# Community giving away 1-2 acre homesteads on a river in the Alaska wilderness



## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

Our fledgling community is giving away 1-2 acre homesteads, and the lumber or logs to build a cabin, on a wild river in the Alaska wilderness. There are no building codes or restrictions here.
If you have seen "The Last Alaskans", you know how we live.
Why are we giving away land? Living in the bush is difficult and often lonely for individuals or even couples. Good, helpful neighbors make life here safer, easier, and more congenial for us all.
What you will need:
1) An airline ticket to get to our nearest village (60 miles away by river) We can pick you up there, and your 
supplies, by boat.
2) Have enough money to buy supplies and food to survive one year, or a way to make sufficient income on the internet.
3) Homesteading skills, survival skills, and health to make it through a hard winter.
Couples are especially welcome. 
For further information please see our website at roundrivercommunity.org


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

How did you make out in finding folks to be your neighbors?


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

What are the employment opportunities in the village?
Who is giving away the "homesteads"?

If someone(s) shows up with supplies and money for a year....builds a cabin/homestead....then runs out of money?
What happens?.....
Do you get kicked out?....or do you still own the "homestead".


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

These are leases, tiny slices of someone's 80 acre parcel. They want you to do their work, and you don't actually get to own the land.... sounds a lot like a commune to me.

No thanks.


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

I not interested either.....
What is the upside....For me?

Show up, bring money, labor, build something you don't own. with no way to support "your homestead"...
So you tap out....next "batch show's up"....same thing?

I do not see anything that I would be interested in a set up like this...

Actually these posting usually start out with a "Looking for like minded people......"

Good luck with that.


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

hunter63 said:


> I not interested either.....
> What is the upside....For me?
> 
> Show up, bring money, labor, build something you don't own. with no way to support "your homestead"...
> ...


My thoughts exactly!! Most homestead type people value their independence too much to join in on a venture like this.

Another thought: even if you like leasing the land (50 year renewable lease) and all is hunky dory, what happens when the owner of the 80-acre parcel dies? You're probably left out in the cold.


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

hunter63 said:


> What are the employment opportunities in the village?
> Who is giving away the "homesteads"?
> 
> If someone(s) shows up with supplies and money for a year....builds a cabin/homestead....then runs out of money?
> ...


There is full employment in the village, especially for carpenters, mechanics, wood cutters, and folks who can repair stuff. I have lived here for eighteen years and never worried about finding work. I am now retired.
If one runs out of money one can leave for a period of up to a year and a half and still retain the lease. After that the lease falls back to the community.
These are fifty year leases that can be extended to family members after the lease expires. The lease stays with the community, not the owner (me), so that when the owner dies the lease remains.


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

The work done on one's lease is all for one's own benefit. The rest of the work, such as maintenance of sawmill, boats, snowmachines, tools, and moose and salmon processing is for the benefit of the entire community.


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

How many leases do you offer? How many leases are filled, vs how many there are? What is the turnover rate on your leases, as in abandonment rate?
What do you export, or do to bring money into the community? Besides said leases, that is.
What about crime? Emergency services offered? Medical care?

What do you bring to the table, as far as this community goes?


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## Skamp (Apr 26, 2014)

So, you are not giving property away. You are allowing improvement, in the leassors eyes, to your property. 

It's good the initial bait and switch was exposed. I wonder just what else you have in store for the gullible.


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

This might help understand what it's all about.

http://roundrivercommunity.org/


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

Read the entire website, but I still had a bunch of questions. Seems this community is comprised of 4 people at the last update of the website.

Website is very well put together though!!

I don't understand the $160per month for internet service...?? Is this for service everyone in the community uses or for one individual who gets their own equipment and password, ect? My initial impression was that this $160 was what one individual pays for a month of internet service which leads me to believe this person would be paying for everyone's internet access.

Edit: I checked and it's satellite internet which goes quite a ways toward explaining the cost. I don't know if that's the whole story here but in the OP's defense, sat service is mucho expensive!


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## Oregon1986 (Apr 25, 2017)

Smells fishy to me


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

bogtrotter said:


> If one runs out of money one can leave for a period of up to a year and a half and still retain the lease. After that the lease falls back to the community.
> These are fifty year leases that can be extended to family members after the lease expires. The lease stays with the community, not the owner (me), so that when the owner dies the lease remains.


So you are leasing these..... not giving them away.....So I can't sell mine......
No amount of time spent... does the ownership does not belong to me?


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Kansas has done something similar. Basically, the locals out here want larger, healthier communities.


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## ed/La (Feb 26, 2009)

Seems like a good deal to me for the right couple. Would help if you had a monthly income so money would be a minor issue. If you had internet business $160 would be doable. 50 year lease, no problem> I do not have 50 years left. I wonder if there is any gold in the rivers and creeks. Perhaps trapping is legal. Good hunting and fishing and I think Alaskan residents get some type of small check yearly. Gas sound like expensive problem. Hauling fuel 60 miles on a regular basis by boat or snow machine sounds like torture. I would not want to do a 60 mile boat ride one way with out a back up out board.


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## dademoss (May 2, 2015)

It's not for me, I don't even want to share a well or a driveway, let alone something like this.


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

Now if we could set one up in say....Hawaii...I'm all in!


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## FireMaker (Apr 3, 2014)

They are not giving the land. They are giving a lease to the land. Not


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## Forcast (Apr 15, 2014)

I would think this would be a great thing for young folks without children.


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## ed/La (Feb 26, 2009)

FireMaker said:


> They are not giving the land. They are giving a lease to the land. Not


 The lease is for 50 years at $1 a year. This is a way to control who their neighbors are. By giving land away they would loose control of who moves in. Land given away could be sold to god knows who.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

ed/La said:


> The lease is for 50 years at $1 a year. This is a way to control who their neighbors are. By giving land away they would loose control of who moves in. Land given away could be sold to god knows who.


And leased land is not yours no matter how much you improve it.


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## ed/La (Feb 26, 2009)

At a buck a year lease you could build a shack, a camp, a yurt, they have saw mill. I do not care who gets my camp after I am dead.


mnn2501 said:


> And leased land is not yours no matter how much you improve it.


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

ed/La said:


> At a buck a year lease you could build a shack, a camp, a yurt, they have saw mill. I do not care who gets my camp after I am dead.


Have at it, by all means lol

Me, I want to have something in life to call my own, and to hand down to my son after I am gone.


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## Michael W. Smith (Jun 2, 2002)

mnn2501 said:


> And leased land is not yours no matter how much you improve it.


Well . . . . . to be honest . . . . you never truly OWN your own land. 

Your local county "leases" the land to you. Your lease payment (property taxes) allows you to lease for another year. If you don't pay your yearly lease money, in about three years the county will sell "your" property to a new person who wants a lease.

Bogtrotter's setup wouldn't be for everybody. But for the right person (somebody who wants to live in the wild in a homesteading type community) it might not be too bad. You get the land to build on and if you have a needed skill - you can get a job. It might be a good idea to know approximately how much money would be needed per year to live there. (What are food prices, energy prices, etc.)

However, it is kind of misleading that a "community" is giving land away. It isn't a community or town - it's the owner of the land. Land isn't being "given away" - it's being leased.


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

Skamp said:


> So, you are not giving property away. You are allowing improvement, in the leassors eyes, to your property.
> 
> It's good the initial bait and switch was exposed. I wonder just what else you have in store for the gullible.


Funny, you skeptics must all be city folks who are regularly screwed over. All I want is good neighbors in a wild and lonely place. I get NOTHING else out of this. I never intend to sell this place to make a profit, and intend to die here, leaving only my couple of acres in the community to my children and grandchildren. But think what you will.


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

Michael W. Smith said:


> Well . . . . . to be honest . . . . you never truly OWN your own land.
> 
> Your local county "leases" the land to you. Your lease payment (property taxes) allows you to lease for another year. If you don't pay your yearly lease money, in about three years the county will sell "your" property to a new person who wants a lease.
> 
> ...


County? there are no counties up here. There are NO taxes in rural Alaska.
But you are right about someone else owning the land. It will be owned by the entire community!


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

And you can hand


ShannonR said:


> Have at it, by all means lol
> 
> Me, I want to have something in life to call my own, and to hand down to my son after I am gone
> 
> ...


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

hunter63 said:


> So you are leasing these..... not giving them away.....So I can't sell mine......
> No amount of time spent... does the ownership does not belong to me?


It means that you can live on this land for your entire life and pass it on to your children. No you can't sell it. Selling land is an idea invented by colonialists


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

Mo


Skamp said:


> So, you are not giving property away. You are allowing improvement, in the leassors eyes, to your property.
> 
> It's good the initial bait and switch was exposed. I wonder just what else you have in store for the gullible.


Funny how our country has made skeptics out of everyone.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

bogtrotter said:


> It means that you can live on this land for your entire life and pass it on to your children.


But according to your website: a one to two acre parcel of land with a fifty year renewable lease, at a cost of one dollar per year.

I'm fine with what you're doing, but don't try to call it one thing when its actually another.


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

bogtrotter said:


> Mo
> 
> Funny how our country has made skeptics out of everyone.


Bhohahahaha....Ya think?....Now that is funny.....

Sorry to hurt your feeling ........but not for me, colonist or not(odd comment?)....nor most folks here.
I hear community ...the equals commissum....My alarm goes off, comrade.

But this type of self sufficient group, ...spend their life , working hard and doing for the selves.....To build something for themselves and the family.
I/we don't care what you do.

I tried sending the $3217 buck's to Nigeria, to get my $40K bucks....any day now?
Good luck.
I'm done here.


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

And so who invented the idea of buying and selling land? Certainly not indigenous folks. It was invented by the people who stole their land. Ya might wanna read some other version of history than the one written by the thieves themselves.


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

mnn2501 said:


> But according to your website: a one to two acre parcel of land with a fifty year renewable lease, at a cost of one dollar per year.
> 
> I'm fine with what you're doing, but don't try to call it one thing when its actually another.


Well, you are right. I should not say I am giving away land. No one actually owns land. We are all just passing through. I am just allowing others, via "legal" means to live here for their, and their children's, lifetimes. Land "ownership" is an myopic arrogant anthropocentric view of human relationship to the earth. No one owns other life.


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

ShannonR said:


> Have at it, by all means lol
> 
> Me, I want to have something in life to call my own, and to hand down to my son after I am gone.


And how exactly would you not be able to hand it down to your son?


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## SSRD (Jul 13, 2017)

Can you explain the "one year trial period"?


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

Bogtrotter,
I'm not trying to be offensive. I am skeptical, but I never had any trust to begin with....and that is my own load to carry.

I've been in a very similar situation to your proposition. While it works to a point, not everyone there carries their weight. It made for some real interesting times, and friction between the individuals concerned. For my own part, I had very little money to contribute. I tried to make up for this by working my tail off...

Truth be told, it wasn't all THAT bad....I liked it, and could do it again. But I have realized that I had nothing that is truly my own when its said and done.

If I were independently wealthy and could afford to pay my own way in Alaska while working on ekeing out a homestead, instead of working a profitable "real job" I would have seriously considered it before I had my son. Truly. Alaska sounds like an adventure!! And no, I am not a citiot....I am well capable of fending for myself and do have off the grid experience. Things like bears don't scare me, let's just put it that way.

Now, I feel like I need to be close to things like a doctor, not because I need one but because my child might really need a doctor one of these days. Life isn't about me anymore.


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## SSRD (Jul 13, 2017)

I still wanna know what the one year trial period consists of. Lol


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

SSRD said:


> I still wanna know what the one year trial period consists of. Lol


The website said the one year is basically a way for the community to decide whether or not they want you there. You will either be asked to join in and stay, or asked to leave between I believe it was two months and one year of being there.


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## ed/La (Feb 26, 2009)

Why the condescending lol at the end of your not funny post?


SSRD said:


> I still wanna know what the one year trial period consists of. Lol


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

I


ed/La said:


> Why the condescending lol at the end of your not funny post?





SSRD said:


> I still wanna know what the one year trial period consists of. Lol


 See Shannon's post above. Thanks.


SSRD said:


> I still wanna know what the one year trial period consists of. Lol





ed/La said:


> The lease is for 50 years at $1 a year. This is a way to control who their neighbors are. By giving land away they would loose control of who moves in. Land given away could be sold to god knows who.


That is exactly true. Thanks for your insight.


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## SSRD (Jul 13, 2017)

ed/La said:


> Why the condescending lol at the end of your not funny post?


Condescending? Because for up to one year the "community" can use your labor and then kick you to the curb. So what guarantees does someone who risks a year of their lives have?


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## SSRD (Jul 13, 2017)

SSRD said:


> Condescending? Because for up to one year the "community" can use your labor and then kick you to the curb. So what guarantees does someone who risks a year of their lives have?


??? What say you bogtrotter? What guarantees does a person have that risks everything, spends money and comes there when the first year is a "trial period" subject to community or your choice? What is in it for them to have faith in success and acceptance? Would you sign a contract outside of the lease to provide them some security financially and personally?


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## ed/La (Feb 26, 2009)

SSRD you have nothing to worry about. This opportunity is not for you. Let it go. You join forum 3 days ago and first posts bash good people. Land for $1/year and you want guarantees? You are new here. Be nice.


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## SSRD (Jul 13, 2017)

ed/La said:


> SSRD you have nothing to worry about. This opportunity is not for you. Let it go. You join forum 3 days ago and first posts bash good people. Land for $1/year and you want guarantees? You are new here. Be nice.


That is not true and you have no basis for that conclusion other than personal perception.

The opportunity may well be for me but I am no different than anyone else in seeking a secure future. 

My questions stand. What guarantees does a person have who comes there,changes lifestyles,spends money, provides labor and lives in a state of insecurity for the first year? Are you bogtrotter, willing to sign a contract to reimburse me for my yearlong efforts and labor should you or the "community" decide to kick me to the curb?


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## ed/La (Feb 26, 2009)

Why would they kick you to the curb? They are looking for good people. Is that you? There is no guarantees. Be nice or be gone. Why let a miserable person move in when there are good people around. To late for you


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## SSRD (Jul 13, 2017)

ed/La said:


> Why would they kick you to the curb? They are looking for good people. Is that you? There is no guarantees. Be nice or be gone. Why let a miserable person move in when there are good people around. To late for you


I don't know what they would do and neither do you. A person that undertakes a years worth of labor and dedication should be entitled to some sort of guarantees even if its a simple as a reimbursement for their labor. You think not? If so why?


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

ed/La said:


> SSRD you have nothing to worry about. This opportunity is not for you. Let it go. You join forum 3 days ago and first posts bash good people. Land for $1/year and you want guarantees? You are new here. Be nice.


I have not seen any post by SSDD that come close to condescending.

What does just joining a few days ago have to do with anything?
As far as I know, seniority has nothing to do with opinion.

Everyone has a opinion and view of this prospect posted on a public forum....so it not for you to decide who's are valid or not.
As to "being nice".....maybe let the mods decide?...Maybe look to your own posts?

Frankly I agree that this all sounds a tad sketchy, from the beginning..."Free land"?
Questions asked are misdirected to who invented "ownership"?...yet decides who's in and out......?????
In the old days before the colonist "invented ownership"...(that one really did it for me).....everything belonged to the King....you lived there paid taxes and labor for being allowed to use the land. ....Called serfdom.

I would want a some sort of guarantee as well.......,and yeah...LOL,
That's my opinion.

I was just gonna let this go....But Hey.


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## SSRD (Jul 13, 2017)

hunter63 said:


> I have not seen any post by SSDD that come close to condescending.
> Nor has anyone started calling names.......
> 
> What does just joining a few days ago have to do with anything?
> ...


Thats a fact. Thanks. I just want direct answers to my questions by the OP. Thats not too much to ask at all.


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## ed/La (Feb 26, 2009)

Reimbursement for you taking care of your self. You came for a year/a dollar a acted like this. I would send you home.


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

SSRD said:


> That is not true and you have no basis for that conclusion other than personal perception.
> 
> The opportunity may well be for me but I am no different than anyone else in seeking a secure future.
> 
> My questions stand. What guarantees does a person have who comes there,changes lifestyles,spends money, provides labor and lives in a state of insecurity for the first year? Are you bogtrotter, willing to sign a contract to reimburse me for my yearlong efforts and labor should you or the "community" decide to kick me to the curb?


It's a good question, whether or not it's an agreeable question. It's something that everyone considering such a thing should ask themselves.

Say I put my house up for sale, quit my job and cashed everything in to move to this place in Alaska. All goes well for 9 or 10 months, then I announce I am homosexual. If the community or property owner don't agree with this, then I am kicked out....and left with nothing at all. This is a serious undertaking and could hold serious implications and like others, I too would want some sort of reassurance I don't lose everything I have at the whim of another. You could be booted for any reason whatsoever-- say the community doesn't like your accent, or your dog.......

This isn't about being suspicious orcynical or un trusting....its common sense.

I think for the OP, some basic ground rules regarding what would and would not be tolerated could help ease some fears, possibly. Your entire life at the whim of a complete stranger is some heavy stuff.....


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## SSRD (Jul 13, 2017)

ShannonR said:


> It's a good question, whether or not it's an agreeable question. It's something that everyone considering such a thing should ask themselves.
> 
> Say I put my house up for sale, quit my job and cashed everything in to move to this place in Alaska. All goes well for 9 or 10 months, then I announce I am homosexual. If the community or property owner don't agree with this, then I am kicked out....and left with nothing at all. This is a serious undertaking and could hold serious implications and like others, I too would want some sort of reassurance I don't lose everything I have at the whim of another. You could be booted for any reason whatsoever-- say the community doesn't like your accent, or your dog.......
> 
> ...


That is exactly why solicitation without guarantee of reimbursement for labor during the first year and acceptance by the community is unacceptable.


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## SSRD (Jul 13, 2017)

ed/La said:


> Reimbursement for you taking care of your self. You came for a year/a dollar a acted like this. I would send you home.


Reimbursement for your labor of building a community that you may be forced out of......yes.


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## SSRD (Jul 13, 2017)

Who are you anyway ed/la? Are you a partner to this venture? If not lets hear from bogtrotter and you please step aside.


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## ed/La (Feb 26, 2009)

Perhaps talking with bogtrotter nicely would help. For a dollar a year you do not have a lot of barging power . Hunter 63 I found SSRD insulting but your comments on me are fair. I said my peace. I am done with this thread. Good luck to all.


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

SSRD said:


> ??? What say you bogtrotter? What guarantees does a person have that risks everything, spends money and comes there when the first year is a "trial period" subject to community or your choice? What is in it for them to have faith in success and acceptance? Would you sign a contract outside of the lease to provide them some security financially and personally?


No community anywhere does such a thing. Best thing for someone who wants security is to check everything out first to see if it could be a fit, just like you would before getting married. We would do the same. We already have had people come here who had major psychological problems. Communities tend to attract those who cannot make it in the world on their own, so we all have to be careful. That said communities also attract good people. Before I started this one I traveled and visited a number of different kinds of communities to get advice. The problem most had with their members was lack of a work ethic. Second was mental health. 
The best we can do is you check us out, we check you out. No guarantees.


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

hunter63 said:


> I have not seen any post by SSDD that come close to condescending.
> 
> What does just joining a few days ago have to do with anything?
> As far as I know, seniority has nothing to do with opinion.
> ...


No one said colonist. The word was colonialist. Quite different


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

bogtrotter said:


> No community anywhere does such a thing. Best thing for someone who wants security is to check everything out first to see if it could be a fit, just like you would before getting married. We would do the same. We already have had people come here who had major psychological problems. Communities tend to attract those who cannot make it in the world on their own, so we all have to be careful. That said communities also attract good people. Before I started this one I traveled and visited a number of different kinds of communities to get advice. The problem most had with their members was lack of a work ethic. Second was mental health.
> The best we can do is you check us out, we check you out. No guarantees.


Not to split hairs or sound rude, but mental health is a really subjective term. Are you a mental health professional and qualified to pass such judgement on people?

People could just as easily say you are the crazy one, living out in the middle of nowhere and wanting people to join forces with you. Just saying. You gotta be at least a little crazy to live like that.....


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

bogtrotter said:


> No one said colonist. The word was colonialist. Quite different


LOL.....Now you are getting picky, ....Whatever.
Good luck on your adventure....


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

SSRD said:


> I don't know what they would do and neither do you. A person that undertakes a years worth of labor and dedication should be entitled to some sort of guarantees even if its a simple as a reimbursement for their labor. You think not? If so why?


And so we should reimburse someone who is mentally unstable or a hooligan?


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

ShannonR said:


> Not to split hairs or sound rude, but mental health is a really subjective term. Are you a mental health professional and qualified to pass such judgement on people?
> 
> People could just as easily say you are the crazy one, living out in the middle of nowhere and wanting people to join forces with you. Just saying. You gotta be at least a little crazy to live like that.....


Yes we are crazy because we want to live a self sufficient life in the natural world with other people.


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

Sooo, what do you say folks?...... Is this the guy to plan your future with?
Much was revealed.........


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

ShannonR said:


> It's a good question, whether or not it's an agreeable question. It's something that everyone considering such a thing should ask themselves.
> 
> Say I put my house up for sale, quit my job and cashed everything in to move to this place in Alaska. All goes well for 9 or 10 months, then I announce I am homosexual. If the community or property owner don't agree with this, then I am kicked out....and left with nothing at all. This is a serious undertaking and could hold serious implications and like others, I too would want some sort of reassurance I don't lose everything I have at the whim of another. You could be booted for any reason whatsoever-- say the community doesn't like your accent, or your dog.......
> 
> ...


I agree. That is why one would have to be thorough and check out what we are about before deciding to take the leap. We live very spartanly here and expecting us to come up with reimbursement for every person who does not fit would break the community in no time.


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

O


hunter63 said:


> Sooo, what do you say folks?...... Is this the guy to plan your future with?
> Much was revealed.........


No, Hunter is not the guy for our future.


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## SSRD (Jul 13, 2017)

bogtrotter said:


> No community anywhere does such a thing. Best thing for someone who wants security is to check everything out first to see if it could be a fit, just like you would before getting married. We would do the same. We already have had people come here who had major psychological problems. Communities tend to attract those who cannot make it in the world on their own, so we all have to be careful. That said communities also attract good people. Before I started this one I traveled and visited a number of different kinds of communities to get advice. The problem most had with their members was lack of a work ethic. Second was mental health.
> The best we can do is you check us out, we check you out. No guarantees.


Like a marriage as you say i would need 
Prenup. You willing to compensate me for up to a year of my investments should you decide to run me off?


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## SSRD (Jul 13, 2017)

Its fine that we "check each other out" to test compatibility but should it not work out i should still be compensated for my investments. You think not?


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## SSRD (Jul 13, 2017)

bogtrotter said:


> And so we should reimburse someone who is mentally unstable or a hooligan?


No. You should compensate someone for their investments into the community should you kick them out. If you think not then please state why.


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

SSRD said:


> No. You should compensate someone for their investments into the community should you kick them out. If you think not then please state why.


Reply
What investment in the community? Helping net fish, process moose, or pick berries for yourself is an investment? Sure they would have to spend money getting here, but the community does not benefit from that. Even a cabin left behind would not benefit the community but rather the next person to arrive needing shelter. 
Thank you for the questions everyone. It helps me understand other folks' concerns.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

bogtrotter said:


> And so we should reimburse someone who is mentally unstable or a hooligan?


 If you use them for a year and then kick them out, yes, they should be reimbursed for their time and labor of building *YOUR * community.

I understand what you want to do, but look at it this way, would you take this same offer from someone else?


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## hunter63 (Jan 4, 2005)

bogtrotter said:


> O
> 
> No, Hunter is not the guy for our future.


Got the straight......LOL.


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## ShannonR (Nov 28, 2012)

bogtrotter said:


> Yes we are crazy because we want to live a self sufficient life in the natural world with other people.


First, how do we know you arent the total psychopath? For all we know, u could have bodies piled up all over the place....
Second, this sort of arangement will only attract people who are running from something, or hiding from something for the most part. You are in essence inviting criminals in with your offer. 

Lasy, why did you move to the middle of nowhere to begin with? Was it to get away from the same people you are now inviting in...?


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## bogtrotter (Jul 21, 2008)

mnn2501 said:


> If you use them for a year and then kick them out, yes, they should be reimbursed for their time and labor of building *YOUR * community.
> 
> I understand what you want to do, but look at it this way, would you take this same offer from someone else?


And what if they have done nothing but cause trouble?


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## SSRD (Jul 13, 2017)

bogtrotter said:


> And what if they have done nothing but cause trouble?


Thats why you reserve the right to send em away. Still doesn't mean they shouldn't be compensated for their labor while there in building what you get to keep.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

bogtrotter said:


> And what if they have done nothing but cause trouble?


What if the community decides you're the troublemaker, will you accept them kicking you out?


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## melli (May 7, 2016)

This is a pseudo coop, with a 50yr land-lease. Both of which I deplore. Nosy neighbors and the ground under my feet a lease. I suspect they might get the odd sucker, one who is oblivious, or one who actually enjoys politicking in a commune. Almost like an episode of survivor. 
I can imagine they get head cases. Surprised they get lazy types, given they are out in the bush. 

To get real interest, they ought to have a clause, like the lease converts to freehold after X number of years of continually living there. Make it long enough so you don't get folks thinking they can score a free piece of land in a year or two, but not too long it discourages bona fide homesteaders. I know what it takes to take a raw piece of land and turn it into something viable, and I had easy access to gas/diesel and was able to bring in heavy equipment. 
And the other reality, is one has to have shelter from the get-go, as the bugs up there will eat you by lunch or have you running home to momma by supper.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Sorry, but I don't want to live that close to my neighbors.


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## akhomesteader (Jan 5, 2006)

I have considered doing something like this on my property in the bush, only I would probably offer a few acres to only one family rather than have so many small parcels with numerous families. My tentative plan was to give the land (not lease it) to a family after a few years if it all worked out, something like melli suggested. Before they would even move there, we'd spend time getting to know each other, and they would have to come for a good long visit. It takes time to truly get to know someone, and out in the bush, a horrid neighbor can make life impossible. It was great to be that isolated when my husband was alive, but it's tough to be a single mom in the bush alone. Over the years, I've had an unbelievable number of people contact me saying that they could sell everything they own, move to Alaska, buy land and build a cabin, but then they'd be broke and have to live in town to make a living. Kind of a catch-22 for many folks. Bogtrotter's idea would be pretty good for folks in that situation. My initial thought when I read his first post was full of skepticism. I thought he just wanted folks to come out, improve his land, and then kick them out. It really doesn't sound like that to me. Having a few good neighbors (although not that close) isn't too bad. Sometimes the benefits outweigh the negatives in that it would be possible to share some expenses or have someone to take care of your animals or garden when you must be away, and neighbors can help in times of need. I love the solitude of bush life, but bogtrotters idea sounds great for the right folks. Certainly not for everyone. If you have the ability to make it completely on your own in the bush, or if you have the money to buy the remote land, have a cabin built or buy land with a cabin on it, and live according to your standards, then this wouldn't be for you. 

Situations like this do tend to attract psychos and people that many homesteader types would consider "undesirable" neighbors. I tried for awhile to find someone to come out and finish the cabin my husband and I started before he died. Too many crazies for me to wade through, so I finally gave up on that idea after awhile. I may try it again sometime.


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

As Long as the probation period is clearly explained then prospects should realize that they should not invest heavily in the first year. 
If it was me I would expect to work hard in the community and live either in a small cabin or a tent for the first year, perhaps some type of prefab or movable cabin. I would expect my other laborers just simply be part of the cost of joining the community. 
With that in mind it seems extremely fair to all. 
In fact I have advocated that the state of Alaska make a similar program available


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