So appreciate your honesty!! I've been researching for a long time... and this explains SO. MUCH. that I haven't heard/read yet.! Frustrating that I'd have to have gone through a lot I wouldn't be in-line with, so thank you for that! I wish them well, but sounds like it doesn't align with me/my intentions/hopes/dreams. Glad you were vocal!! Hope you've found something that resonates with you!
I loved this video! It’s great having an honest review and hearing the little details that aren’t mentioned other places! You have a nice way of explaining the negative aspects while still sounding positive and understanding . 🤗
Thank you so much for these honest reviews! You saved me time and money. I had considered doing the visitor program, but it doesn't sound like it would be my cup of tea. I'm a pretty shy person and wouldn't want to be on the spot telling every little detail about myself.
As a man, You've saved me SO much trouble. I've been looking around for a little while but it doesn't seem like there's a place for men. Thanks for your review. I really appreciate it.
I appreciate this review. I learned about Twin Oaks when I was still in highschool and always wanted to try it out bc I'm of the same mind as you that sustainable intentional communities are there future. Kinda shocking they aren't self sustainable tbh.
You are welcome!! I am sure they are having a change of mind since the pandemic. But it is going to take awhile for them to be self sustainable even if they started this year. The most sustainable one in the area was living energy farm but they only have room for 6 people. Another problem since the pandemic is all the communities closed their doors. I am currently looking at 80 acres thinking about starting something. But it just seems so unattainable at the moment. Good luck in your search.
If by "sustainable" you mean not buying anything from any outside source, TO will never be anywhere close to that. If it tried to achieve that half the people would leave and the other half would be miserable. If you mean producing all their own food, that's somewhat conceivable. But that's about all they could reasonably do.
Every time I research a new community I’m always worried that it’s like, subtly cult-y. Even secular cults have some risk. Do you have any tips on avoiding harmful communities?
I like your goose picture🥰 The only way to tell is going to visit. You can get a feel for the people and place. On my other video I only went to those places for an hour and was able to read it quickly! It is going to be trial and error but once you find a good one it will all be worth it! Good luck on the search👍
Another great review. I’m sorry you were not excepted into the community but I suppose it wasn’t meant for you. I may still give it a try myself. No harm in that. Thank you again for taking the time to share your experience with us.
You should definitely go yourself. These are only my points, but some info is a better then none. Also this was almost a year ago now. I am sure things are changing with covid, especially the cleanliness!
Hi April, thanks for the video! I'm not interested in living in Twin Oaks or a similar place (I somehow read about it and started down the rabbit hole, eventually watching some videos.) I want to say that I appreciate your common-sense approach to the review. I should not have judged you by how you look (I thought your video would be a ringing endorsement for their community) 🤔🙄🤨😊 Your talking about the pronouns being a source of drama is exactly how I feel: sure, go ahead and tell people what you want to be called, but let's not make it a huge deal! 🙃 It is what is. Anyways, if more people knew about this community, I bet your video will get a lot more views.🥳 But thank you for going and for sharing you honest experience. You see like a nice person, and if you ever stated your OWN community, I think it would be a great place to live!👍👌 About your being there during the beginning of the virus: Funny that communists would be writing their wills! I found that funny. I didn't think the community elders would own ANYTHING! 🤔🤨😜 This is something I had no clue existed but will be going down the rabbit hole. I bet my wife would love the videos. She's always interested in 'unusual' communities and ways of life, religions, etc. I don't see any other videos on your channel; did you get around to making them? ✌️
Thanks for this review. It sounds like it wasn't a good fit for you but I love living very openly and don't care if others hear me. The poly part and respecting pronouns sounds great to me too. Really appreciate this.
I didn't know places like this really existed and am trying to gather info; thank you for talking about this. I'm not sure I'm understanding the asset aspect - if you have savings in a bank account, are you allowed to keep that, or do they take that and give it back when/if you leave?
Hello! What I understood was if you became a member you were able to keep any assets you obtained before becoming a member. If you received any assets after becoming a member then you shared with the community. However there were a lot of rules and best to ask the nice people at Twin Oaks. Good luck gathering info!
The only scam with TO is they claim to be a religious community for tax purposes. They are in no sense a religious community. The courts have ruled otherwise however so whatever.
Hi! I don't know if you'll see this BUT... I'm really really interested in visiting Twin Oaks. How long after you sent your introduction letter asking to come visit did you get a response from the community?
So some thing I was really wondering about, if you would be so kind to share… Even though you’ve been mostly positive about the experience you were honest to say that they did not invite you back and it feels like I don’t know listening to you I can’t imagine why but I was wondering if you feel that it was because of a vocalizing your thoughts can you share with us what specifically you think made them decide not to choose you? I just feel it would be really helpful for us to understand what you and your honest perspective feel it was. Thank you so much for this video IA have a family history in Louisa and mineral Virginia and have wondered about this place for a long time. I’ve often thought that it would be just a wonderful lifestyle if it is not cult-like.
So I was thinking of trying to go do a 3 week visit to try to get accepted ...but I'm coming from ks and I dont have slot of money to take a big risk like this so you did answer slot of questions I was wondering ..so I'm in my 30s and have a 6 yr old son by myself...would it be difficult to do work with my boy with me or can he play and explore while I put in my hours...and would I be at risk or rejection just do to other dudes not wanting more dudes around? Just wondering ..thanks
Hi Matthew! If you are an alpha dude you might have a problem. If you go with the flow and don't ask many questions then you should be fine. The program they have for kids is actually really good for the parent. Each child is allotted so many hours of care by the community so parents can work and do other things. They have school there but they can also go to public. They have members whos jobs are taking care of the children. I really wish I grew up there as a kid. The kids all seem to have a good time. I think they have about 15 children. I do know it is pretty hard to get in with kids unless there quota is down. Not sure now since I haven't been back. Hope this helps 🙏 and wish you the best!
@@ardalla535 I suspect a guy who is freethinking and who likes to bounce around ideas would be more likely to be rejected. Sometimes " bound spirits" view "free spirits" as disloyal to the group.
hi, for starters i understand this is a very old video so i’m sorry, but i just saw a video on tik tok about this community and i’m trying to do as much research as i can about it. i had a question for you about something you said at the very beginning of this video, but you didn’t go into it anymore for the rest of the video. you mentioned something about poly at the same time you were mentioning the pronouns. by poly did you mean polygender in the sense of more than one gender/more than one pronoun, or polyamorous/polygamy? if you have time to reply i’d extremely appreciate it. thank you!
Hi Summer, Poly was in reference to multiple partners. No problem with it if people are respectful of each other. But it caused drama and tension. I know everyone has their own stuff but it shouldn't impact your environment. It was a level of toxicity that I wasn't looking for in a community. This video was just my humble perspective. If interested at least go take a tour. Not sure their protocol now because of covid. They have some old timers so they were cautious when I was there. Good luck with your search✌
Nah. You can't stay anywhere for free. Plus I want to work towards something/build something with other like minded people. They just weren't my people.
@@aprilpoland684 i investigated them about 5 years ago, after some research i quickly realized their whole "community" is just a scam for labor and exploitation. the elders are looking out for themselves. all of their policies are designed in this manner. also if you google how ruthless they are to older members with health issues.. its a pretty dystopian community. you got lucky to not get stuck there.
It's not really a con. You must have known all that before you arrived. Also, it's not exactly 'free'; there is a visitor fee ... you are expected to pay.
What was the average age...what if you get older like in your 60s and can't work 40 hours? Seems like they are still participating in capitalism to much and seems a bit hippier than needed. Love to work but that clockwork society method seems to be falling apart there. I do believe in the shareable resource based society and I think democracies work great in like minded small groups.
Not actually, if you're coming from a system which expects 40h/wk to make money to pay for your life and then you have to do all of your own chores (cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, (potentially) childcare, doctors appointments, commuting, etc. on top of those hours. 42 can encompass everything I mentioned and more.
If work is hard to come by then that defeats the purpose of a commune for me….there should be unlimited work. Twin Oaks sells too much outside the community
Hi April! You seem to be in some need of education surrounding pronoun usage in general~ Using pronouns that don't fit a persons gender can cause a massive amount of discomfort and unease. Remembering the right pronouns all of the time can be difficult, but it is a relatively very small challenge compared to how it feels for a trans person to be misgendered. Everyone communicating their pronouns right away creates a more inclusive and accepting place for transgender people! This is a good opportunity to learn more about transgender people and be aware of your privilege as a cisgender person. Thank you for reading.
Hi Rowan, lol...my privilege as a cisgender person🤣... You have no idea who I am or my struggles. I am really baffled you would even think i was cisgender. I have been in the LGBTQIA community before gay marriage was legalized in the states. My ex wife and I had to go to Canada to get married. I have been on and off of testosterone only for too many negative side effects. If I had $10,000 dollars I would do top surgery in a heart beat. But you can label me as a cisgender if you want because I don't care, I know who I am. If it takes a pronoun for you to know who you are then you can live in that box. I choose not too. I live in a world where all humans are treated equal as humans not because of the gender they identify with. I wish you the best in your transition and good luck with life.✌️
@@aprilpoland684 Hi again, April. Sorry for assuming you are cisgender. I made that assumption because I often hear cis people around me complaining about learning pronouns, while being unaware of how helpful/important it can be for some people. However, just because you aren't cisgender, and a relatively older member of the LGBTQIA community, that doesn't mean you don't hold any views that could be problematic. It doesn't take a pronoun for me to know who I am. First and foremost, I am always me! But in the English language, we use pronouns all of the time. Only one set of pronouns feels right to me, and different ones make me uncomfortable/dysphoric in conversation. I bet most cisgender people would feel the same way if they were talked about as if they were a different gender. For trans people whose appearance don't align with their internal self, it can be extra important for people to know the pronouns that they use. If you don't care what pronouns people use for you, then thats totally fine. But your trans experience is not the same as everyone else. Unless you're truly living in a space that uses no pronouns whatsoever, then why not opt for sharing pronouns and being more inclusive/comforting for those who are often the minority and seen as "other"? I believe it is the more empathetic and friendly thing to do :) I feel skeptical of your world where one's gender identity doesn't alter a perceiver's thoughts/actions in some way. But if you're living in it, then congratulations because it's certainly not where I am, or anywhere that I know to exist. Best of luck to you. I hope you get your top surgery and don't let using/talking about pronouns prevent you from meeting some very cool trans people
I wonder something, do not get me wrong i am not accusing you of anything. You are living in capitalist system and you have experiencde kind of communist system. Far as i understand from your video you like it. Then why the people fool by anti communist propaganda? Ussr, Cuba, Vietnam, China (not right now), Libya were communist. Do you know in Libya people were not paying taxes, transportation, housing, electric, water, gas, education, healthcare were free? When you get married goverment was paying to you 50.000 dollars. If you have baby 5000 dollar per baby. When you want to get educate outside of country, goverment were paying 3500 dollars for month. If you were educated and you could not find a job it was paying you avarage salary every month. If want to do farming. It was giving farm, land, seeds, equipments, animals for free. But Un and Usa attacked it when he did not want to exchanging peoples oil with dollar. It is worthless sign paper . They are fooling us making our natural resources worthless the leader said. Also it was a bad example for development countries. He was giving everything for free! And again majority fooled by capitalist leader and apporove to bomb that country. I am wondering why are you guys giving a value system that make you feel wortless and exploiting? Thank you.
thanks so much for your honest reviews. it seems almost impossible to find a non biased review of any of these communitys
So appreciate your honesty!! I've been researching for a long time... and this explains SO. MUCH. that I haven't heard/read yet.! Frustrating that I'd have to have gone through a lot I wouldn't be in-line with, so thank you for that! I wish them well, but sounds like it doesn't align with me/my intentions/hopes/dreams. Glad you were vocal!! Hope you've found something that resonates with you!
I loved this video! It’s great having an honest review and hearing the little details that aren’t mentioned other places! You have a nice way of explaining the negative aspects while still sounding positive and understanding . 🤗
Thank you so much 🙏
Thank you for sharing and being vocal about all this ❤
Please keep posting you have a good honest personality!
I’ve been looking into the community life, and your videos have been incredibly helpful. It really helps one understand what to expect.
Thank you so much for these honest reviews! You saved me time and money. I had considered doing the visitor program, but it doesn't sound like it would be my cup of tea. I'm a pretty shy person and wouldn't want to be on the spot telling every little detail about myself.
You are very welcome 🙏 And good luck in your search!
@@aprilpoland684 Thank you! You as well. I look forward to seeing where you end up.
As a man, You've saved me SO much trouble. I've been looking around for a little while but it doesn't seem like there's a place for men. Thanks for your review. I really appreciate it.
Brilliant review! You're such a chill person, love it x
I appreciate this review. I learned about Twin Oaks when I was still in highschool and always wanted to try it out bc I'm of the same mind as you that sustainable intentional communities are there future. Kinda shocking they aren't self sustainable tbh.
You are welcome!! I am sure they are having a change of mind since the pandemic. But it is going to take awhile for them to be self sustainable even if they started this year. The most sustainable one in the area was living energy farm but they only have room for 6 people. Another problem since the pandemic is all the communities closed their doors. I am currently looking at 80 acres thinking about starting something. But it just seems so unattainable at the moment. Good luck in your search.
If by "sustainable" you mean not buying anything from any outside source, TO will never be anywhere close to that. If it tried to achieve that half the people would leave and the other half would be miserable. If you mean producing all their own food, that's somewhat conceivable. But that's about all they could reasonably do.
Thank you for this review 🙏
Your videos are so helpful thank you!
Thanks for your candor!
lol 42 hours a week!!?!? lol. Thank you for your review. Very helpful.
I love your video. You seem to have knowledge on other communities. I’d love to see more videos on this. PS - you’re adorable
Every time I research a new community I’m always worried that it’s like, subtly cult-y. Even secular cults have some risk. Do you have any tips on avoiding harmful communities?
I like your goose picture🥰 The only way to tell is going to visit. You can get a feel for the people and place. On my other video I only went to those places for an hour and was able to read it quickly! It is going to be trial and error but once you find a good one it will all be worth it! Good luck on the search👍
Another great review. I’m sorry you were not excepted into the community but I suppose it wasn’t meant for you. I may still give it a try myself. No harm in that. Thank you again for taking the time to share your experience with us.
You should definitely go yourself. These are only my points, but some info is a better then none. Also this was almost a year ago now. I am sure things are changing with covid, especially the cleanliness!
I’d love to be apart of a community. I’d be willing to purchase land with a group of people and start something 😬😬😬
Same here!
Hi April, thanks for the video!
I'm not interested in living in Twin Oaks or a similar place (I somehow read about it and started down the rabbit hole, eventually watching some videos.)
I want to say that I appreciate your common-sense approach to the review. I should not have judged you by how you look (I thought your video would be a ringing endorsement for their community) 🤔🙄🤨😊
Your talking about the pronouns being a source of drama is exactly how I feel: sure, go ahead and tell people what you want to be called, but let's not make it a huge deal! 🙃 It is what is.
Anyways, if more people knew about this community, I bet your video will get a lot more views.🥳
But thank you for going and for sharing you honest experience. You see like a nice person, and if you ever stated your OWN community, I think it would be a great place to live!👍👌
About your being there during the beginning of the virus: Funny that communists would be writing their wills! I found that funny. I didn't think the community elders would own ANYTHING! 🤔🤨😜
This is something I had no clue existed but will be going down the rabbit hole. I bet my wife would love the videos. She's always interested in 'unusual' communities and ways of life, religions, etc.
I don't see any other videos on your channel; did you get around to making them?
✌️
Thanks for this review. It sounds like it wasn't a good fit for you but I love living very openly and don't care if others hear me. The poly part and respecting pronouns sounds great to me too. Really appreciate this.
Sounds like it would be a good place for you!
i’ve been researching and the lack of AC is for sure a deal breaker.
Do you know of any good resources for starting an intentional community? Thanks
I didn't know places like this really existed and am trying to gather info; thank you for talking about this. I'm not sure I'm understanding the asset aspect - if you have savings in a bank account, are you allowed to keep that, or do they take that and give it back when/if you leave?
Hello! What I understood was if you became a member you were able to keep any assets you obtained before becoming a member. If you received any assets after becoming a member then you shared with the community. However there were a lot of rules and best to ask the nice people at Twin Oaks. Good luck gathering info!
@@aprilpoland684 Thanks so much!
Not sure about Twin Oaks but some are downright scammy about financial assets
The only scam with TO is they claim to be a religious community for tax purposes. They are in no sense a religious community. The courts have ruled otherwise however so whatever.
Hi! I don't know if you'll see this BUT... I'm really really interested in visiting Twin Oaks. How long after you sent your introduction letter asking to come visit did you get a response from the community?
Thanks for the review I was go visit and I wanted to join but that is not for me.
6 different communities in Louisa County??? I have lived here off and on since the 80s...I didnt know.
So some thing I was really wondering about, if you would be so kind to share… Even though you’ve been mostly positive about the experience you were honest to say that they did not invite you back and it feels like I don’t know listening to you I can’t imagine why but I was wondering if you feel that it was because of a vocalizing your thoughts can you share with us what specifically you think made them decide not to choose you? I just feel it would be really helpful for us to understand what you and your honest perspective feel it was. Thank you so much for this video IA have a family history in Louisa and mineral Virginia and have wondered about this place for a long time. I’ve often thought that it would be just a wonderful lifestyle if it is not cult-like.
What were the rough ages of the group? Was it was disproportionately older folks or is it a good spread?
It has been almost a year now since I have been but when I was there the spread was pretty good. But it did have an older vibe.
So I was thinking of trying to go do a 3 week visit to try to get accepted ...but I'm coming from ks and I dont have slot of money to take a big risk like this so you did answer slot of questions I was wondering ..so I'm in my 30s and have a 6 yr old son by myself...would it be difficult to do work with my boy with me or can he play and explore while I put in my hours...and would I be at risk or rejection just do to other dudes not wanting more dudes around? Just wondering ..thanks
Hi Matthew! If you are an alpha dude you might have a problem. If you go with the flow and don't ask many questions then you should be fine. The program they have for kids is actually really good for the parent. Each child is allotted so many hours of care by the community so parents can work and do other things. They have school there but they can also go to public. They have members whos jobs are taking care of the children. I really wish I grew up there as a kid. The kids all seem to have a good time. I think they have about 15 children. I do know it is pretty hard to get in with kids unless there quota is down. Not sure now since I haven't been back. Hope this helps 🙏 and wish you the best!
I would say a male with a 6 yr old son would almost certainly be rejected. As April said, if you are an alpha male don't even consider it.
@@ardalla535 I suspect a guy who is freethinking and who likes to bounce around ideas would be more likely to be rejected. Sometimes " bound spirits" view "free spirits" as disloyal to the group.
hi, for starters i understand this is a very old video so i’m sorry, but i just saw a video on tik tok about this community and i’m trying to do as much research as i can about it. i had a question for you about something you said at the very beginning of this video, but you didn’t go into it anymore for the rest of the video. you mentioned something about poly at the same time you were mentioning the pronouns. by poly did you mean polygender in the sense of more than one gender/more than one pronoun, or polyamorous/polygamy? if you have time to reply i’d extremely appreciate it. thank you!
Hi Summer, Poly was in reference to multiple partners. No problem with it if people are respectful of each other. But it caused drama and tension. I know everyone has their own stuff but it shouldn't impact your environment. It was a level of toxicity that I wasn't looking for in a community. This video was just my humble perspective. If interested at least go take a tour. Not sure their protocol now because of covid. They have some old timers so they were cautious when I was there. Good luck with your search✌
How do they really know how much money or assets you have, as long as you don't visibly spend it? How do they check if you have a bank account?
You have a pretty name lissa
Nevermind tell me where i can find a place that is how you describe you would want to live in
Did u get accepted
I see online that they drink alcoholic drinks. Did you see anyone who seemed dependent on alcohol or got drunk a lot?
I did not!
conned into doing labor for free 3 weeks.
Nah. You can't stay anywhere for free. Plus I want to work towards something/build something with other like minded people. They just weren't my people.
@@aprilpoland684 i investigated them about 5 years ago, after some research i quickly realized their whole "community" is just a scam for labor and exploitation. the elders are looking out for themselves. all of their policies are designed in this manner. also if you google how ruthless they are to older members with health issues.. its a pretty dystopian community.
you got lucky to not get stuck there.
It's not really a con. You must have known all that before you arrived. Also, it's not exactly 'free'; there is a visitor fee ... you are expected to pay.
What was the average age...what if you get older like in your 60s and can't work 40 hours? Seems like they are still participating in capitalism to much and seems a bit hippier than needed. Love to work but that clockwork society method seems to be falling apart there. I do believe in the shareable resource based society and I think democracies work great in like minded small groups.
I too wish we could get away with pronouns. Just one descriptor for all. It’s a difficult subject when you don’t want to offend. Be well!!!
42h is long..
Not actually, if you're coming from a system which expects 40h/wk to make money to pay for your life and then you have to do all of your own chores (cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, (potentially) childcare, doctors appointments, commuting, etc. on top of those hours. 42 can encompass everything I mentioned and more.
Not a good experience... I'm sorry
If work is hard to come by then that defeats the purpose of a commune for me….there should be unlimited work. Twin Oaks sells too much outside the community
Hi April! You seem to be in some need of education surrounding pronoun usage in general~ Using pronouns that don't fit a persons gender can cause a massive amount of discomfort and unease. Remembering the right pronouns all of the time can be difficult, but it is a relatively very small challenge compared to how it feels for a trans person to be misgendered. Everyone communicating their pronouns right away creates a more inclusive and accepting place for transgender people! This is a good opportunity to learn more about transgender people and be aware of your privilege as a cisgender person. Thank you for reading.
Hi Rowan, lol...my privilege as a cisgender person🤣... You have no idea who I am or my struggles. I am really baffled you would even think i was cisgender. I have been in the LGBTQIA community before gay marriage was legalized in the states. My ex wife and I had to go to Canada to get married. I have been on and off of testosterone only for too many negative side effects. If I had $10,000 dollars I would do top surgery in a heart beat. But you can label me as a cisgender if you want because I don't care, I know who I am. If it takes a pronoun for you to know who you are then you can live in that box. I choose not too. I live in a world where all humans are treated equal as humans not because of the gender they identify with. I wish you the best in your transition and good luck with life.✌️
@@aprilpoland684 Hi again, April. Sorry for assuming you are cisgender. I made that assumption because I often hear cis people around me complaining about learning pronouns, while being unaware of how helpful/important it can be for some people. However, just because you aren't cisgender, and a relatively older member of the LGBTQIA community, that doesn't mean you don't hold any views that could be problematic.
It doesn't take a pronoun for me to know who I am. First and foremost, I am always me! But in the English language, we use pronouns all of the time. Only one set of pronouns feels right to me, and different ones make me uncomfortable/dysphoric in conversation. I bet most cisgender people would feel the same way if they were talked about as if they were a different gender. For trans people whose appearance don't align with their internal self, it can be extra important for people to know the pronouns that they use.
If you don't care what pronouns people use for you, then thats totally fine. But your trans experience is not the same as everyone else. Unless you're truly living in a space that uses no pronouns whatsoever, then why not opt for sharing pronouns and being more inclusive/comforting for those who are often the minority and seen as "other"? I believe it is the more empathetic and friendly thing to do :)
I feel skeptical of your world where one's gender identity doesn't alter a perceiver's thoughts/actions in some way. But if you're living in it, then congratulations because it's certainly not where I am, or anywhere that I know to exist. Best of luck to you. I hope you get your top surgery and don't let using/talking about pronouns prevent you from meeting some very cool trans people
I wonder something, do not get me wrong i am not accusing you of anything. You are living in capitalist system and you have experiencde kind of communist system. Far as i understand from your video you like it. Then why the people fool by anti communist propaganda? Ussr, Cuba, Vietnam, China (not right now), Libya were communist. Do you know in Libya people were not paying taxes, transportation, housing, electric, water, gas, education, healthcare were free? When you get married goverment was paying to you 50.000 dollars. If you have baby 5000 dollar per baby. When you want to get educate outside of country, goverment were paying 3500 dollars for month. If you were educated and you could not find a job it was paying you avarage salary every month. If want to do farming. It was giving farm, land, seeds, equipments, animals for free. But Un and Usa attacked it when he did not want to exchanging peoples oil with dollar. It is worthless sign paper . They are fooling us making our natural resources worthless the leader said. Also it was a bad example for development countries. He was giving everything for free! And again majority fooled by capitalist leader and apporove to bomb that country. I am wondering why are you guys giving a value system that make you feel wortless and exploiting? Thank you.
Oh damn, they are woke there? I'm a guy, people should not be confused what to say.
Shame about the pronoun shit, sounds like they've really gone downhill
We get it, you're edgy.