A family compound

YorkieonmyPillow · ‎01-13-2013

When my kids were little, I thought it would be a good idea if we created a "family compound" when they grew up.

That is, a piece of land is purchased and divided up between family members, X amount of acres apiece.

Has anyone done this/come from this, or have any experience with this sort of thing?

It doesn't look like we will be doing it. Just wondering if anyone else has.......

SahmIam · ‎04-16-2010

I know a few families who have and well, it rarely plays out the way those who want it hope it will. I'm sure there are exceptions but I've not seen one in my personal life.

Pook · ‎03-20-2010

If this is for them living there I would not think it's a good idea. Too much closeness is often not good - everyone would be in everyone else's business! Everyone needs to be independent and have privacy!! I know I sure wouldn't want to live that close to my relatives and it would be even worse if it were your inlaws. Where I grew up there were 2 families who had thier grown and married kids buidling on their property and it wasn't a great outcome!!

blackhole99 · ‎08-22-2013

When my husband and I were young, under 30, we left our jobs in the city along with 4 of our best friends who were like minded. My husband and his mother owned alot of property in the country and we started a commune on that land. The men built the house and farmed the land and we women went out to work to provide cash, health insurance, you know some stability. This last about 5 years until we realized how hard it would be to live together in one house after we had kids, my MIL and husband did not want to sell any of the land. We still live on the land and do farming on a very small scale, but we always had jobs off the farm. I personally loved communal living, simply because there was always someone around in an emergency and to take up the slack.

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

I have read about wealthy people who did that. I think it works for them because there is so much land between their homes. They aren't living on top of each other, seeing each other come and go. My in laws live on what I suppose can be called a compound with fellow church members. Hubby calls it a cult but it really isn't. It's just that a group of church members, mostly retirees, bought adjacent property up in ME and built homes. There's also a church and and community building and camp grounds for a few who stay in their campers during the summers. They are pretty isolated so It's good that they have each other to depend on.

house_cat · ‎03-09-2010

I grew up in NYC. My mom, her sister and her brother all lived in two apartment houses on the same block. It was magical having my aunts, uncles and cousins in my everyday life. The adults had some disagreements, but nothing that could ruin a relationship. They got along remarkably well. I wish my own kids could have had the same kind of upbringing. Any family who could manage to live in close proximity should go for it. I very much regret being so far away from mine.

~ house cat ~

Carmie · ‎10-25-2010

My father had 8 sisters and two brothers. Back in the early 60's a new development was being put in. Four of my dad's sisters and one brother bought land and built houses either beside or across the street from each other.

When they had kids who grew up and got married, a couple of them also moved into the neighborhood.

I have two cousins who live a stones throw from me. (same street) Our family members all live pretty close to one another, but there is no compound like atmosphere. Everyone owns their own land and house and we all pretty much go about our lives not bothering anyone.

We never had any problems...though I am not fond of one cousin's husband...he's the neighborhood busy-body.

Mominohio · ‎08-08-2010

My husband's sister and her adult daughters (and their husbands and children) did this sort of thing. They bought rural acreage all in conjunction with each other, and built homes on those properties.

15 years later, all the kids sold off their properties, and husband's sister is like 60, with a husband in the throes of Parkinson's and no support or help out there now while she goes to work all day and husband could use help.

It's something to consider if you are well prepared financially to get out when you need/want to (I don't think our relative really is) and if you are really open and understanding that the possibility is high your kids won't want a thing to do with settling there or staying there long if they do.

We own two properties rural, side by side, and my mom lives on one of them. It works for us (isn't a bowl of cherries a lot of the time, always family dynamics you can't get to far away from when living this close), and honestly I don't think I want my kid living next to me at this point, and where it seems he is going with his life, but who knows what the future holds?!

lovesrecess · ‎03-14-2010

When I lived in Tennessee, I knew a few people who lived on what they called "family land". Of course these were far out in the country where large plots of land were plentiful. The patriarch of the family usually bought the large piece of land, 100 acres or so, and he subdivided it and sold the plots to the kids. They usually had a shared space for a garden. Maybe it's one of those "southern things".. but I think if everyone is living too close together, it wouldn't work for long.