I’m 65. Where’s my “Aging Hippie” retirement community?

I’ve been thinking of the need for exactly the type of community you’re talking about. I’m ‘only’56, but my day is coming. I’m envisioning a rural or semi-rural community with a cluster of small homes, shared garden, chickens, cats and dogs.. Late 60’s commune model perhaps. Did you see that video of the man in his early 70’s who developed a really cool adult ‘playground’? Something to keep the mind and body healthy.

A friend and I are working on just that sort of community for aging counterculturalists that you and Heidi describe, especially what Heidi described.
It would incorporate permaculture gardens, rainwater harvesting and outdoor living/gathering areas with small easy to maintain dwellings of local natural materials. Graywater from laundry, showers, dishwashing would be utilized for irrigation and lanscaping would include local plants adapted to the climate, many of which would bear edible potions or fruit. There would be chickens, goats and fish ponds as part of the permaculture gardening ecosystems. It would be adjacent to open land for natural walks/hikes/hobbles/limps/shuffles. Paths would be gavel dirt with proper drainage and could be used for biking as well as wheelchair races. The whole thing would be earth friendly and would blend with the environment as much as possible. Social interaction would revolve around the lifestyle offered by the property itself. There cold be a Magic Bus for trips to the mall, but the people who would be attracted to living this way are not going to be accumulating a lot of polyester at Macy’s. The emphasis is on the land itself and what it has to offer…rattlesnakes, scorpions, cacti as well as more benign flora and fauna.

I’m a Libertarian (as in: do whatever you want as long as it’s not on my property and I don’t have to fund it without my consent) hippie chick who is married to a conservative former corporate guy (3rd marriage). We’re currently living in an overpriced too-normal-for-me-and-I-can’t-take-it-anymore retirement community, where I feel like I’ll never fit in. If anyone can tell me about ANY hippyish retirement community ANYWHERE in the US – or better yet write a short blog post about it or give me an interview – please leave a message in the comment section (at the bottom of the page of any blog post) on my website, Boomerinas.com. I want to MOVE. I love the beauty of the Seattle area but it’s so freaking damp & cold that my arthritis (from an old ski injury) is making certain movements difficult for me. You don’t HAVE to do an article unless you want to… it would be free advertising for your dream retirement location. However, I am currently in the process of looking for a place to move and I need advice. (Lower property taxes would help. And, my current husband is quite conservative, so you’ll have to be tolerant of his misguided ideas. He’s a little too old to have lived through the hippie movement… and try as I might… he’s untrainable.) Peace, Tina Boomerina

Tucson,
Malls suck, but it would be fun to go to a Mall in the Magic Bus… I’m in! Can you talk my “straight, normal” husband into it. Sounds like a gas, gas, gas.

I hear ya’ brother…I want to have some fun and still keep fighting to change the world…I don’t know how well I’d do with libertarians and conservative corporate types…I consider myself a revolutionary socialist…but at this point, I’m even more interesting in partying than in the revolution.

Searching. . . I am 65 soon to be 66 old hippie chic from the 60’s I was laid off of my last job on Dec 6 2013.I am so done with the working thing and decided I am retired. I have survived being in the mainstream for way to long. . I do not require much I will manage on my Social Security. Searching for some kind of fellowship with others that have the ‘hippie state of mind’. Now the couple in Salem with 10 acres–why not develop a community on your land? I am now living in a small duplex close to daughter & family that is affordable and fits my budget but I miss the interaction with other old hippies. My current friends are fairly straight and accept me for who I am but I am a ‘novelty’ friend and not understood or taken seriously. Things like my Peace efforts & views, environment issues, spiritual insights, 420 belief, food choices are kind of viewed by them as humorous at times. I have survived breast cancer, have normal aches & pains, wear glasses, have upper denture which helps with collecting SMILES. Well all for now. Just feels good to express myself hopefully to others out there. Peace

I’m a Tufts MD who proverbially “chucked it” for a moment in the sun doing what I went to med school for. I’m just 51, so am looking to do my project for 20 years, should the Gods be willing.
In terms of health care and keeping yourself disease free and discomfort free, what do you want access to. Presently I’m developing this pinterest.com/lowwater/ but since there’s no such thing a magic bullet, I wish to broaden my horizons by better understanding yours.
BTW, if you can get me a joy ride on “Furthur”, a round of massage therapy for the house on me. Did Kesey’s estate ever get that thing into the Smithsonian or was that an urban legend?

wow,I can relate to all that’s being said here. I’m 63 and am a healer and have a thriving in person and phone session practice in energy psychology that I would never retire from and have land in upstate new york near ithaca that is beautiful which i was planning to build on but have been chastened by the idea that the winters in that area start in the end of summer! I would love to be in a community that holds hippy values and is beautiful where I can build a small home. I am fine for now in New Jersey but am getting tired of taking care of the house and soooo over the winters! I know that chapel hill is one place that we old hippies can call a resting ground and the weather is milder but I have yet to visit so its’ all hearsay. I’d love any ideas that you have about other places/cities states to look into. I’m crazy for the beach too but putting that all on my wish list may be too much to ask for. But. hey what the hell. Let’s dream big 🙂

I am 60, and I have been thinking/worrying about this a lot recently. My in-laws are in a lovely facility with very good care, but the place gives me the screaming hebee-jebees! (Sorry, I never tried to spell that before) I want 70s music, tie-dye, liberal politics, recycling, and a community! I love New England, but the winters just about kill me. I have breathing issues and need access to top medical facilities. I don’t know what the solution is, but I am encouraged to find other like minds. We need to get busy!

Hi I am Margaret from England and I have to say that the thought of being made to sit in a fake leather orange chair and be quiet fills me with dread. I intend to return to my childhood I want to play on swings, padle, make funny cards, paint, dig holes etc etc But there is no where here that allows this its all about containment and thats so wrong

What is so gratifying about this website is it’s hippie orientation, and openness to alternative problem solving. My comments are directed to the issue of relocation and community of shared histories, experiences, and belief systems that we’ve nurtured over the years. If you do the astrology thing, or believe it has value, investigate “Astro-Cartography”- it is a trademark, but I don’t know what else to call it. Maybe, relocation charts- however you google it, it will lead to the same general area, and idea. Just like we have a rising sign, the time of birth determines which houses planets fall in. It also determines where those planets “fall” on the earth. If you are seriously considering relocation, and don’t have a specific destination, it is worth your time and effort. Rather than move somewhere to find hippies there, astrological relocation could direct you to those places that would be more conducive to manifesting the qualities one associates with your own hippiness. One doesn’t necessarily need the services of a qualified astrologer as the literature and internet are rich in detail and self-study. In my own situation, I grew up in LA-on my saturn line; came of age in the Haight on my Pluto line; and now live in PDX, on my Uranus line; I much prefer PDX- I’m never bored here, and I can handle the changes that Uranus brings.

i AM 60 OR 06 OR 16…I forget or don’t care….except for the fact that as I age, I want to be near like minded people, ya know, freaks. What about when the mind starts to spin in reverse? What if I too want to swing in the morning? Play in a garden in the afternoon and swim in the evening under the stars? I don’t want to be locked up to “protect” me from my insane behaviors…but I fear this, eventually. I imagine this community where we keep an eye on each other, like we used to do.
I am Reiki practitioner so I tend to be a nurturer, always concerned for others. IT TAKES ALL TYPES, really! To make something like this work.
We did so much in our young lives, we changed the world. Are done now? I don’t think so. I am not.
Let,s come together, a group of First Generation Hippies, collectively purchase a parcel of acreage in the southwest, (healthiest and spiritual) and go out in style.
We could have festivals, we could farm and sell our produce. We are a large community of artists, teachers, doctors, lawyers, nurses, dog officers, bus drivers, there is a job for everyone. We abolish money!!!!!!! I am getting carried away.
All of you that read this, think about it. I am talking ’bout my generation’ the one I am so proud to be a member of….we do everything better and cooler. We need to retire back to the gardens. Listen to music, smoke our pot and just ….”be”.
Let’s start something.

At almost 63 I am with you. I have looked high and low for a community that fits..me…as many have expressed. It is amusing/curious to me that this conversation emerged when I googled ‘what is an aging hippie to do?’. at 1:00 am.. .expecting nothing. So.. Ya never know.

Check out facebook: “OCF Old Hippies Home”
OCF = Oregon Country Fair
A lot of us Old Hippies who attend the Fair are getting started on this idea of spending the rest of our lives LIVING together – taking care of each other, sharing what we all have, and not letting anybody cut our hair!
Check it out. We are just starting, but hippies from all over the US and the world come to the Fair every year, so this is a large base of like-minded folks. The more we all share, the more we all have.

Lynne, thanks for the info. My wife and I love the Oregon Country Fair. We trek (well, drive) down from Salem every year, getting our annual dose of un-Salem’ness. If you’re familiar with Salem, you know what I mean.
I took a quick look at the “OCF Old Hippies Home” page. Interesting. Living as we do now on ten acres in the country, in a single family home, we feel most comfortable in our own house. But I can understand the appeal of shared “elder housing.”
It’s tough to find the perfect place, probably because “perfect” is a human concept that doesn’t exist in natural reality. We like the idea of being in town, in a walkable/bikable liberal mixed use neighborhood, but we also like the privacy, quiet, and nature trails where we are now.
Sigh… I guess life will guide us in the direction we need to go, As if we had a choice.

So many of us are at this junction. Some interesting concepts are arising, e.g. pocket communities and multi-age communal living situations. Some cities are more progressively supportive than others. It appears that you have the space and an interest in developing a viable/vibrant option for like-minded individuals to extend their independence, productivity, and creativity many years into the future, prior to enrolling in one of the current assisted living facilities. We may need a little more help from our friends at this point, but we are far from incapacitated. I’ll be watching for further posts.

Sign me up. Make sure it’s someplace warm. The hills of Hawaii would be nice. I can’t cook but I can write… and paint (art) if it’s warm enough to heal the arthritis in my neck. (Then I can move my arms.)
Tina Boomerina at Boomerinas.com
http://www.boomerinas.com/

INTENTIONAL COMMUNITIES

I’m 65,grew up in the Bay Area and was there in SF, for the good times. From 65-67-in the Haight, and I spent 1971 Living On The Earth, with Alica Bay Laurel as a neighbor, as well as 150 or so others, on Wheelers Ranch in Sonoma Co. Open land concept.
What I learned is this. Most people can get along fine with no need for authority. But, some need to be told right from wrong, and there in lies the rub in the utopias. The takers vs. the givers is a constant diversion.
So, to be a real good place to live, and share with other like minded people, requires strict rules of conduct, and a willingness to be open and respectful, to others. I would love to live together with others of my generation and persuasion.
Likeminded free thinkers that are drug and alcohol free would be ideal. I live in a nice apartment in Washington, near Portland, but would love to live on land with others. It can be done and work great if everyone comes together to make it happen. Times running out. Living on Social Security can be made easy, when it’s done in a group or family type situation.

i’m in search of a hippie-friendly retirement community on the east coast, near the beach, north carolina or north.

People like you are what make Oregon beautiful. We are composed of so many individuals. Thank you for sharing and as always, Keep Oregon Weird.

Ocean Beach, California is a throwback to the good old days! It’s beachy, behemian, laid-back, dog-friendly, socially conscious, diverse, and there is that relaxed feeling you have when you walk down the street and people actually say hello! It’s far from perfect, no place is, but it’s definitely one of the last communities left for people like us!

It’s so good to hear I am not the only one that feels this way. I’m 62 and live in Florida alone. My children and grandchildren are here as is my soon to be 80 year mother. I remember living in communes and working together as a family and would love to live with like minded people. I do have RA and I am currently an out of work MSW social worker. I would love a peaceful environment preferably vegetarian/vegan. The northwest sounds wonderful. Cant seem to find a hippie/bohemian type community here in Florida. Plus im very outspoken about animal cruelty and ecological issues. Not always easy to find people my age here that feel the way I do. Thanks for letting me share.

Well this is a old blog but seeing another recent post I thought I’d chime in.
At first I was hell bent on Colorado. I’m only 55 and may never actually be able to fully retire.
A villagey type area would be more toward my ideal. I think a lot of just being an RVer but even then I’ll eventually have to have that one comfortable place and prefer it in an area where I can gather with like minded folks.
I don’t think I could do a commune thing well, after living alone as long as I have. I’d be happy just to find the right little village not far from the nature and/or hiking trails.
I don’t drink but I do like to do a little cannabis. It’s not easy to come by at this age, especially if I were to move away from younger relatives.
Guess I really didn’t add anything, except that us who came of age at the dawn of the 70’s are in the same boat.
Florida is a real downer and I do have friends there and friends who still light up, but man that’s as liberal as they get. Otherwise they are stuck in a disco time warp and love their Jeb.

I am 58 and disabled/retired I own 10 acres in the upper peninsula Mi. I have a wonderful Garden and medical 420 card, a nice shop. The only problem is it gets cold in the winter and the locals are pretty redneck. I live 40 miles from a stop light, a grocery store or a fast food place (don’t eat that stuff anyways)I have my hair still to the middle of my back and wear levis and black high top chuck taylors allstars. have a 74 beetle mint condition (cuz I take care of her)I’m a musician , the only bummer is I just wished more people like me lived here

Nice to read all these ideas. Particularly like Jaymes Easton’s concept of astro-cartography and relocation charts. Off to research that now.
I’m 71 going on 40. Forget about “good health care”, we’re all going to die eventually anyway. We don’t want to eat factory food, chemical cocktails. Why should we accept that concept of health care? That’s not a good criteria for moving.
Consider whether you are extrovert or introvert. Define the differences between “want” and “need.”
I’m so DONE with the Sonoran Desert extremes, 106ºF to 16ºF. The overhead costs of heating, cooling, sourcing water are insane.
Consider whether you need proximity to a good secondary international airport; forget the boondocks.
The more isolated the land and the more poverty based the population the more conservative, discriminatory, and racist the basis of the society and culture.
Just a few of the things I have learned in my search. That said, I do not have any clear answers either. thanks, all

Hi there,
I am working on an independent living community like the ones spoken about above with a focus on spiritual growth. I’m trying to gauge whether this concept would draw in people from out of state. It is going to be on 50 acres just outside of Gainesville, Florida. So would any of you be willing to move out of your local area for something like this? I’d really love to speak with some of you as we develop the concept…we are looking at breaking ground in May, 2016. you can reach me at elliotlarkin@gmail.com

wow! how cool to find others looking for the same thing! To answer the question above – No. I am interested in a situation where free spirits can be free spirits. I want to enjoy weed, dance, do yoga, swim, continue doing whatever I can to honor and save our planet, meditate and attend to my own spirituality, plus play with like minded people. As a group we can begin to hire assistance as we need it. btw i am an acupuncturist and herbalist

I am looking for the same thing. I lived in a commune in the 70s. I moved every year growing up, sold my house and bought an rv. I traveled across the country with my six kids and homeschooled them..alone. I’m a child of the 60s, teen of the 70s. Gypsy at heart. Still looking for my place. Where do I belong? I’m a yoga teacher, artist and author. Reiki, balance aura/chakras, drumming circle player, tarot reader…

I’ve begun looking into a place with these value on behalf my mother. She had a stroke and is in rehab. Dont know yet how much independence she will recover, and it is my hope she will return to her rural Vermont home needing a bit more help than before. But recovery is slow thus far and it’s a distinct possibility she’ll end up needing “skilled care”.
People reading this, what are some places you have identified? New England or Pacific Northwest preferred, but open to all ideas.

Ahhh, my situation is complicated in that my husband is a boat person; he wants/needs to be around water. He has been talking about Clayton, NY (cold) and Ft. Myers, FL (conservative). I am an old hippie, more open-minded (liberal) to location, and somewhat artsy. We are 65-ish and want to re-settle in the next year. So many of us are in the same postion – what are we going to do???

I’ve found my peeps! We’re not ready yet but are in our 60s and know communal living of some sort is on our future. My Mom lives in the type of place the OP describes but I will never own enough “coordinated sportswear” for the dining rooms. Where are all my graying-naturally, bra-less, jeans-clad comrades going to age out?

Sounds like you already have the solution. You’re sitting on it. Why not have a small number of select individuals share your land put up there own small dwelling and all share in community garden and maintenance of common facilities. If the cost could be affordable for people on retirement then viola! If assisted living or nursing is required then that’s yet another type of living transition not accommodated here.

I am 65 and concerned with my next move because I am still a hippie at heart in a world that is so drastically different and disconcerting from the world of my youth. I am searching for a location —-my place and some semblance of peace. wendee

This is fabulous. I went searching on the web and I found there are lots of us out there looking for the same thing. Communal living with like minded people.

Just found this site this morning, and feel like you are my future. I’ve lived most of my life in the Midwest, with long winter vacations to Hawaii and the Carribean to maintain sanity, well, sort of. I am downsizing my life in all ways. Started getting rid of antiques and possessions two years ago, and just sold my 14 room house on 2 and a half acres in a small rural town. I have relocated to an apt. In the “city”,population 80,000, and know it is meant to be temporary for me. I’m the youngest one here, ( 65), so after 2 months,I know what a retirement complex looks like, here anyway. Seeking other fun, creative, active friends, in a warm climate. I’m so done with winters! Nice to visit, don’t want to live there anymore.

Ok everybody, I’ve got the answer, LETS DO IT AGAIN, i.e. lets build a tiny house retirement community, like we did in SF in the 60’s. That proved just a group of people could change the world. Lets get back to being there for each other. Im working on the project for lo income and disabled srs, (to later expand to all) but find that non old hippie types are REALLY hard to grasp the concept and having to give up lots of stuff and space is too hard for them to grasp. I tell them, ‘if you do a little research and consider that as you age, you dont leave your chair much, hence not alot of space is needed, haha, and do you really want to clean it all the time, so hey, you can let go of all that square footage. Personally, Im going with one with lots of big windows so nature becomes home, (at least visually). We would have a central meeting place where there’d be free tv/internet/telephone (you get on a free network). have a younger manager who would provide repairs, take us to med appts and shopping (and possibly have a group car on site for the able bodied and emergencies) and the bottom line consciousness in the community is; “my good day is your bad” so I’ll come over and make ya breakfast, on my bad day you come and help me do laundry, ad infinitum. We’d grow our own food. Bottom line is we would be there for each other, screw capitalism and the government. Get back into the love mode seriously……real community. Then some of so inclined will take in homeless youth.
Im looking at more rural areas around Portland, Or, where theres still the ancient growth (i.e. healing power trees). If anybody wants to connect on the idea, e me at sunrisinghome.gmail.com. Can refer folks this way as well. Thanks

Well, did you find your ‘landing’ place yet???? Im actually working on a project to re-instate height st, i.e a seniors commune, WAA HOOO. HAHA. Anyway would love to connect. Im in Portland,

I think that there are a lot of New Agers, spiritually inclined and high social conscience people who would welcome the opportunity to move into an independent community. Even more so if one has empathic tendencies.
My preference is the Pacific Coast as it is more temperate. I would like to build a dome house with vertical outside walls using insulated concrete forms. Somewhere around the central Oregon coast sounds quite nice.

Came across this old blogpost, but thought if comment to the ethers anyway…
Yes! And instead of “Cowboy Bob” and Elvis impersonators for “special entertainment,” we will have Doobie Brothers, Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young etc cover bands, and Joanie Mitchell impersonators! (Scratch that, no one could impersonate Joanie Mitchell, but you get my drift!) The med techs would be passing out brownies.. We could have our own Woodstock or Monterey Pop Festival: “Old-Wood Stock” and “Monterey Moms and Pops!” Seriously though, as I spend endless fingernails-on-chalkboard, paint-drying watching (and V.O.C. breathing), hours and hours at my parents’ assisted living (love them, but the place drives me nuts) I imagine, as an afternoon “music feature” rattles on…suddenly the lights dim…laser lights start to search, strobes go off, and from the mezzanine library above the dining room, a Steve Miller voice is heard…”Ladies and Gentlemen! (We get out our light sticks) Are you ready to ROOOOCCCCKKK?!” (Ok not the same concert as CSN(&Y) and ‘Joanie Mitchell’)
Or some version of that.
Oh, and the outings on the little bus we are going to political protests and rallies. Or Powells. Or LifeSource Natural Foods. Or the Country Fair. Or, wheelchair/walker hiking (it’s invented by then) to Opal Creek.
And the care staff are Reiki Masters/energy healers, and reflexologists, and the lady in the “beauty parlor” knows how to do maintenance on dreads.
Yes (wistfully) maybe some visionary developer will be reading this…hmmm Virgin Pacifica Elder Hostel, Sir Richard?

I have been searching for the many things that all of you are seeking. What do we need to make something happen for we aging hippies. Would anyone like to suggest a place and time to meet for a coming together of the minds and the means? I will be in California in January and have many friends who I know would join in for a movement of this sort. Thanks and Peace to All

I’m almost 65 and have just begun looking for a continuing care community. What I’m finding just isn’t me. I’m not interested in the resort type community. Like many of you, I would love to find a community for old hippies! Is there one and if not, why not?

Retired carpenter with pension @ age 60 nearing in Ag. Body protesting 33 plus years of construction. Body will not cooperate with my youthful adventurerous mind. Now that my shackles are broke to restart my new life I am still asking myself what do I want to be when I grow up? Waiting for my soulmate to recover from advance Lyme decease then we can start a new adventure. Have the same mind set. Good luck!!

carpenter with pension @ age 60 nearing in Ag. Body protesting 33 plus years of construction. Body will not cooperate with my youthful adventurerous mind. Now that my shackles are broke to restart my new life I am still asking myself what do I want to be when I grow up? Waiting for my soulmate to recover from advance Lyme decease then we can start a new adventure. Have the same mind set. Good luck!!

What strikes me as the biggest problem with aging in America is the segregation of elders. What is missing is a community populated by all ages and stages of life. Somehow incorporating the concept of the extended family where everyone has a part to play and everyone benefits.

Sign me up! I know people who want an affordable community for aging hippies to happen in Knoxville, TN next to the old city; Ideally in a converted warehouse where we would have individual apartments and large gathering areas, a garden on the roof, studio spaces for artists, musicians & healers…
I’m thinking we could form a network of places – some rural, some urban.
Let’s keep talking ^..^ Our time is Here!
shelogic.com

Im so glad I found this site, check out our project;www.sunrisinghome.com. Given most srs are set in their ways and not real oriented to such a change, I know many of you would be way ready for this. Pls e me or call 971-254-9458

Reading this blog had been very encouraging!!! I’m just turning 62,and I too am searching for such a place. I am healthy and active, and cannot imagine living in a senior assisted living facility. Recently divorced, and ready to let my gypsy spirit and soul return from a long time in exhile. By the end of this year, I hope to have my little rv all packed up, and I’m hitting the road. Living off the grid sounds great, and of course as green ad possible.I’m ready for new places and new adventures. Eventually I’d love to settle down for a spell, in a community of like minded people, who care for this planet and for their fellow man. I hope I will find it!!!

So…two years later what is the latest on this subject? I will soon be 64. Yikes. I need answers!

I am looking for a like minded group or home to spend my last years. I’m retired and have a small pension and am on social security. I’m youthful in spirit (as we all are) and love humor and laughing. I’m also sort of a political nut – naw, I’m very political! I am a “liberal” and proud of it!
Anyway, hope something turns up. I just think it would be so much fun!

1st time for a Blog for me, but I enjoyed and felt everyone’s pain. My husband and I are downsizing and moving near our youngest son in Washington state. We are looking for an active community. I see all the pictures and I swear we don’t look like that or at like that. I retire in 2017 and we are already looking for some place active and fun. I will 59 then and he will be 60. We just want a fun place, reasonable place that we can live and enjoy life. Still looking… all suggestions are welcome for our next adventure.

Oh well, just got the msg that I had to refresh to send my post…so I lost the good one.dont have the patience right now…too busy downsizing my house. Will be back. Initial post caught my eye & I’m glad to make contact w those like me.

Someone has just started a neighborhood web site….even tho I hate being forced to have internet to communicate with anyone, it has been a good thing so far….at least we’re talking & they don’t know I’m not wearing a bra or shaving! I say get together with, say, the blogger that lives in Fla….hang out….Learn where everybody is…Maybe we are all close but isolated (I am). Seems like most are talking about NW…& it seems to me that CA have the most liberal thinkers……but I like the beach and the sun….that’s why I’m thinking FLA….& y’all are scaring me. Keep Austin Weird! p.s. Im a nurse, been to the aging communities…dont want to live there…..really.

Please re-think Panorama! My husband and I are in early 60s & moved here this year. It has everything you said you wanted, except for the Kesey bus ( agreat idea!) A theater that shows first run movies, a garden, dog park, sidewalks, a rails-to-trails multi-use trail that goes right by us. Average age of newbies is 60s, meditation classes, and most of us liberals and active. Come on up & visit. I agree that their marketing is sadly out of tune with what boomers want. We need to work on that.

Deb, thanks for your observations about Panorama. You’ve led us to decide to take another look at the community. If/when we come up from Oregon to visit, we’ll see if you’re around.

Peace brothers and sisters,,It seems so many of us are looking for the last peaceful place to land-Most of theses posts coild have been written by me.-Isn’t there something/somewhere??? Im 66,female and live alone–It is gradually getting just a little harder to do it all alone not to mention it being just plain lonely–I want to move to Oregon –daughter is in Portland–Anyone want to share housing/rent-have a like-minded roommate? This is redneckville here–Id like to be with my own kind–“Namaste”‘Cheryl Please,please contact me with any and all ideas cherilyn10@aol.com Put hippie in subject line so I kno it is not spam Many thanks

I don’t suggest SE Wisconsin, once a progressive state but now it’s run by extreme right wackos. I’ve live here 40 years. I’m 64 and thinkin about Western CO, central AZ, or Florida. I want to ride the bikes smoke to the the end.

We are in the same boat ,i.e., 60+ and figuring where to spend our days. We are currently in Austin,tx but it’s not where to retire.
We are looking at Oregon as 420 friendly and a beautiful state and people!
But the commune thing intrigues me. Big time.
I’m thinking about buying 10 acres and selling/leasing 1 acre lots and creating a commune.
Community garden and conversational areas.
Who’s in?
Let’s talk.
Michael Rinebold
512.971.8768

on a sudden inspiration i plugged “retirement old hippies” (or something like that, i forget exactly) and up came this amazing blog. as someone else noted, i could have written many of these entires. age 63, plan to retire at 65, don’t know what i should do at that point. like you i’m an old hippie, comfortable in the company of other old hippies. it is a revelation to find there are so many of us. i have thought about communal living for many years, or at least, a modified communal living situation (e.g., separate small houses, communal centers, shared responsibilities…) and would like to find such a situation. it is great hearing all your stories!

I lucked into this blog by typing in “Best Places to live for Boomers, liberal, music, arts”.
(I am a professional musician for 40 years. Single, female and a tad over 60)
I’d like to share locations I have experienced, to add to the conversation about “where to live?”
I’m hoping to visit Asheville and Chapel Hill this summer. It seems to be a popular retirement place for Miami Boomers who have had it with the climate and population swell.
I loved the Berkshires, lived in Gt Barrington for 2 years. Very conscious and even have their own currency to “keep it local”. But winters are too rugged for these bones.
I built an adobe house south of Tucson, AZ in the 1990s. Grey water system, solar passive, adobe block. But, with small kids it was too far from many services that became important. The 116 degrees in summer wasn’t as bad in the shade. Deep wells are needed.
I’ve been in Miami for 3+ decades-South FL, the coasts are showing evidence of sea level rise, we are on limestone and the drinking water aquifer will be affected by salt water intrusion at some point. Sandbagging doesn’t help when water rises up through the porous limestone.
The flooding on Miami Beach is in evidence already at King Tide time and at full moons so I look at the projected rise on all of FL coastline.
Thing is, it’s no longer just 700 people per day moving to Florida, it’s now reported at 1000! Per day!
Traffic has gotten increasingly worse over the years and I am feeling hemmed in. The drivers are from all over and seem to think US driving laws are optional.
The current governor (Scott) is ignoring climate change, fracking may be up on the agenda. We have an old nuclear power plant south of Miami and the Everglades to protect from agri industry.
The heat and humidity are relentless..in 2015 it was 8 months of non stop air-conditioning!
Looking for my tribe of conscious, liberal artist types in a better climate. The Astro Cartography readings are very interesting.
Hope there will be more shared info here. Good luck everyone!

Thanks for the posts! I think we’rd going to have to create our own. The trouble is hippies had rather be having fun than developing retirement homes for other old hippies. Bummer.

I am in mylate 60s and most definetly one of the old original hippies. I sincerely wish that some of the compassion and lack of self centeredness that existed in the 60s ,prevailed today. Where can an old hippie reside in the northeast to connect with others who have a similar mind set and a similar heart set? Windy

Originally from Greenwich Village NY. Looking for somewhere – let me know if you know anyplace. Just got terminated because of an injury so it was all of a sudden. I’m 61 and want out of frozen Ohio.

Any updates on this? I am 63 love to travel and am selling my place in CA and want to live somewhere would love to stay in CA but so expensive. I am in burbs of SF. Looked at retirement community but felt lonely just being there not my kind of place..more like a prison though very pretty seemed so contrived like they have activities and many are younger oldies as my ex mother in law used to say around 50 and some are old oldies. You can’t get through even to look at the place without a real estate agent. Single status now last relationship was the opposite of spontaneous lasted way too long but we hung on then finally it died. We tried. So grown kids married around here would like to be close to them but got to keep what I have.
it’s 2016 now and did not see any new postings. Hope everyone is still alive and if any new ideas. MY suuggestion would be to keep the newest on top so the most recent info is on top.
I would be very interested in a community with different types of boomers and others too so we dont get too caught up in ourselves, that causes brain shrinkage New blood is good! Different ideas are good. If Donald Trump is President well even more so.
My IDEA would do have a little town of cluster houses, gardens and allow solitary as well as community times. No forced anything. We are introverts, extroverts, and combination of both.

Move out of the USA. You will find expat conclaves of aging and often talented retired people who want more of what America isn’t in wonderful cultures. I know you re freaked out regarding a new language etc. but check out parts of Mexico and central America, Portugal, Vietnam, thailand etc. Go ahead live a little!

My name is Doug Robertson 55 yrs. young lol— I guess I was a hippie but I felt I was to high strung to be a real laid back hippie, my friends swear I am a hippie I strongly admired the hippie beliefs. Fight oppression with freedom of speech , take care of yourself, the earth, your elderly neighbors and make then feel like they belong in our new hippie culture of the 60’s and 70’s —-80’s A hippie culture that shadowed out our parents culture….We never intended to drown out the older generation just inspire and add spark to there existence and that was so much needed in the day….I thought of this 25 years ago after morning the lost of the culture we grew up in (fighting oppression and war) We need hippie retirement homes and communities. It would be nice to have an exciting different end(no pun intended lol ) to our hippie existence. A hippie nursing home culture will spread across this land I hope and believe 🙂 P.S. I came up with a name for my hippie retirement home 10 yrs. ago—its called
“RAINBOZEND” you can checkout(die) but you can never leave..

Ok, we’ll join all of you. The big question is…Where? Right now we’re in NJ. Yes land of high taxes and Chris Christie. Of course we want out. My wife and I are living in the suburbs across the river from Philly. Our current digs are a 1953 Mid Century Atomic Ranch in a beautiful neighborhood with old growth trees and a creek running next to our property. We’ve furnished it in period furnishings. Its a great place to live. Thought we might retire here, but our 860 sq ft ranch sitting on 1/4 acre has a tax bill of $5400 per year. Ouch. Anyway, we’re thinking about a vintage mobile home in a cool artist hippie community. Of course we have our list of wants….warmer climate that is not Florida, dog friendly, 420 friendly. It would be great to have some raised bed gardens to grow veggies. Like minded souls. I’m a 60 year old artist/ art professor/ jam band musician. My wife will be retiring in a few years from being a 2nd grade teacher. She is still a Deadhead and was a tour rat back in the day. So while I’ve seen a lot of friends in the same quest, I’ve only seen a few suggestions as to places to check out. We’re especially thinking about cool mobile home parks, but will consider just about anything, as its more about being with like minded folks. Thoughts?

I see this has gone dry over the past year………………I am still looking.
I have to have a place to live someday………….

I am Dan and I want to start a non-profit retirement home for hippies and I have a friend that is a doctor who is an old hippie and not quite ready to retire but back of a bit and he’s told me that if I can get this up in running it will start in Colorado so that people who want to smoke they can and those who don’t can mind their own business keep in mind that this is a dream now but I really hope I could help people by doing this also a must is a community center away from the homes so that there is no problem with others bothering others by noise at any time because I like to nap but I am praying that one day this will fall through I hope for ideas to be posted to me my email is danielscibek1@gmail.com

I’m totally in the same boat! I’d love to find a retirement community here like you are describing!

oh yeah, just the site i”m looking for. some friends of mine and I are in the “lets do this thing” stage and it is appropriate that we will once again be charged with forging our new earth view. maybe it is better that there are not blueprints for structure, although those with the gold like to make the rules. i would like to be kept abreast of emerging thinking in the group mind as we all stroll forward into the next chapter. Thanks , Bill from Fayetteville

I am turning 62 and just recently have wondered where is my hippy community. I like the idea of communal living a this stage of my life. I think the transition would be very smooth. Once I go on SSI, I would like to be involved with a social community. be it spiritual, self-sustaining, or both. I think it’s an awesome idea.

So, has anyone found these ideal places? They need to be organized by younger people who don’t understand what we want. And there is the problem.

Is anyone having any luck finding a place?

was post sit,… have to go to work

I must be aging differently. I am going on 69 and retired a few years ago, but didn’t really change much. I only want a few things. My two beautiful old dogs, a couple of glasses of wine every night. and friends with whom I can sit around a firepit, talk, laugh, drink wine (or smoke pot or both), and tell funny life stories. I don’t care if I live in a house, or an RV or camper. I want a few stars in the sky at night And I climate I can enjoy. I just want to really enjoy my retirement. I am thinking about Mexico because I can’t seem to find that in the U,S. Wish I could.

I love this idea. Love it. Let’s get started. Who’s in????

I am another “retired” clinical social worker. Seems like quite a few of us are in the helping professions…
I have been looking for my place in the world for quite awhile. I have been in the SF Bay Area since I was 20 (now 63) but it no longer is the place it was nor do I want to stay here; the energy is too acquisitive.
I have explored a number of places from Quartzite to coastal towns to my hometown in upstate New York to New Mexico to Arizona. I know I want a fairly year round warmer climate so that rules out the north. I have aging hippie friends who live in upstate New York, New Mexico, Greece, Provincetown and Lake Chapala in Mexico. I anticipate going to Lake Chapala to explore the lifestyle. I have saved some money over the years, not a lot, and I hear from my friends that it is very affordable there. In addition, there is a “culture” which give the place character. I also intend to visit my friend who is living in Greece.
I too do not want to end up in an orange pleather chair being “case managed”. The emphasize on death and disability for those who are older dismays me as does the characterless senior communities that cater to us. Let’s try to make it different for us and for those who follow!
Keep me posted as to what you are doing to this end and I will update you
Kathleen
Gettingbetterwhatworks.com

I’m living in Charlotte NC (just moved here and can’t wait for my lease to expire June 1st, 2017) to move out. I need companionship, cool things to do, rest periods, partying (modestly perhaps, perhaps not) gardening, access to sensual sensitive females, intellectuals, good cooks, lighter diets, People who will watch my back as I will watch theirs. Great 70’s music lovers, fellow musicians, friends and did I mention sensual sensitive females? Besides some arthritis, every thing still works.

2016 This may be too late now. I am in Vermont and love it but I have no playmates. For some reason the only options are 55 plus places that are trailer housing with grandparent types ( think of embroidered sweatshirts and stickers that say ‘ my grandchild is an honor student’ or extended care facilities. ) Seriously Vermont is forward in so many ways except housing. I picture a community similar to my real skiing days and where there is a place to be alone when needed, but also to party and have fun. I have the vision and know that boomers will be on the same wave. Where are you guys?? my only bummer is arthritis which is putting limits on me but I am looking for you all!

Just saw this page. What has happened to your ideas, and other peoples ideas since you originally posted this. Would love to see an update to your situation. October 08,2016

I am 66 going on 12, pacifist, semivegetarian, get around in my power wheel chair. I currently live in a low income retirement community where I have earned the title of the resident hippie. In truth there is not a single person who understands me. I would love to live in a warmer place among like minded people.

]I would love to find such a place. I’m 68 and in good health, strong and fit for my age. For me the important consideration is finding a place with people I can relate to intellectually and politically. My biggest concern is that I have a very limited income of $1300 a month Social Security. So it is a big ask to find something suitable that I can afford! I have been traveling and living abroad for the last 14 years, and I am starting to get lonely and in need of a community.
Have you found something, still looking, or making plans? I would love to hear what you have learned.

I’ve been reading all of these blogs (they are old). Only one address near Gainesville was given. Has anybody come across any ideas? We don’t have to live commune, but same neighborhood would be really nice! Where does one get current comments on this site? thanx

How about Virginia>? 4 seasons, not too extreme, or Maryland which is a blue state with legal pot.

Hi I’m from UK came on line looking for somewhere for my X husband who has start of dementia but still thinks he’s the handsome god he was at 40 & doesn’t see the harm in anything he says or does but then he never did My daughter who’s had to rescue him from his burning house is adamant he’s not going in care So hence why I came on line I had typed aged hippy retirement UK but this one is first
I know he loves heat hotter the better hates cold born in Canada might have done it ! All he wants is to walk around naked 😂 eat burgers & watch Jeremy Kyle god love him cause my daughters are starting to not 😢 I live in hope his final days can be happy along side people who can cope with him 🙏🏻 I may have to step back in & forget all the bad days this is a great hook up for you folk in US good luck happy hunting ground for you all

I know that chapel hill is one place that we old hippies can call a resting ground and the weather is milder but I have yet to visit so its’ all hearsay. I’d love any ideas that you have about other places/cities states to look into. I’m crazy for the beach too but putting that all on my wish list may be too much to ask for. But. hey what the hell. Let’s dream big 🙂
Posted by: shulamit | July 03, 2014 at 07:16 AM
I was wondering if the above author was referring to Chapel Hill North Carolina.

Check out Firefly Creek Ranch near Guthrie Center, IA on Facebook

Love all the feedback and enjoying the journey of discovery and amazing ideas on how to make the next stage an adventure and not a resting place and hope we all find a perfect space or spaces where people and kindness matter.
I think this applies to all Boomers, we are all looking for an alternative, something that challenges and provides excitement something we have to work at and learn from and is exciting.
My two pennies worth!

Well , I’m glad I googled, Where do the Hippies go to live in 55+ living? I wasn’t really expecting to see anything on it. But Hallaluja, I am thrilled to see that I’m not the only one. I will be 60 in August. And I too feel like there’s got to be somewhere for those of us , where the homeowner thing just got to be too much, & if your single & dare I say it, (a woman), I got SO TlRED of getting ripped off by lawn guys, contractors, and handy men who promise you the moon, “Be here first thing Monday morning! And after some sob story as to why they needed the money up front, you never see them again. So I went and lived in 55+ living down in Houston TX, my birthplace, although, I been in the Austin & surrounding Hill Country for 29 years. And SO Far, in all of my research, it is just as you described in that dvd. Ho, Hum! There was no chance of even hearing Proco Harem or Yes, much less, Zep, Pink Floyd or even Prince. Yes, I was still whooping it up in the 80’s, but my most favorite and truly diversified was, Leon Russell. God Bless Him. I want to be able to live in a place where I can hear, “It’s been a long time since I rock and rolled” or ” Everythings is gonna be, is gonna be, is gonna be All Right Now!! But I don’t want to be alone. I volunteered to take a turntable and my Parent’s albums to the local assisted /retirement living and just play the older stuff, and volunteered to see if we could get them to maybe dance a little. But it turned out it was the staff who were unmotivated. I used to teach dance & would still like to keep myself and others moving, it’s much more fun with others. Although I can no longer leap through the air, My whole body, now dealing w/ RA, just does a lot better with movement. That place I lived in, had chair exercise classes w/no music. But it was just boring. If ya’ll ever get anything going, Let me know plz. THERE IS A NEED FOR US BABY BOOMERS to have a 55+ living or assisted living place to go to( that has addressed that we were either born around the time of Vietnam or knew of somebody whose son’s return was like waiting on pins and needles.) Art changed a lot around that time, and music, movies and fashion, the way we eat, talk, dance, EVERYTHING. So those who are in MARKETING FOR ASSISTED LIVING….Really need to watch Forest Gump and take notes. I would shit if I walked into 1 of these places and a Salvador Dali was above the receptionist’s desk, but I would feel like I had found the right home.

I am age 58. Not a hippie but a free thinker period so much of what you all talked about is what I am looking for! It’s been hard to find anything on the internet. Gainesville? A possibility! Has anyone found anything yet

Looking for same .age 58. Planning for the future! What’s out there????

I totally agree.. my husband is 66 and I’m 58 and we are hip and interested in culture, music and the arts and as I google, I find the same results. The communities are not like minded folks that we could relate too! But there sure are plenty of us and we need a place!
Homes bigger then “tiny” but not bigger them motor home.. with Trees! And gardens! And flowers! And music! And art facilities! Craft brewery even! I’ll help someone start and organize if you have the money and the place.. lets do this! I’m on east coast .. Maine, Rhode Island..

Like others here, I am in my 60’s and was in the Haight during the 60’s and lived at Morningstar Ranch and Wheeler’s in Sonoma county and then made my home in the Bay area until moving to Alaska in 2006. I now a small house, but am interested in moving back to the pacific northwest, Portland or Vancouver washington, maybe Northern California. I have often lived in community and think that group owned land with community space and tiny homes would be an upgrade from the cabins and treehouses of our youth. people are building co-housing complexes, I like having my own space within a community of people. Anyone else thinking along these lines? I would love to be part of a dialogue about creating or joining a community like this.

So I’m 63 in body but 25 in spirit. This post has been around for a few years now and I’m wondering if this idea ever took off? I am seriously looking, am collecting SS now and just want to be with good hearted, likeminded people. I’m not materialistic, have a kind heart, love animals, love (most) people and love God, but not religious. I have 3 rescue cats and a little rescue chiweenie. Where is my place? Where is my tribe? Are you out there?

Consider Mexico…I live in a small town 20 miles north Puerto Vallarta. Medical care, weed and beer are all reasonable (cheap), weather is perfect all year around (except some sissies don’t like the high humidity in the summer.). In the evening I usually share a cocktail and a toke with any one of a dozen neighbors (we don’t talk politics, religion or health issues) or I take a sunset walk and swim at the beach with my dog. Most nights there is a club with a live band where you will find a group of 60-somethings, 70-somethings and 80 somethings dancing up a storm with their 40-something children and 20-something grandchildren. Neighbors look out for each other and if and when I need it a full time caregiver it will cost me about $400-$500 a month.

so …i guess this is why there are still no hippy retirement communities… all dreams and no actions. in our new #45 world, starting to look at europe for potential escape.

i just found this string….my story is in all of yours….please tell me you all gathered and started a place!!! I am looking for home!!! ….any assistance would be appreciated…namaste’

I’m coming way late to the game here, but has anyone found their ideal “aging hippie community”? I’m helping someone do a blog about just this kind of thing–the need for community, the turning away from convention, seeking an authentic life…. I’d love to do something about this blog thread and any communities you may have discovered. Thanks, and happy seeking!
Amy Woods Butler
http://seekingtogether.net

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.

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: groovysweetness@gmail.com

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.

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!!

where did my blog go–? Please write me–cherilyn10 I am on America online–put hippie in subject line

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 Yogahearted1@aol.com. I would love to talk with you 🙂

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?

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.

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?

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

66 and 67 now living on Ometepe Island in Nicaragua. Looking for something different.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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??

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.

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. (gardenangel22@gmail.com) 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.

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?

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.

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.

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!!!!

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 @kitcatmary@gmail.com

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.

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

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
comivez@aol.com

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

We laugh at’a what’s funny. We shit on the chests of the weird.
HST

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..

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!

Check out Asheville, NC. Very eco-conscious. University town. Full of peace, love, and understanding.

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.
slimerfrog@comcast.net

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?

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!

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. http://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.

I am reading these comments in may 2020. I hope everyone here found the right place for them and that you are all safe.

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.

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

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?

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.

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?

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.

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.

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

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……

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. beeswaxbalmlady1@gmail com

Someone should approach the people that run the Villages and ask them to build just such a community.

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

…and a feiend sent this. Maybe intergenerational housing is the answer.
https://siebenlinden.org/en/start-2/
All the best,
Sybil

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.

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 sybil@sychecksystems.com.
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)

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

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?

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.

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 !

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- lisaboatwright69@gmail.com 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

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..

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

Well i’d like to stay at a retirement home with my family because we are old medical marijuana is my meds when i get old from mustard gas n i need to see if my military insurance. Would cover it so i fight no more foever staying their permitnitly

I have had this vision for some time. I want to buy 5ish acres. Five to ten couples/singles live there in independent tiny homes. We have a large fire pit in the middle where everyone can gather. Have a garden to grow our own food. Be located within 60 miles of good medical facilities.(hate that part but we are in our 60’s+). Only requirement is you have to tolerate marijuana and love love dogs.
Political intolerance will not be allowed. If you can’t be respectful of all political views you won’t be welcome. Not for everyone but it’s my dream.

Renee, 5-10 acres would be great in a nice setting. I would have each tiny home on at least a 1/2 acre lot.

Let’s make a contact list or whatsapp group. I’m in Costa Rica & there are still affordable farms. Beach properties have gotten $$$ but the climate is pretty hot at sea level so I prefer being at higher elevations. (it’s not hawaii). If you are interested send me a message with your whats app number & any other info you’d like to include & I will create a whatsapp group. And yes, we have experience developing properties here. Altho I don’t see my husband ever moving he would certainly help. I am so ready for community I can taste it!!! All my best, Diane dmscostarica@hotmail.com

Well, its 2023, is this still a thing? I need an old hippie retirement place that a person can live on social security…and NOT a right-winged place.

Boy do I love this and funny enough was in a search for is there a retirement community for hippies? I am currently 55 with a partner that’s 7 years older then me. I wonder where will we go? Certainly not in the current retirement places. I shudder at the thought that my last place to rest will be in a nursing home. There has to be a place that honors people like us.

I am also interested in a communal living arrangement. Tiny houses, energy independent, as much as possible. Space for co-operative gardening, shared equipment, tools, community space, work shop, studio space…I am on the East Coast and will be staying here. Female, 69 years.

Hi Brian- we’re in our mid 60’s in Portland, OR. Hippies at heart, progressive, OCF family, music lovers, professionals w savings. Interested to hear any update, where did you end up? Any thoughts you can share?

Hey hi, Brian Hines…So, it’s been awhile. Did you find or create the old hippie ecovillage and where did you end up? I’m looking for the same kind of place….and one that’s very affordable. I hope to hear from you.
Peace, love and gratitude, for the New Year!

I have read all of these posts and am convinced there is a need for retired people seeking an alternative approach to retirement living options. I live in Tennessee and have a dream of building a small community of tiny homes or small houses. Somewhere between 5-10 total homes . Each person (couple) would own their piece of land and could sell at will. The name would be the Rainbow Connection “for dreamers and lovers like me”. Homes would be in a large circle around a gathering area with large fire pit, community shared building, etc. the only requirement to live there would be tolerance for marijuana smokers and love for dogs. “Love, not like”
Just my thoughts. If interested or have additional thoughts, I can be reached at remmett2422@gmail.com
Cheers
Renee

71, former deadhead, dedicated ecologist, wannabe farmer…now certain 10 acres in FL will soon squash me on the windscreen of life… I love your post and seek to find a place, mellow, evolved; even groovy people who aren’t mainstream morons waiting to die…
i pondered creating my own intentional retirement–don’t have the juice to get er done…

I’m retired two years and looking for a community of like minded people to share my later life experiences with

How do I become a member of your family?

Where is your village?

Just found your site and it was so encouraging for me. Did your dream every come to fruition. I’d be totally Interested to know.
Becky

I’ve stumbled on this post because my husband and I ( we are 45 ) have started thinking about retirement. We lived in the suburbs of Chicago and now live in the suburbs of Denver. This suburbia living is depressing. I grew up in a small town in Ukraine. And I wish US government had the foresight to build more small town rather than allowing this sprawling suburbia to continue. A little, self reliant town(village) ( its own hospital, university, airport that serves several similar small surrounding towns) would be perfect. Less traffic and pollution, less crime. Lots of alley parks with sidewalks, trolleys, shops, community garden lots. Those who like farming can live on the outskirts and provide produce for the town. Outdoor movie theater. Local artists can get together and open teaching studios and set up a museum. I miss small town European feeing. The brick buildings. Trees on the sidewalks. Little ice cream shops. Fresh baked real bread. Little booths that sold flowers, greeting cards, bubble gum for kids. Plus building a town from scratch means they can utilize all the new green construction ( solar panels, recycled materials, etc ). I don’t like big cities and I don’t like suburbia.

Hello all! I’m a single 69 year old woman with adult lifelong arthritis. I’ve been retired/disabled for about 6 years, living alone in a 2 bedroom house in Texas, often the hottest place on the planet. I’ve lived here for almost 30 years and the house is just falling down around me. It’s imperative that I find a new place to retire, but I won’t give up my loud rock music, preferably Led Zeppelin. Traditional retirement homes are not for me. If anyone knows of any place in a cool environment, where I can live independently without home maintenance, with like minded neighbors and where I can play my music loud, I would be very interested. I’ll check back here at a later date. Thanks for reading this. ☮️

Have been having these conversations within myself for quite awhile.
Has anything manifested for any of you?
Retired nurse whose served the underserved for most of my life,
Clinic was started by hippies and black panthers.
Nancy

Refreshing to know that my generation sees senior communes as a viable way for seniors to still contribute, live among peers with like values and needs, and keep a high quality of life, looking out for one another in a dynamic, successful group.
I am a young just- turned- seventy, just retired from nursing, and live in New England.
I envision, shared efforts to grow our healthful communal food, pool half of our SSI income per month for shared utilities, taxes, similar to the communal model of the Shakers, with a moral compass. rule of law, but religious freedom for everyone.

I see there hasen’t been much action on this site, so I don’t know if anything has developed. I’m 77 and not in great shape. Walking only with rolator; saving up for an electric wheelchair which will be next, so I don’t know how much help I could be to you. I do have business experience, & my brain still works. I have supported myself making jewelry & administrating properties. I smoke cigaretts & pot, which I can’t do in my room in any places I’ve looked at here. I love to play bridge – Bingo, no thanks. I’m not a super hippie, but was active in SNCC, SANE and the hopeless “ONE MAN ONE VOYEmovement. I left NY in ’68 after the death of the Hippie ceremony in Tompkins Sq park. I’ve done most of the Pam merican Hwy, working on pre historic digs, traveled a lot. I spent a glorious 50 years in PR, in Old san Juan, which was dripping in charm, and I had my life all set there, but decided to leave to join my Son & his family in 2017 when they were in Boston, in need. of help, but the warm embrace of family I’d anticipated when we all decided to meet & live in Surf City NC has grown icy, since his X girlfriend – mother of his kids is bipolar and obsessed with jealousy & hate for me. So I’d like to get as far as possible from them – leaving no forwarding address. I happened to leave PR the day before Hurricaine Maria hit, and can’t go back there because the infrastructure was never really fixed and I’m too old to be without water & elect. for moths on end. I hate the cold, and hope to never have to go back to NY. I did spend some time in Oregon – Seatle – Vancouver, and if you don’t mind never seeing the sun, the weatheer there is OK, and the “head” is good. Vancuver is great. I love being near an active downtown, but it’s really expensive & If Trump wins, I expect Canada will be building a wall to keep the panicked Americans out. I do speak Spanish, so it’s either the Pac NW, or Mexico for me.
In Mexico, should worst come to worst, my medicare would be useless. My X has been deleriously happy in Pukhet Thailand, for 15 yrs. & I have friends in Bali, but Tsunamies & Volcanoes are not on my bucket list.
So if anyone has found Shangri -La please let me know.

Greetings from Milwaukie, Oregon, right outside of Portland Proper in Clackamas County. My mother’s 76, still (currently) living independently next door to my husband & me, and navigating dementia. She’s a progressive hippie and wanting to get out there more in the community. She needs our family’s support with her health concerns, but is also aching for more of a like-minded community. Down the road, she & we will be looking for an assisted living facility for senior hippies with empathetic hearts of gold. Mom’s still working part-time and takes TriMet Lift around town. Leads/suggestions for the above for my amazing Flower Mama?
Regards & Respect,
Nathan.

Where can I find to retire? I want an artist craftsman community with emphasis on farming. One that allows for shipping cargo container homes and one where the land can be bought. Utilities would be nice after all I am retiring and getting older. One where Amish Communities are near. Maybe one where there is diversity even. Most of all inexpensive so don’t encourage the Texas Hill Country it would be perfect except for the costs.