ResidenT LIFE

WHAT DOES IT COST PER MONTH?

We currently ask $950 per month. Here's how it breaks down:

• $ 350 per month in rent for your private room

• $ 400 per month in rent for common spaces & some communal household supplies

• $ 100 per month for utilities (includes electricity, water, gas, firewood, trash disposal, insurance, internet)

• $ 100 per month for shared groceries, some kitchen supplies (like dish soap, sponges, etc), and prepared meals

Optional:

• • PARKING: $ 50 per month per parking space (8ft x 20ft) 

  • EXTRA LARGE ROOM: variable additional cost per month if you want one of the limited extra-large rooms, to be negotiated

  • VANLIFE: pay less if you want to BYO-bedroom, to be negotiated based on many variables

  • DOUBLE OCCUPANCY: variable additional cost per month to share your room with a partner, child, friend, etc, to be negotiated

All residents have the ability to participate in discussions and decisions which could influence any changes to costs. Rent, utilities, and groceries may fluctuate based on the number of residents and renovation progress. Any definitive financial changes will be communicated in writing at least 30 days in advance.

WORK-TRADE RENT DISCOUNT

There may be opportunities for a 25% rent discount in exchange for work trade. In order to be eligible, the resident must pay 100% of their expected rent each month for the first three months. During these 3 months, negotiations take place where the labor contributions and need for such labor are validated by community leadership. Incoming residents are not guaranteed a work trade opportunity. You might also consider joining us temporarily as a Volunteer Guest.

WHAT IS AN INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY?

An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common vision, and share some responsibilities and property.

Our common vision is one of creative collaboration. Our community comprises artists, makers, and creators, collaborating on their creative pursuits.

Our community does not have any specific political, religious, or spiritual focus. We do not share incomes, or require work in any revenue-generating roles.

OUR HOUSE CULTURE

We are diverse range of people with a wide scope of experiences and skills. Co-existing can prove challenging at times, but ultimately it works because we are working together toward a common goal.

Here are some ways you might describe more than a few of us:

• neurodivergent or neurotypical

• queer, trans, nonbinary, straight, cisgender

• marijuana-friendly

• casual substance users, sober people, people in recovery, 

• nomads (including #vanlife vehicle-dwellers who come and go from our grounds)

• artists, musicians, performers, event producers

• tradespeople*, techies, educators, service workers

• extroverts, introverts, ambiverts

• kinky, vanilla

• individuals, partners, families (including children in the child-friendly building)

• pet owners (in the pet-friendly building)

• from varied cultures and backgrounds

• young, old, in between

* There's a lot of renovation to be done. Several of our residents are here on the construction crew. If you have a skilled trade, you'll likely find likeminded people here, and no shortage of projects to keep you busy. 

We love creating spaces for others to host events, and we love to create our own events. We love having guests in our home, who travel from all over the world to visit and volunteer. We're used to having all sorts of new people entering our home, and we're equipped to deal with the challenges that this can present, because we enjoy the rewards it brings.

KIDS & PETS

Children, teenage-minors, and/or pets who are good fits for the community are sometimes accepted as residents here. Children and pets are considered as individual candidates for residency the same way you are. We want to meet them first and see if they're a good fit with other residents, including other kids and pets.

We have an entire building for residents with pets.

We have an entire building for residents with kids, and presently we have two part-time kids who are exceptionally mature and fun to spend time with, who are always attended by their parent while in common spaces.

EMOTIONAL STABILITY

We do not have the resources to guarantee support for individuals in crisis. We do not have the tools or expertise of social workers or psychologists. We are not a mutual-aid community for mental health and other situations.

Residents who thrive here know their emotional needs, have support in place to maintain emotional stability, and communicate when they are disregulated or need help. They to set personal boundaries for their community contributions so as to not deplete their own resources. When they are struggling, they do not hold others responsible for their emotional needs. They have the capacity to be resilient and communicate kindly and quickly if someone says something uncomfortable or upsetting. 

CREATOR COMMUNITY PLAN

Intro

Sparr and Victoria have a 25-acre 42-bedroom estate in eastern Massachusetts to serve as a home and home base for themselves, some friends, and some creative and collaborative friends of friends. This document describes Sparr’s plan for how to organize the community that he hopes to develop through this endeavor, as well as various practical details of the property and location.

TL;DR

25-35 artists, makers, musicians, performers, event organizers, and other creative types living in long-term community on a historic estate, using common spaces, workshops, and other amenities to build things, engage in artistic endeavors, host events and guests and artists in residence, and otherwise pursue their passions. A five minute walk from small town amenities, one hour west of Boston Logan airport by car or two hours by occasional transit.

Organization

Mission

Provide a space for creative people to live together and pursue their creative passions.

Ethos

noun - A Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology. The Greeks also used this word to refer to the power of music to influence emotions, behaviors, and even morals.

• We honor our commitments.

• We pursue our creative passions.

• We strive to help each other improve.

• We oppose bigotry and intolerance, except of the intolerant or harmful.

Priorities

1. Maintain the value of the property.

2. Enable creative people to create together.

3. Enable creative people to live together.

4. Enable creative people to create.

5. Maintain social harmony among the residents.

Norms

Many norms of the community will develop and change over time. The list here represents Sparr’s expectations of the community he is building. Further experience and the specific people who become involved could affect these norms.

Use of the Space

We do much more than just sleep and store our stuff here.

We leave common spaces almost as clean as we found them, or better. [see “Chores”]

We maintain a relatively (~80th percentile) clean and organized house and workshop.

Communication

We communicate openly and honestly.

We share our grievances directly with each other, except about actions which would warrant someone’s removal from the community which might be reported indirectly.

We avoid exaggeration, hyperbole, and dishonesty when saying something negative about another person.

Intimacy

We welcome nudity in common spaces not visible from off the property, with reasonable hygiene precautions, with exceptions for certain events and times.

We welcome displays of affection in common spaces.

We avoid sexual or BDSM activity in common spaces, with exceptions for explicitly defined spaces or events for which significant notice and/or signage has been given.

We treat loud sex and other intimate noises like any other noise, and ask for quiet in similar tone, demeanor, and circumstances as asking someone to turn down loud music or postpone using loud tools.

We apply an objective standard of intimate and physical consent when considering the behavior of our residents and guests, based on what a reasonable person could perceive in the given situation. We eschew reliance on unknowable states of mind and the typical unwritten unspoken “except when my judgement disagrees”.

TODO: Discuss and establish community expectations regarding one or both parties being inebriated or altered for a first intimate activity.

Governance

Residents are welcome to use and change the spaces and amenities as they see fit (do-ocracy), other than physical changes that are either time consuming or costly to undo or that are forbidden by historical preservation, zoning, or other laws, as long as they announce and document substantial changes (treat the space like a wiki). Behaviors and norms and plans will be discussed if someone objects, with decisions about most such things being made by residents interested in the topic in question (democracy with no quorum). Sparr reserves veto authority and anticipates using it for a small fraction of such decisions (benevolent dictator). Residents failing to uphold the ethos and priorities of the community, abide by community decisions, or who regularly make poor or inconsiderate decisions that significantly hamper the productivity and enjoyment of the other residents will be asked to leave.

Chores

After reaching critical mass (20+ residents) we will employ staff for cleaning and other recurring necessary tasks, very tentatively estimated at 10-20 hours per week for each of house cleaning, house maintenance, shop cleaning, shop maintenance, and outdoor maintenance. Residents will be prioritized in filling these roles. Residents and visitors will be expected to clean up their own significant messes, but will not usually be responsible for the general cleanliness and orderliness of the space. “Leave spaces almost as clean as you found them”

This strategy may change over time if a significant number of residents believe, and later demonstrate, that they can successfully adhere to some community-designed chore system that maintains the cleanliness and usefulness of the common spaces and amenities.

Amenities

In addition to the buildings and other spaces, this community will endeavor to coordinate or provide other shared communal amenities that benefit from an economy of scale or sharing. Likely such things include:

• Vehicles

• Carpools

• Hiring of educators

• Artist and Maker consumables (paint, sandpaper, saw blades, etc)

Meal Plan

We aim to have a resident cook, and have a tentative plan for communal groceries (~$100-150 per month per person) which will be used to prepare dinner and an earlier meal on weekdays, possibly with a brunch on the weekend.

Children

We are considering experimenting with part time presence of humans between the age of 1 and 18 in our community. Making this work will depend on dedicated efforts on the part of multiple people with regards to planning, coordination, communication, safety, legal implications, etc. It is unlikely that we will move toward having children live here full time.

Pets

We are dedicating the 4-bedroom house to indoor pet owners. There will certainly be indoor cats and possibly indoor or indoor/outdoor dogs. We will likely cap the number somewhere between one per bedroom (4) and one per person (up to 8). Prospective new pets will need to have audition play dates with the current resident pets to check for compatibility, similar to humans interviewing with other humans.

Pets who frequently make biological messes other than in designated places (litter box, outside, etc) will not be welcome, nor will humans who fail to clean up their pets’ such messes in short order. Ditto pets that repeatedly damage the house or people’s belongings. Humans with pets will be responsible for preventing pet hair and messes from making their way into other spaces, particularly the dorm common rooms. Pet owners are expected to brush and otherwise responsibly groom their hairy pets on a regular basis.

COMING SOON

Details coming soon about guest policy (for guests of residents), meetings, participation, member voting, etc.