Renters and homeowners struggling with living costs, job pressures, and social isolation are turning to communes.
Realtor.com reports that hippie homesteads are making a return. The definition of a commune is fairly loose, as exemplified in the story. One New Yorker pays $810 a month for a room in a 10-bedroom house in Staten Island. One Virginia man lives rent free (and receives a $102 monthly stipend) in exchange for full-time on-site labor.
“There are a lot of people who are pretty disappointed with the way the American Dream worked out. People feel isolated,” says Sonoma County, CA–based Realtor Cassandra Ferrera, who specializes in helping clients seeking sites for new establishments. “These intentional communities are like social experiments to find a better way to live.”
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