Who’s coming?   Right now around 40 people have committed  to attending for some part of the summer. Some are staying from June til August (like we are), and some are coming for only a week, a month, or a weekend. (A tentative calendar of events is coming soon.) Projects range from teaching Sanskrit to Communers to teaching playwriting to local kids. There’s a start up, a documentary, and more than one book in the works. We hear y’all are interested in politics, music, & sustainability, camping, cartwheeling, & hooking up. That’s cool with us.

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What are we planning? Hang outs & meet ups,  field trips, BBQs, movie nights, reading groups, time banking, skill exchanging.  A pop up gallery, some poetry& fiction readings, a Summer Commune anthology of art & writing, maybe a benefit party for a local org or two.

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What else can I do at Summer Commune? Your internet job. Finish your thesis. Kill time til grad school. Kill time after grad school. Learn something new. Teach something you know. Hang out, ride bikes, reduce your cost of living. Record your next album. Write your novel. Develop your website. Grow your own food. Showcase your artwork. Throw some parties. Come to some potlucks. Meet some cool people: your potential future co-workers & future collaborators!

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Where is everyone living? If you’re coming, you should be on the mailing list. Check the latest dispatch for info about coordinating where you live, potential roommates, and ride shares.

Brick & Mortar Coworking:  Coworking is like if Summer Commune had desk jobs. (Productive, collaborative, and fun!) Brick & Mortar is an office space in downtown Moscow shared by designers, developers, entrepreneurs, small business owners, videographers, writers, artists, telecommuters, and more. “If you can work from anywhere, you can work from Brick & Mortar.” They offer all the comforts of the office & even better co-workers: “Some of the most interesting, creative, talented, and driven people in Moscow for you to work alongside.” And like Summer Commune, they require that all new members first purchase a day pass before subscribing long-term (though there’s no official screening process).

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The Moscow Food Co-op:  They have produce (obvs), a deli, and bakery, plus events like foodcentric film screenings, and a Tuesday night Growers Market with musica en vivo.

Also: “The Moscow Food Co-op has some great opportunities for Crop Mobbing this summer! What is Crop Mobbing?! It’s a volunteer program that helps the community maximize their collective efforts by helping our local growers with on-farm projects. Because farm labor is so intensive and our growers work so hard to provide us with sustainably grown food, we think it’s only fair to help them out when we can!” The next Crop Mobs are scheduled for June 1st, 9th, & 10th. Email edolinky [at] moscowfood [dot] coop for more info.

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Organic Farming at the U of Idaho:  The University of Idaho has an organic farm 2-3 miles from town, run by the Soil Stewards student group. Soil Stewards are undergrad and grad students, art majors, soil science majors, agriculture majors and environmental science majors. It’s a diverse group united by their desire to effect change and grow healthy, organic food on campus, and we hear they’re always looking for volunteers.

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Backyard Harvest: Backyard Harvest connects local gardeners, farmers, and fruit tree owners with low income families through local food pantries and meal programs. (Growers donate their excess produce.) Always in need of good looking volunteers.

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Community Pool:  One of our Facebook fans pretty much sums it up: “We have an amazing community pool here in Moscow that is like a mini-waterpark. It’s one of my favorite places to be in the summer and it only costs $5 a day (unless you get a discounted summer pass)!” Pro tip: GET THE SUMMER PASS! Opens June 7.

Thanks to The Awl, the word is out: Summer Commune is coming to Moscow, Idaho in June. Because we’re young (late 20s, early 30s), creative, restless, and like coffee—I guess—some have said that throwing a Summer Commune just sounds a lot like hipsters mad that Williamsburg is full.

Because of hipsters (I have to sigh in exasperation before I can even type that word)—or the commonly held perception of hipsters—gentrification is commonly understood as something purely sinister and predatory, rather than something unfortunate & complex that often happens in urban areas where “starving artist” types and the working poor or otherwise marginalized find themselves co-mingling inadvertently. Sometimes uncomfortably.

I should know. I am a gentrifier.

At the end of the first summer after college, I wanted to move from the 2 bedroom 5th floor walk up I shared with 4 dancers beside the Metro-North in Harlem, and managed to upgrade to a 2 bedroom in Brooklyn where only 3 people lived (me, a painter, and a student at Fordham). 

We lived in a beautiful pre-war limestone not far from Prospect Park and the Botanical Garden, in the only neighborhood we could afford to live in and still feel safe at night. It was a predominantly black neighborhood notorious for the architecture and the violence at the annual West Indian Parade (before which our landlady advised us to “Get out of town”). The only nearby grocery story was a Western Beef. Beside the train there was a Chinese take out place and a laundromat; no coffee shops or bars or feminist book stores, yet.

We didn’t know it then, but we were early adopters. My two roommates belonged to the only white faces I ever saw on the block. As in Harlem, I blended in—full disclosure: I am black—but I felt an unexpected and nagging guilt for having brought them there. (I hadn’t, really; it was totally a group decision. But still.) When we all moved out a year later—I went to Mexico, one roommate moved to Connecticut for grad school, and the other, to Flatbush—at least two of the homes on our block appeared to have been sold or rented to white gentrifiers. For the next occupants of our former apartment, our shrewd landlady had raised the rent about 60%.

When, a year later, I left Mexico for Los Angeles with Josh, we wanted to pretend we still lived in New York; we wanted to live in Los Feliz, or Echo Park, places where we could use public transportation (yes, LA has that) or walk to get to our favorite bars, restaurants, and venues.

But he was basically a professional blogger and I was a writer—like, the kind that hopes her short stories will be published without payment—and I had just spent my life’s savings gathering material in Latin America. We moved into a non-descript 1 bedroom apartment on a block equally settled by Armenians and Central Americans.

In our building we became among the first of what would be, by the time we moved out, a steady stream of young, mostly white, middle class, young professionals—creative types, student types, tech types, the usual. Even the building manager was actually an illustrator. They were drawn to the area for the same reason we were. It was cheaper than Silverlake—where struggling musicians like Elliot Smith paved the way for future legions of cheese shops, record stores, and vegan patisseries—but still within walking distance of Sunset Junction.

We watched eviction notices go up on the doors of apartments around us; we watched brown families load their belongings into the backs of vans; we watched as newly vacated apartments were hastily remodeled; we watched as a small, bean shaped pool was put in.

And we knew what we were: gentrifiers.

But we also knew that if we moved somewhere else, we wouldn’t change that. We were disadvantaged by our career choices, not systemically, but we were still too broke to move to the neighborhoods where the damage had been done. Where the poor had already been squeezed out by rising prices, so were we.

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For the past year and a half, I’ve been in grad school. I live in graduate housing (aka dorms for grown ups) and haven’t had to grapple with this dilemma for some time. Josh and I spent last summer in Berlin because, even with the crap exchange rate, it’s cheaper than SoCal; artists can live pretty much anywhere there. For this reason, among others, Berlin offered us a kind of life that I had never been able to realize in New York or Los Angeles.

We only had to work part time (we had internet jobs) to be able to afford our pick of cool, fun neighborhoods. We could go out at night and still have time for our own creative projects during the day. And we wished that we could have that back in the USA. While we  were still in Germany I was already anticipating spending summer 2012 in America, somewhere quiet and affordable, where I could finish my first book without worrying about visas. 

 I told Josh this; he said, “Let’s bring our friends.” His idea was to make cool/fun happen wherever we went. A few months later, Summer Commune was born.

Now more than 100 people have expressed interest in the project, and the number of people who will be joining us in Moscow over the course of the summer is still growing. Communers will find temporary rentals to live in via Craigslist, like we did.

The assortment of people who have already signed up say they’re planning to spend their time in Moscow making music, writing poems, throwing art shows, teaching play writing, developing start ups, tending gardens, networking, and making new projects on the spot.  Much like when we gentrified, now we’ll get to drink cheap beer together instead of spending more than half of our paychecks on rent. But because our stay is temporary, it’s not gentrification.

While Summer Commune lasts, we’ll be a micro-community within the community that exists. “We won’t leave a lasting physical footprint this summer, though we do hope our ideas will linger.” “Our goal is to integrate with good will into the community that exists, not to impose ourselves upon it.”

 And if some Communers do decide that Moscow suits them longer term, they probably wouldn’t transform the real estate landscape in a measurable way. It’s not cheap to live in Idaho because white people haven’t “discovered” it yet. In fact, Summer Commune might actually make mostly-white Moscow temporarily more diverse.

 Summer Commune, at its core, is about collaborative community. But it’s also about the spirit of travel—about seeing new places, meeting new people, gaining new perspectives. Yes, we know we could make friends and have potlucks at home, because we already have. Now we’re looking for something new; something unexpected; something different, yet familiar. This summer, it’s Moscow. Next summer, who knows.

- Nicole

Hey y’all, 

Back in November, we proposed a social experiment. A diverse temporary intentional community, where you can record your next album, write your novel, develop your start-up, grow your own produce, showcase your artwork—whatever you want to do. Summer Commune will provide you with an audience and potential collaborators. The talent in the community we build this summer might help you to create the next stellar web start-up, or serve as a social network for finding new jobs in the future.   

Our plan was to spend June-August between the coasts – somewhere where rent is cheap, the weather is pleasant, the streets are walkable, and the WiFi is unwavering. While a lot of people expressed interest in coming, a few of us have kept the ball rolling into the next phase of planning by picking three potential locations for Summer Commune 2012: Hudson, NY; Iowa City, IA; and Moscow, ID. 

In order to keep moving forward with this project, we need to pick a location by February 22nd. As much as possible, we want the decision of where to live and all other decisions this summer to be made by consensus (our process is inspired by the General Assembly model of the Occupy movement). Vote for the location that most appeals to you by following this link to our online poll.

We’ll announce the winning location and send Dispatch #4 (with details about our Kickstarter campaign & planning committees) at the end of February. You can also like our Facebook page for updates, to share ideas, start a dialogue, etc. before then. To be added to our mailing list, just respond to this email.

HUDSON, New York

I think we should spend our summer in Hudson, NY. First off, Hudson Hawk is one of my favorite movies. Seems like a super small, super quiet, bed-and-breakfast tourism town where people come to peep the river, hit up the local wineries, and get speeding tickets on the country roads. (There’s also a bus system.)

The main draw for me is that it’s quiet and rural, but within driving/carpooling/hardcore biking distance of NYC (130 miles) and Boston (164 miles) for when we feel the need to get metro or if there is a cool event or someone visits or something.

Hudson, NY is on the Hudson River so if it pleases us, we can take a dip at any time.

There are two state parks, Rogers Island Game Management Area and Greenport Conservation Area, right outside of town. 

The Columbia County tourism website basically says that it has the kewlest country roads and bike trails in the whole wide world. 

The downtown main strip is about 1 mile long so we can easily pub crawl the whole town in one night if we wanted to. Errythang is walkable. There’s also a mall for when we get Orange Julius cravings.

A quick look at Craigslist says that housing costs about:

• 1BR:  $700-900 
• 2BR:  $900-1300 
• 3BR:  $1300-1500 

Pros: Vicinity to NYC and Boston. River and nature shit. Sweet roads. Bus system. The Hudson Valley, NY Craigslist Casual Encounters page.

Cons:  As far as jobs go, it’s a very small town so I don’t know how many of us can get jobs bussing tables or working at grocery stores or whatever. Might be hard to find housing (the Craigslist page is for many surrounding towns, not Hudson itself).

ProCons, depending:  Small town-ness means we’ll probably be the talk of the town and that could lead to some media coverage. Montreal is only 254 miles away so if you hate Canada, your Canada buffer is kinda small. (Editor’s note: We love Canada.) 

IOWA CITY, Iowa

I am proposing Iowa City because it is a highly regarded college town, with abundant affordable housing and an existing community of forward-thinking people. 

Iowa City is centrally located. It is easily accessible by car, bus, and plane. Megabus services Iowa City to Chicago (4 hours, $28 r/t), Omaha (4½, $10), Des Moines (2, $10). It is 30 minutes from Cedar Rapids and Eastern Iowa Airport (CID). Flights from the west cost between $300-500 to fly into CID. From the east cost between $285 - $450. From Canada cost between $630 - $800. 

Housing is affordable in Iowa City. A quick look at Craigslist shows that a 1 bedroom apartment costs between $350 – 620 a month, while a 5 bedroom house can cost between $1800 - 2500. (How much is your rent in Brooklyn again?)

If you need to find a job while you’re there you can fill the service positions that college students abdicate during the summer. (I also have a contact at the Olive Garden.) 

Iowa City has a vibrant community of artists and intellectuals. University of Iowa is home to the esteemed Iowa Writer’s Workshop and masters programs in Art and Art History. As well as the famed Prairie Lights Bookstore.

There are many summer festivals: 

• Iowa City Jazz Festival - June 29 - July 1
• Friday Night Concert Series - May 18 - August 31
• Free Outdoor Movies and Museum Nights - June 9 - August 11

I like the town because it is easily walkable and very bikeable. Several large city parks flow along the Iowa River. Lake McBride State park is 30 minutes away. 

The community has garnered international acclaim: Utne Reader ranked Iowa City eighth in its 1997 survey of “America’s 10 Most Enlightened Towns.” Iowa City is Forbes Magazine’s second-best small metropolitan area for doing business in the United States. UNESCO designated Iowa City as the world’s third “City of Literature.” The Advocate ranked Iowa City third of fifteen “Gayest Cities in America.” And it’s CNN Money’s 68th of 100 Best Places to Live. 

Let’s spend our summer in Iowa City. Plus Iowans are so nice… 

MOSCOW, Idaho

It’s Moss-CO not Moss-cow. The most exciting things about having Summer Commune in Moscow is that the city is totally walkable and bikeable, the University of Idaho is huge and beautiful, and there are city, state, and national parks in like 15 different directions. 

There are 17 city parks in Moscow alone (and a skate park, bros), and a paved walking/biking trail system connects the U of Idaho to the U of Washington (8 miles west, along a creek!). This same trail continues 12 miles east of Moscow to the city of Troy. 

There is FREE public transit and an extensive bike path system. 

There’s a farmer’s market every Saturday in Friendship Square, Rendezvous In the Park featuring Dumpstaphunk in July, a winery, and several theaters & galleries in town and on campus. Plus, I have it on good authority from a native Idahoan that Moscow is “A LOT OF FUN.” 

Spokane, WA and Coeur D’Alene, ID are the nearest metro areas. Spokane is an 1 hr 45 minute’s drive, and from there you can take Amtrak to Seattle or Portland. Spokane also has sports and cultural events and other typical city-stuff. (Fieldtrips!)  

Also within driving distance are a shit ton of national parks: Coeur D’Alene National Forest (1 hr 35 min), Saint Joe National Forest (40 minutes), and Wallowa National Forest and Whitman National Forest are also nearby. 

You can fly into Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport (4 miles/6.4 km), or Spokane International (90 mi/145 km). 

Rents in Moscow & Pullman: 

• 1BR: $300-500/month
• 2BR: $500-800
• 3BR: $600-1,100 (townhomes & apartments)

Cons:  Honestly the only con I think of worth mentioning is that this part of the country isn’t super diverse…But Summer Commune can change that, at least temporarily. 

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See y’all in a few months!

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