[hindsightbias]

It would seem to be a concept that "if you build it, they will come." But herding a dozen-somethings is just impractical.

Having been to a couple of legacy Intentional Living (former communes) communities - it's all very complicated. Everyone has to be on a near-same wavelength or they don't work. Turnover is high.

I'm helping a relative slowly develop a property north of the bay. It's a recreational project now, but if there were structures there, people are already lining up. Thing is, taking raw land and getting permitted infrastructure to handle a dozen people is probably ~$150-200K on the cheap side. He wants to experiment, all sorts of alternative ideas (i.e. take forever), but he's letting me build a tiny timber frame.

His idea is a "Benevolent Dictator" model. It would be more like a campground with internet. You would rent, or trade labor by invite. Most people would probably live in a city (what you see in most Intentional Living communities now) but have their country "chata."