot of people about and may even hear howling at the moon! However, these seem to be "hipsters", simply cool, young partiers. I like them but I love hippies!
This thread is very old and some places need to be created!
I can provide info about this area (it is very beautiful) but you would most likely need to buy and create your own deal. I can not be involved with the money end of things so do not ask.
[email protected]
Posted by: Dave R. | November 06, 2019 at 07:09 PM
Hey Brian: You said something about "looking ahead to the time when it seems right to reluctantly say 'goodbye' to the pleasures and pains of our current lifestyle."
Then: "Washington (State) has two additional pluses: it has legalized marijuana and assisted suicide (if you have a terminal condition).
So does Oregon (now). What's to stop you from heading up a group of like minded people and establishing your own retirement community - something that meets all the 'demands' and 'wants' described by you and wife and in all the comments?
Posted by: Panorama bound | November 19, 2019 at 08:34 PM
I read almost every comment here with both refreshment and frustration that things have changed so little in terms of options for seniors with a different mindset than Those Who Plan Retirement Communities. However, after just having spent a ton of time doing research I have a couple things that might be helpful for all the people finding this site. Some things to Google: "senior co-housing" and "elder co-housing." You will get a lot of links to communities around the country that are doing things differently. Cohousing in general might be the solution you are looking for with a diversity of ages and a shared community mindset. This is all well and good until you are really incapacitated...after that, I haven't found any amazing long-term care options of any kind of place I wouldn't mind being in.
A lot of you mentioned Chapel Hill North Carolina as a possible area. I am actually from Chapel Hill so I can give you some personal input. We do have a number of really cool cohousing communities, probably a greater density than other areas of the country. they have things like a shared community garden, a common house with weekly meals together, walking trails, smaller-sized houses that are designed to be eco-friendly, etc. They're very colorful and unique and pleasing to the eye.
Another bonus is that we have UNC Chapel Hill and Duke, both top notch medical systems. We also have innovators in the slow medicine movement practicing here as well as a plethora of herbalists, functional medicine practitioners etc. Downtown Carrboro, which adjoins Chapel Hill and is really the most hippy sort of place in the region, is very walkable and we have a magnificent natural foods market (Weaver Street Market) with tons of outdoor seating with tall trees and all sorts of interesting characters running around or dancing or drinking wine and reading a book. There are a lot of really cool independent businesses and restaurants that cater to people that are into organic or vegan etc.
Another plus is the universities make it a very diverse and intellectually interesting area. UNC Chapel Hill has an amazing program for the public offering all kinds of talks and informal classes in pubs. also, I have to say the Chapel Hill public library is one of the best libraries of any town I have ever lived in.
Another big perk is the free bus system that goes all over town!
The weather is pretty mild, we have a lot of nice days in the middle of winter, and usually one or two snowfalls that last a few days and paralyze everything in the state because they aren't prepared to handle it. The summers, however, are not for the faint of heart. They are very hot and humid and there are mosquitoes. Everything is air-conditioned, but if you are an outdoors person you will likely feel more stir-crazy in the summer. The mountains are just a few hours away though, and much cooler and mosquito free. Asheville is indeed a really wonderful town, but I can't wax poetic on all its advantages because I have only been a few times.
We have a ton of people that have relocated here from the west coast to take advantage of our benefits and the far lower cost of living. However, if you are not from the West coast you may feel some sticker shock looking at the cost of living here. It's only going up, and if you're trying to buy property it can be a somewhat stressful experience competing with others. We saw our house and made a same-day decision and jumped with an offer to be able to get it. It's pretty easy to find rentals, though, since it is a university community.
Politically, this is a very liberal and progressive area, however, it is a bubble in the midst of a very conservative state. Lots of opportunities for lively conversations of varying perspective!
The Cat's Cradle and the Arts Center in Carrboro bring in a ton of great music. There are numerous musical festivals in the area and concerts put on by the universities.
The UNC botanical gardens and Duke gardens over in Durham are both free and wonderful.
And did I mention we have some really amazing thrift stores? A little too amazing if you are a book fiend like me.
I've made it all sound like Utopia, probably, but as with anywhere, it is what you make it. You need to get out and do the stuff and jump into community. You need to build those strong bonds of fellowship with others before you become incapacitated and end up in a nursing home, so they can bring life from the outside to you and hopefully redecorate your room for you to be livable and not institutional! There's endless opportunities for meeting people and forging relationships, but you have to go out your door and make it happen. People are incredibly friendly around here, so a little initiative on your part will go a long way.
I'm a part of a vibrant Anglican community that meets at the botanical gardens, and there are many other religious and spiritual communities in the area of all sorts here too!
I hope this has been helpful for all you great old hippies! Full disclosure: I'm still a 40 something spring chicken, but I'm the daughter of a couple of Haight hippies and half of you are probably old lost friends of my parents. They live here down the street from me! And they'd probably love to see you!
Blessings and best wishes on your journey to find the right spot to settle!
Posted by: Kirstie | December 03, 2019 at 06:32 AM
I forgot to mention one or two other Chapel Hill/Carrboro benefits probably everyone here would love. Farmers markets! (The Carrboro Farmers Market is famous!) Eco-farmers galore! CSAs! The locovore movement is going strong here. In Good Heart farm down the road in Pittsboro grows the best produce I've ever eaten. And so much good local produce year round! It's a foodie paradise around here. The restaurants scramble to get as many local farms on their menus as possible as a badge of honor, I think.
All hippy types visiting Chapel Hill would need to make a stop at the Oasis at Carr Mill, run by an old guy who sells his VW bus travel memoir along with coffee and every herbal tea you can imagine. The Honeysuckle tree house outside of town on an herb farm is another important stop for finding kindred spirits. And it's right by a group of folks that offer stuff like workshops building cob houses and healing the human-earth relationship. www.eco-institute.org.
Plus, if you check out Orange County Aging Services, you'll see that there are about a million class options for seniors at very cheap prices that include Tai Chi and yoga.
Posted by: Kirstie | December 03, 2019 at 08:33 AM
I am reading these comments in may 2020. I hope everyone here found the right place for them and that you are all safe.
Posted by: Susan | May 16, 2020 at 02:18 PM
Has anyone found anyplace like this. I'm only 52 but disabled. I was planing on retiring to Yellow Springs, Ohio but it is being taken over and "refurbished".for the new younger generations. Its love everyone accepting community diapering for the financially focused me generation.
Posted by: Wendy | June 19, 2020 at 10:23 AM
Did anyone find or create an old hippie retirement community.?.
I am single, 64 need to sell my to big for me property, it's killing me
Posted by: Karen | June 21, 2020 at 08:51 PM
I can't believe this is still going almost seven years later. That just tells me that there are A LOT of us old hippies out here looking for a place to join together again and experience the Peace & Love. I have three more weeks to work and then I'm done with the mainstream. I was never thrilled with it, but decided to give it a try after making a living as a jewelry and ceramic artist for some years. Thought it would be easy to do the same thing every day at the same time. Until the boredom and monotony set in. The last five years have been Hell. Soooo happy its over!
Now how do we get this retirement commune started?
Posted by: Marlena | July 06, 2020 at 11:10 AM
Im 54 lived in the haight, Venice, topanga, Hawaii, and the more I look around the great feeling of cool in the people my age is getting fewer I hope to always run into good groups and tell the tails of life.
Posted by: Jeff Radie | August 02, 2020 at 06:19 PM
Ok Im another one. We really do need this, Cohousing is great but expensive-we need more like a village/neighborhood or a big plot of land. Individual units shared resources and company. I really think there are thousands of us out there and that if someone generated a design plan it would draw. How about Reddit Intentional Community sub-reddit as a gathering place?
Posted by: Blueroan | September 15, 2020 at 07:53 PM
I was reading something and I thought "that sounds just like me"...and it was.
Wow. I googled home for aged hippies again and arrived here.
Maybe we should all post to our facebook and other accounts, our ideas.
Some rich developer needs to find us.
Peace ya freaks.
Posted by: Cheryl L. Conti | September 22, 2020 at 09:08 PM
I have been searching for a retirement reality that would suit me and finally feel like I've found folks who understand. This is an old site so I'm wondering if anything is going on with this. I'd love to connect with folks somehow and move to or create a place to live in old age. I personally would like to be in a village setting where I have my own space and garden. Peace and quiet mean a lot to me and barking dogs will send me packing. I like to live simple and organic with good people, good music and good vibes.
Posted by: Babs | October 23, 2020 at 04:37 PM
just in case anyone reading these comments is also actually trying to organize a group living situation, please contact me! My wife and I are ready to invest, both with our savings and our experience (general contracting). Since it seems apparent that NOTHING like this yet exists, I won't be picky! Fred
Posted by: fred mundy | January 18, 2021 at 11:56 AM
I live in Venice, age 64, still like the Grateful Dead and the 60s music and vibes, stuck in Venice, CA. Where can i find like minded people......
Posted by: Ken Scott | February 01, 2021 at 04:11 PM
Hi. Is there a place in FL for boomers, or is everyone just a bunch of talk, or should I say blog?
I am 68, my husband 62. We have insanely been trying to find a place lately as has been described in this blog since 2014!!! Where is it? We saw the info on Gainesville, FL? Did that come to fruition?
We are also willing to move, but not to frigid weather since we have been Floridians for many years.
Please contact us, we would try to help out, or move to a place conducive e to boomers. [email protected] com
Posted by: Ingrid | March 15, 2021 at 09:34 AM
Someone should approach the people that run the Villages and ask them to build just such a community.
Posted by: Pete | March 15, 2021 at 03:19 PM
Wow!! Thank you all!! Why haven’t we done this yet? I grew up on Pilar Hill, in Taos, NM. We had a great thing going, where friends and family helped build 8 houses, which have been falling back in to the earth from whence the Adobe came, since around 1975 when that dream and my wild child life fell apart and some of us moved away.
Now we are wondering what to do with one of our parents who would never fit into what we understand today as golden years facilities.
I’m thinking of my friend, Chip Conley and is partners who built the Modern Elder Academy in Baja and the Wisdom Schools that are beginning to flourish, including the communities related to them (such as Sage, in El Pescadero) and others.
These are wonderful venues for those with resources. I’m wondering what can be done for our people, those who do not have a lot of money, or hardly any?
Might we find a way to crowd fund this? How did our parents finance our communes? I‘m thinking of Lama Foundation, which we helped build, which is still in business as a viable concern.
At this point it seems we all have more questions than answers.
I have a dream, and it is not a pipe dream, to find a way, to make this possible. I am not yet retired, and cannot commit much time, resources but I can commit some talent. As a lead auditor in 12 global management system standards, I do understand what it takes to build and manage a great for profit company. This year I begin again, learning more about the nonprofit world.
It will take a village to raise this idea into a safe, secure, legal and livable golden years facility. And some still warm and able-bodied people on the ground willing to plan, design, build, manage and operate this. Or their children, who put themselves together and are willing to work hard and aim for the good of this community.
Are we going to keep talking about it, or do we want to begin? If so, let’s start by asking more beautiful questions and get ready to commit ourselves.
How might we begin? Start with a Zoom call? Next weekend? I’m now on Frankfurt time, so 8:00 AM PST, 11:00 AM EST next Saturday works for me.
Best regards,
Sybil
Posted by: Sybil, in Germany now | April 11, 2021 at 09:53 PM
...and a feiend sent this. Maybe intergenerational housing is the answer.
https://siebenlinden.org/en/start-2/
All the best,
Sybil
Posted by: Sybil | April 11, 2021 at 10:21 PM
Um, I wanna join too. No taxes on social security, still working on environmental issues, especially the woods and the ocean but understand humans need to stop developing in animal habitat then complaining about mountain lions, bears etc. Want to fish and garden and have coffee or dinner with someone. Actually want to do a lot more than work for change, garden, and fish, really like music, my retirement home needs to have a central place where on Tuesday nights the folk musicians meet, Wednesdays the metal heads, Thursdays the dead heads, Fridays is blues, and Saturday is dance night..... or whatever. I have a bass amp and an old Peavy analog 12 channel board to share.
Posted by: Jan | April 12, 2021 at 07:09 AM
Hello again, from Germany. Now that I‘ve investigated the cost of golden years assisted living, at least in New Mexico, I am horrified!! $4,500 a month?? And they all charge around that much? Unbelievable. Is it not possible to build inter-generational living communities with the common good and dignity of our elders at heart, at a rate which includes a medically safe, supervised, secure environment where basic needs are met reliably by caring caregivers? Must it cost so much?
Who would like to join this conversation? Let me know and at least I will be there this Saturday at 6:00 PM Central Euro Time which is 8:00 AM PST, 11:00 am EST. If you want to join a first conversation, send me an email at [email protected]
We are gearing up for ditch day the weekend after next at Pilar Hill, where we and about 50 friends pull together to keep the old acaquia running. What ever happened to community efforts like doing this?
Thanks, Jan, for responding. I’m looking forward to meeting more of you. Who knows what we can do, when we mobilize a village. By the way, we do have a bus we could paint and get running again. Buffalo Bob used to drive us to school in that, in 1971. :0)
Posted by: Sybil | April 13, 2021 at 02:49 PM
Here is the invitation. I’ll be there.
Sybil VR Kleinmichel is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: Golden Years Hippie Acres - Dignified Living
Time: Apr 17, 2021 06:00 PM Amsterdam, Berlin, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us05web.zoom.us/j/83904784156?pwd=eG82UE4zbnhHc3pxcUg1eTJNeVA4QT09
Meeting ID: 839 0478 4156
Passcode: 6td290
Posted by: Sybil | April 16, 2021 at 04:28 AM
Sorry, my battery is low. But noone seems to be finding a place. You'd think that
With the internet we could pull that off. I know lots of retires Hippies who would
Love to find a place. Whats the problem?
Posted by: Richard | April 16, 2021 at 07:47 AM
I can't belive I found this site, I agree with so many of you and have been looking for a place where like-minded people like many that have commented here appear to be. Prolem is no such places seem to exist, even though so many of us want them. Hey, I'm getting old here, been looking for some 15 years for such places, keep running into lots of dreamers who write about the advantages of sharing and caring, even give talks and seminars on the subject but where are they? Sure hope one of you will find such a place and let me know about it.
Posted by: Hélène Fagan | June 12, 2021 at 12:42 PM
I am very young 69 and still searching for the perfect place for my hippie self to retire. I have been researching for a long time and following this post. Has anyone found anything I should be looking into? I look forward to hearing back from someone...I'd love to settle down with my tribe !
Posted by: cheryl | November 29, 2021 at 12:51 PM
Is this still happening?! I’m searching for a way out of Alabama- retired army not yet 55 single woman- being out side alone in this area is flat out dangerous and this idea ten years after the post is still not anywhere- [email protected] if you are still active- I am willing to start from scratch- I can abandon all of my belongings, but I have no where else to go to and the right wing aggression towards me as a veteran- I get challenged by all the football brained men - can’t wear my hair down, even lifting my things out of a car they will “rush in to save me” and fight me to make me let them. I leave every i Tera ruin with the outside world shaken and crying, come home get high sob to sleep.
Like minded is NOT the phrase I can use around here- because it’s definitely a confederate state of mind - and all their women whisper I’m a whore- it’s like living in a bad teen movie with real life people over 40…
I’m Lisa - I have construction work installation and building experience- I also worked in HE and gave a BA in Bonn profit management. I could help get a community started as a non profit to make it generate revenue through community programs and can assist with ideas of multiple streams to stay as self sufficient on grants and volunteerism until at least an infrastructure is in place. I am looking around Durham chapel hill Duke- to remain close to VA and mid region for climate s d politics.
I do not know a si file person I would want to go there with this moment- so I’m jumping off a cliff writing this in March 2022. SOS
Posted by: Lisa Boatwright | March 05, 2022 at 05:42 AM
I am amazed how many of us came through that era with the best music and owner life with home grown everything. I am older now and made it as a chef. I do love helping and being involved in life. I hope all of you are well and if I can do anything for you I will. I have been through the big stuff but it was not for me. Let me help in any way, Looking forward to hearing from you soon..
Posted by: Carolyn Brown | March 31, 2022 at 09:56 AM
I'll be packing me and my sister up to move out of Wash, DC next year. We may even cruise around the country in our little "mobile unit/home" until we find what we're looking for. Tennessee and Virginia seem to be hot spots for hippies, VA is getting more blue (maybe that's why). TN politics bite, but I Both states have friendly tax laws for retirees.
It would be great to organize and harness whatever energies and talents this group may have.
I'll check back and update with anything new I discover.
Collective hugs to you all!
Lisa
Posted by: Lisa | April 21, 2022 at 09:09 AM