Website under construction

Addressing Concerns

There was a concern about traffic and roads out of town. There is a proposed I-11 that seems to be progressing with approved budgets and corridors.
New Interstate around Tucson

Here is a good summary about the water concerns in the area.
Worse case water shortages
CAP Map

From the second email:
This is a very intimate process to create community. I believe in open, honest dialogue, transparency, vulnerability, tackling the tough questions and concerns, and supporting people's ideas. This, after all, is one of my desired projects for our community - to harness authentic human connection to advance our relationships and communication. I dream of us learning to celebrate each other in our differing viewpoints, because for me, that is essential for the survival of our beautiful species. So bring on the healthy debates, difficult conversations, and logistical concerns. If we can get through this, we can get through other tough moments as a community.

The major theme of concerns is location. I know some of you are all on board if we chose the PNW or all on board if we chose "The South". We spent months collecting data on various states including predictions on economy, climate change, water, etc. The result was - if you want to find good info about an area, you'll find it. If you want to find bad info about an area, you'll find it. It is too difficult to truly predict the future with the vast amount of variables. We chose to avoid wildfires, hurricanes, icy roads and blizzards, and densely populated states. We figured that the water issue in Tucson can be solved with rainwater collection and assessing location again after 10-20 years, and the hot summers can be resolved by designing a regenerative, cool, oasis-like community. Also, school's out for summer (I hope you used your singing voices for that line), so it is a good time to travel for those with kids.

Some of you already know the big plan with our group - to hedge against the future. Just like with investing, you need diversity. We can't put all our eggs in one basket. Thus, the 2-10 year plan is to purchase land in various locations (PNW, New England, The South, Canada, UK, Central America, Caribbean, you name it). The idea of starting with Tucson is because the area is current-state, awesome. We could pick a spot in the desolate intermountain north area, in the hopes that it will be warmer in the future, have more growth, etc., but why live the next 5-10 years in an isolated place when the benefits of doing so are arguably significantly less than not? Personally, I want to be involved in a cultural hub, have an abundance of outdoor activities at my fingertips, and be challenged by diverse social groups. For example, I believe there is tremendous opportunity in NE Washington, many of you know that already. I was very close to purchasing land here. However, I changed my perspective. I challenged myself to visualize the alternatives. This is a long story, if you are curious, ask me about it. For now, I challenge you to visualize life where you are, where you think may be optimal, and in Tucson, then talk with me about your findings. We can all be hesitant of change and comfort, but we do have the opportunity to design our future.

Next Steps

- Fill out the Form. Not all questions are required. There is space for feedback including location selection!
- Provide any additional feedback.
- For those who answered one of the first two options on the Intent question, answers will be shared via excel. (names redacted)
- For those who answered one of the second two options, thank you! We will keep you in the loop and hopefully have a newsletter soon.
- Schedule a meet and greet.
- Develop regular meeting cadence.
- Second round of questions to work on vision statement, values/principles, create committees, organization/legal entity, bylaws, covenants, and land purchase.
- Create a profile on ic.org
- Highly recommended that all partners look at resurces on cohousing.org and read "Creating a Life Together" by Diana Leafe Christian.

Partner/Member Profiles

We are inclusive of all walks of life and choice of occupation. The community should be designed to support everyone who becomes a member. Curious to know how that would work? Keep up-to-date with our site as more and more content becomes available, or become a partner and help with the design.

Current profiles include:
- Nomads or Travelers who need a place temporarily throughout the year.
- Full-time workers whether locally or from home on the computer.
- Part-time workers.
- Stay-at-home parents.
- Retired or financial independent people focused on projects and hobbies.

Some Intentions

Regenerative Agriculture
Environmentally Conscious
Financial Flexibility
Future Generations
Solarpunk
Human Connection
Growth and Learning

Some Ideas and Sources

Work smarter. Don't reinvent the wheel. Learn from others and together. Endless creativity.

Idea from botanist, Richard Feltner, is to get out of the idea to modify the environment to fit the crop (like brining in water from Colorado River) to modify the crop to fit the environment such as planting tepary beans instead of cotton. This quote/paraphrase is from Brad Lancaster's "Live off grid in urban desert" video.

Robert and Diane Gilman - ecovillages are "human-scale, full-featured settlements in which human activities are harmlessly integrated into the natural world in a way that is supportive of healthy human development, and which can be successfully continued into the indefinite future."

Chuck Durrett - "Cohousers believe that it's more readily possible to live lighter on the planet if they cooperate with their neighbors, and their lives are easier, more economical, more interesting, and more fun."

Diana Leafe Christian - "Getting a group of people to agree on a common vision, make decisions collaboratively and fairly, and combine their money with others to own property together can bring up deep-seated emotional issues - often survival-level issues - that can knock a community off its foundations."

Tucson Specific:
Living off grid in Tucson
Arizona Schools - Niche.com
2021 US News Best High Schools
Topp Montessori Schools
Tucson Community Gardens
Tucson Astronomy
Beaches Near Tucson
For more great resources, check out this eco-village

Other:
Learn about Cohousing
Rainwater Harvesting
Mud Bluff
Earthship 101
Spaceship Earth
Greenhouse Dome
Intentional Communities
School of Living
Aircrete Guide
Climate in 60 Years
Solar Roof Freight Farms

Potential Ways to Interact

1. Vacation - Think AirBnB getaway
2. Retreat - Technology Detox. Learn sustainable, off-grid practices. Authentic human connection and workshops.
3. Short-Term Work Echange -
Workaway
WOOF
World Packers
4. Trial Move - Join the community for a trial period to determine if it is a good fit for both parties
5. Become an Advisor
6. Become a contributing member
7. Become an Equity Partner - Ready to commit? Want your ideas to be part of the growth? We have space for more partners.

Initial Invitation

Hi All!

Firstly, I am using the word partner as equivalent to teammate or member. It is someone who wants to jointly work on the creation of our community. If I use any words that may be up for interpretation, please reach out for clarification.

As you know, throughout 2021, we have been deeply researching locations for developing a community. Truly, it has become an obsessive, daily hobby. The intentional community development search has included many introductions to material (websites, books, forums, subreddits), introductions to people of all walks of life who have experienced living in communities or currently live in communities, introductions to alternative ways of sourcing energy and water, regenerative agriculture/ permaculture, and much much more. The location search has included numerous factors such as natural disasters, taxes, climate, water, population, purchasing power, culture, schools, outdoor activities, family, opinions from personal visits, opinions from targeted advertisements realizing that we are searching for a place to live, and politics, among other things. While Washington, Tennessee, and Wyoming were highly sought for a long time, and Texas, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Missouri were flirted with, we are nearly certain that the selection is Arizona. More specifically, the pick is Tucson (unless we are posed with a strong counter-argument).

What does Tucson have to offer? Well, unfortunately it doesn’t offer low/no state income tax or affluent water sources; however, it has checked a lot of other boxes. The big one is education. I firmly believe that a multi-generational community is key to longevity and growth; we need to think about the success of our children. If you don't need convincing about Tucson, skip down to Next Steps.

Education

According to US News and Niche, the Tucson area has three schools in the top 50 (University High School, BASIS Oro Valley, and BASIS Tucson North). Also, they boast two top Montessori schools. The Phoenix metro area (only two hours away) has six schools in the top 55. Eight of these nine schools are BASIS charter schools that are on a lottery system. The University High School requires good scores on the CogAT and an application for submission.

Aside from these top-ranking schools, there is another charter school that is decently ranked in the Tucson area. The Sonoran Science Academy ranks #819 out of 17,857 on US News (top 5%) and #95 of 2,342 for best charter high schools in America on Niche. Niche also has it ranked in the top 2% for categories such as most diverse and best teachers. As far as public schools go, there are decent options, the Catalina Foothills ranks #725 out of 17,219 (4.2%) on Niche for Best College Prep Public High Schools and top 7.2% on US News. Tanque Verde High School is ranked in at 9.4% on US News. There are, of course, other high-ranking schools in the Phoenix area and quality private schools.

It goes without saying that the University of Arizona resides in Tucson, which, for me, means fun businesses, hip restaurants and coffee shops, more cultural events, and more groups to get invovled with. Here are a few facts about UoA: There were 36,503 enrolled undergraduates in the fall of 2020. It was ranked #23 out of 694 for Nursing. They won the Women’s Golf national championship in 2018. The Men’s Golf team won this past year in the Pac-12 conference. The Men’s Basketball team has won in the Pac-12 most years in the last decade. Other recent Pac-12 champs include Baseball, Softball, Women’s Golf, Football, and Women’s Cross Country. As individuals, the men’s and women’s track & field teams have several Pac-12 champions as well as the swimming & diving teams.

Climate

Another bonus in Tucson is the climate. From September to May, the highs are 65-95 degrees Fahrenheit. That is nine months to enjoy a large variety of outdoor sports, to enjoy a personal pool, and to enjoy backyard projects and barbecues. The other three months have an average high of 100 degrees. Tucson is 1,300 feet higher than Phoenix in elevation. This difference means that it is about 5-10 degrees cooler than Phoenix year-round. I’ve already heard many people have concerns about the heat, but just remember that three months of heat beats five months of shoveling snow, icy roads, and reduced outdoor activities. Also, it is a dry heat, so you can find some shade to cool down. The climate of Tucson affords year-round gardens to thrive. A quick search online will show you the vast amount of farmer’s markets, community gardens, and cooperatives.

Nature

The last point to discuss in this letter is the vast amount of nature to enjoy. Tucson is one of the top ranked cities for cycling. There is a 131-mile car-free network of trails in the metro area for cyclists, pedestrians, runners, and even horse riding. Outside the city, there are also many trails for mountain biking and road biking, or running, naturally. Tucson is surrounded by mountains. The mountains include the Santa Catalina to the north, Rincon to the east, Santa Rita to the south, Tucson Mountains to the west, and Tortolita to the northwest. The Southern Section of the Arizona Trail goes through Tucson as well. With all these mountains, there is plenty of rock climbing, flora, fauna, and caves. Also, if you’re looking for some beach time, Puerto Penasco, Mexico, is only a few hours’ drive. There you can enjoy multiple beaches on the Gulf of California. If you’re up for a weekend trip, you can easily drive to San Diego in less than six hours.

Other

Some other fun things to look up include the Airplane Graveyard, Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, and the many observatories.

Before moving on, you are probably wondering about the comments on taxes and water. Yes, state income taxes will add to the cost of living at about $5-10K per year depending on your taxable income. Also, Pima County (where Tucson is) has the second highest property tax in the state at an average effective rate of 1.01%. The national average is 1.07%. As for the water, there are ways to collect rainwater and to create a water recycling system to help conserve available water and reduce costs. The city and the citizens are cognizant of water use. There are a lot of inspiring and creative processes in place in Tucson to live eco-friendlier and more mindful. For me, that makes the water concern a bonus. It affords an opportunity to learn tolive more in tune with nature versus comfortably neglecting nature’s cycles and resources by living unconsciously abundantly. Furthermore, as a community, there are ways to be creative with our property investments in other states to hedge against the future. This topic can be discussed at a later time.

Next Steps

Please read everything in this section.

Alright, so now that you are also convinced that Tucson is agreat location to build a community, I would like to extend an invitation to you to potentially become a partner in this creation. The next two big steps increating this community are solidifying start-up partners and purchasing property. The other two major steps that are currently in the works, are creating bylaws and covenants and a website to contain our vision and prospectfor future members, as well as create a profile on ic.org, but we want the final product to be ours collectively and not only the ideas/input of a single person or two; thus, we need to agree on initial partners who can come together to finalize the community organization. The diversity of input into the bylaws, covenants, organization, property, website, etc. will help us avoid cognitive bias, blind spots, and it will help us create a space that is scalable and holistic.

In order to purchase the property, we need to know who will be purchasing the property (an individual, a group, a company). This means that we need to know who those start-up partners are, how they would like to organize, and their available capital contribution. Also, before purchasing property, we need a clear understanding of some key points that will ultimately be captured in the bylaws and covenants, about land use, development, and projects. You do not need to have money to be an initial partner. You also do not need to be ready to move to Tucson within the next year or so. We will get into these details after this initial inquiry is complete. 

Thus, I invite you to fill out a Google Form. These inquiries will help determine our community/property requirements and restrictions to get us to the next stage. After you complete the form, you will be sent only people's responses who answered one of the first two options for the Intent question. This is so that the potential partners can meditate on the collective before we come together. This means that we ask you to be honest and open with your responses, we ask that you be non-judgemental and open-minded when reading other people's responses, and we ask that our shared information is secure from being shared elsewhere unless permission is received from the content creator. For those who complete the form, we will schedule a meet and greet video chat. Please allow yourself at least an hour to complete; there are 40 questions and not a lot of multiple choice. Also, if you have a trusted friend who may be interested in this community, please share the form link with them to fill out. This is our future!

  Click here to access the Form

Our goal is to solidify partners within the next month and move forward with land purchase. Completing the form is a required step to be involved in our community. 

Lastly, this is meant to be a collaborative effort. Your feedback, points of clarification, etc. are greatly appreciated.

Thank you and happy trails!