Grateful Dead The Old Hippies' Home

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As long as I've been a Dead Head, which is coming up on 30 years now, it's been a running joke with my friends that we would all eventually go off together and retire to the old hippies' home. Now, of course, we're about ready for the old hippies' home, for real.

So, where should people like us (which encompasses a pretty diverse demographic!) retire to?

3 places

Belize in the winter with a ski condo in Colorado, and a fishing cabin in northern Minnesota during the summer is my plan: waiting for the right Powerball ticket to end up in my hand.

Hippie Resting Place

Paradise Awaits:) :) :)Only I got on the bus....uh the boat...nah really the plane before my time....just here feelin' how hang loose it really is....May I recommend to you the Big Island....Lots of hippies here...expecially Ocean View and Puna.......Enjoy your Wise Years and May they be hippie....Aloha

Great Topic!

I think a solid financial commitment to 5 separate homes around the country that cater specifically to Deadheads could do really well and may attract the venture capital that would be needed to create the right kind of "set & setting". Perhaps richer deadheads that have the most lavish accomadation could donate space in one of the other facilities for the less fortunate. Employment at "Grateful Meadows" would have to have the right kind of staff -- doctors, nurses field trip coordinators that would make our remaining years of live musical performances rich and rewarding. Euthanasia should be allowed if legal documents have been executed and everybody would be an organ donor unless they opted out. I think lots of pool therapy with acoustic bands and rounds of golf-frisbee along with bird watching from well-stocked leisure boats should be available for those who enjoy those things and arts and crafts and computer games designed to stimulate the mind centers for maximum quality of mental stimulation available for those who need/choose them, Hope you saved your pennies because it is going to be very expensive to live in such conditions with animals, well manicured grounds on broad estates with staff -to-resident ratiosof 3-1. That is the captalist model, anyway. In then end, it's all about death. Smple, spare comfortable places with meditation teachers leading you along the transition should be an option -- though I doubt much that most deadheads would choose the croquet-badminton (with the acoustic band and well-stocked bar of remedies,following close behind in the Airstream. However the dynamic works out, there is money to me made here with a shrewd investment!

the cookies, gonz...

ya left out the cookies!!

Homestyle....

Good one Marye,I see this as a really fun place to blend our minds and visualize our future's.I am certain that every one of us has contemplated what the march of time will look like to the 'experienced' head.If we put down enough good stuff,we could put together 'The Tie-Dyed Guide to Retirement and Beyond'....

golden years

I want to spend them in a tiny house by the sea, with an olive and a lemon tree. Umpteen dogs, several cats that come and go of their own free will. I shall have a rocking chair on my porch that is facing seaward. Will be very eccentric,have ultra kind neighbors, high quality speakers and internet connection. I will be healthy, of course; until the day comes when I fall asleep in my rocking chair and don't wake up. ********************************** By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity -- another man's I mean. Mark Twain

by the sea, on a mountain

Tigerlilly, I like your option, or same setting, just facing a mountain, as long as there's room for my victory garden, I'm there.

open wide

the only place where the inmates would look forward to their daily 'medication'.....

this is serius

we need this right now for real!where do i sign up?

Grateful Place

I'm to young to retire. The journey goes FURTHUR. I do rest my bones in a hose I just finished near Akumal Mexico. I call it la buena vida.The mayan people are kind.The ocean is warm.Gotta love the Mexican food.Soon we will be building a larger house to rent. Good luck with Grateful Meadows. I'll visit.

spontaneous combustion

I would want to spontaneous combust, bam, all over, just a pile of ashes and my shoes left!!

I always figured I'd just stay in Oakland

I mean, my friends are here, etc. And it has certainly spoiled me for living in parts of the country given over to whitebread culture and conventional thinking. And also, as I have learned from the occasional freakout in Colorado, I don't need to be right on the ocean but I need to know it's right over there and I can get there pretty quick. Being able to see the Bay from my street, it's a good thing. But that said, the older I get the more determined I am to be someplace that's country enough and affordable enough that I can have like 2-5 acres and a little house, and chickens and horses and goats. And that's not happening in Oakland, that's for sure. I ponder the places that might offer those qualities while not making me want to commit suicide due to the local culture. One of the things that would make me suicidal fast would be lack of care and respect for animals. A complete lack of politics would be a real plus, but I'm dreaming. So far Eugene's at the top of the short list. I read the real estate listings every day. It has the advantage of friends who have moved there and love it.

grateful meadows !

If I was american , i would have prefered retiring on Lake Atitlan , Guatemala . Why ? I spent severeal winters there , and really like Quetchuas indians (courtious and honests ) . It's extremely affordable for daily living there and the site of volcanos around this lake is stunningly beautiful . When it's winter up north , it's a balmy summer there and you can swim in the lake each day . However , while americans can easily get 5 years renewable residency permits and make money there , europeans are discriminated against to the point of making it impossible to stay there but for a few months which is why i couldn't settle at Atitlan among friendly Indians , good fruits , balmy jasmin and roses , handmade clothes andcolorful marketplaces . I retire in France nowadays because it's the most simple solution for me , and I gave up on the country grove because i can't afford a car here , and grateful meadows was a youth dream not ever going to be during my time left on earth , for me .

I do think Gonzo's right

that this is an actual business opportunity, because there is no way in hell most of us would survive two days in a conventional retirement community setting. And, as we have seen, there are Heads coming along 50 years younger than us. In significant numbers.

Marye, I live where you have 2-5 acres

goats, chickens, etc. and it has its advantages. I live in a valley where when I look out my window on one side I have the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Massanutten Mountain on the other side. Its very beautiful. I've lived here most of my life. However, the local politics almost make me "want to commit suicide"! Ironically, my dream is to retire to the Bay area.I visited there once, before I became a Deadhead, and felt as though I had come home. It had its own kind of natural beauty and the vibe was so open and relaxed. Maybe we could discuss an exchange program for retirement!

yeah really

I do not underestimate the homecoming feeling of being in the Bay Area or my good sense in listening to it forty-some years ago. Eugene has some of that quality too, though I once was involved in a really interesting discussion on a Eugene mailing list concerning the number of Bay Areans who move there and flee within the year. But it's pretty, it's a college town, and it has hippies. It has a slow-growth ordinance and it's surrounded by country. So it hits quite a few sweet spots. Humboldt and Mendocino are also possibilities, notwithstanding some of the scary tales in Tales From Humboldt County, but I've actually spent more time in Eugene, though not recently.

tphokie

also, WRT retiring in the Bay Area, you probably know this already, but it's expensive as hell here. Once you've lived here for decades you don't notice as much, but if you come from somewhere else the sticker shock can be fierce.

Yeah, I am painfully aware of that fact.

That's a big reason I haven't already moved!

I know that one

Moved from southern New England to NC at the height of the housing bubble. The house I bought in NC would have cost at least double/double-and-a-half at the time up north. Even with the crash, it's obvious that I couldn't afford to go back...this move is irrevocable! So maybe I plan to retire here, assuming I can keep my job/am not forced to move. Which, some days seems to be as much a pipe dream as our hippie retirement village. Village? Don't you think we could use an entire state? Ocean on one side, mountains on the other, mild winters unless you want snow (that's what the mtns are for..). Oh, wait -- that's where I live now!

Great Topic for Oldtimers Marye

...Of which I am one. My wife, who I have 6 years on, and I have been discussing this idea more and more. All the points brought up are great, especially the cultural disadvantage of country vs. city vs. pocketbook. We too are folks that like to be near the ocean and love animals. My wife attended Sonoma State and then lived in SF in the early seventies. She sold leather goods on Telegraph Ave for a spell. I am originally an east coaster (Miami) but have lived in the LA area (Venice and now Playa Del Rey for over 25 years. Our favorite city is SF and the Bay area and we have friends in Oakland. Our dream would be to retire to the bay area, but like you said Marye...the price and abilty to make a buck presents a great obstacle in that regard. Of course, LA isn't much better so we see ourselves having to split from here eventually too. We have been to Portland and Eugene and considered that area. I really like the Pacific Northwest for the vibe and geographics. We have also considered parts of Washington State, like the peninsula and Bellingham, but don't know much about the area re culture, political climate, etc. Eugene would be ultra cool because of MG and Babbs and the old Prankster presence. My wife thinks it's too far from water though. I would really like to be around a bunch of old hippies and being around too many consrvatives would not bode well for my aging bones and psyche. We couldn't handle it, so the search continues. I do love the idea of land inhabited by old deadheads. Maybe a lot of acrerage with affordable cabins for sale in different parts of the country to accomodate all geographic tastes and budgets.

every now and then

on Craigslist or some such, there comes up for sale something like an old Boy Scout camp or family compound with numerous small houses on a small chunk of land. I think that would be a good option if you had a group of folks together.

Jimi Hendrix Turns 80

So odd to run across this Topic! Thanks Marye :) Was gifted this book last month. I think the gifter thought the book was actually about Jimi... NOPE! An old folks home in Cali. filled with a good number of Old School Hippies... Even have tables in the dining Hall , unspoken of course, ~The Haight, BC & The Haight, After the Summer of Love. I think the storyline gets a bit far fetched, all that damn under the table sucrets tin sharin Viagra.. but kept me thinking well past the end of the book. Spunky bunch no doubt~ Revolt was indeed near &as always, beware of Nurse Ratched Grateful Meadows & TL's hideaway sound MUCH Kynder :) PEACE

Looking for a chateau

21 rooms but one will do (in the mountains, by a stream filled with trout, overlooking a meadow filled with flowers and deer and elk surrounded by an aspen tree grove) "Here's my half a dollar if you dare .. double twist when you hit the air. Look at Julie down below .. the levee doing the dopaso"

Moving at 55 ;;but where?

I too am looking to find my new home for the later years of this life. I have been blessed with acres in the Pocono Mountains, and it is beautiful, but damn I am tired of hauling firewood to stay warm in winter. Looking for a nice warm hippy friendly kind of town,, where I can have a garden, sell my jewelry, and just live simply... aor maybe a responsible helpful hippie to help out for now....

Well, Shuga

You could try Austin. Bit of an attitude adjustment in Texas. And it is not cold in the winter but it is hot as hell in the summer. But even then the Barton Springs is a great place to hang out and sell your leather goods when you need relief. Like the colder weather? Madison, Wi. is a great town with great folks of our kind. Another town in that colder arc is Missoula, Montana. It's a small town and you definitely need to have your living figured out but it is definitely the right scale to be ultimately liveable. Wanna do Cali? Try Arcata - though I don't know how it has changed since the pot revolution. Southeast? Asheville, NC had a rainbow population last time I was through. It is a sweet little city but it is in NC, which is a challenging thing at times. Don't tell me these towns ain't got no heart - just gotta poke around.

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April 8, 2010 - 2:14pm

25 replies

marye

Joined:
May 26, 2007

As long as I've been a Dead Head, which is coming up on 30 years now, it's been a running joke with my friends that we would all eventually go off together and retire to the old hippies' home. Now, of course, we're about ready for the old hippies' home, for real.
So, where should people like us (which encompasses a pretty diverse demographic!) retire to?

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March 26, 2013 - 3:29pm

#1

Anna rRxia

Joined:
December 25, 2009

Well, Shuga

You could try Austin. Bit of an attitude adjustment in Texas. And it is not cold in the winter but it is hot as hell in the summer. But even then the Barton Springs is a great place to hang out and sell your leather goods when you need relief. Like the colder weather? Madison, Wi. is a great town with great folks of our kind. Another town in that colder arc is Missoula, Montana. It's a small town and you definitely need to have your living figured out but it is definitely the right scale to be ultimately liveable. Wanna do Cali? Try Arcata - though I don't know how it has changed since the pot revolution. Southeast? Asheville, NC had a rainbow population last time I was through. It is a sweet little city but it is in NC, which is a challenging thing at times. Don't tell me these towns ain't got no heart - just gotta poke around.
March 26, 2013 - 8:17am

#2

shuga

Joined:
January 10, 2009

Moving at 55 ;;but where?

I too am looking to find my new home for the later years of this life. I have been blessed with acres in the Pocono Mountains, and it is beautiful, but damn I am tired of hauling firewood to stay warm in winter. Looking for a nice warm hippy friendly kind of town,, where I can have a garden, sell my jewelry, and just live simply... aor maybe a responsible helpful hippie to help out for now....
April 16, 2010 - 6:00pm

#3

JackstrawfromC…

Joined:
January 2, 2009

Looking for a chateau

21 rooms but one will do (in the mountains, by a stream filled with trout, overlooking a meadow filled with flowers and deer and elk surrounded by an aspen tree grove) "Here's my half a dollar if you dare .. double twist when you hit the air. Look at Julie down below .. the levee doing the dopaso"
April 16, 2010 - 12:18am

#4

iknowurider

Joined:
October 23, 2007

Jimi Hendrix Turns 80

So odd to run across this Topic! Thanks Marye :) Was gifted this book last month. I think the gifter thought the book was actually about Jimi... NOPE! An old folks home in Cali. filled with a good number of Old School Hippies... Even have tables in the dining Hall , unspoken of course, ~The Haight, BC & The Haight, After the Summer of Love. I think the storyline gets a bit far fetched, all that damn under the table sucrets tin sharin Viagra.. but kept me thinking well past the end of the book. Spunky bunch no doubt~ Revolt was indeed near &as always, beware of Nurse Ratched Grateful Meadows & TL's hideaway sound MUCH Kynder :) PEACE
April 14, 2010 - 11:59am

#5

marye

Joined:
May 26, 2007

every now and then

on Craigslist or some such, there comes up for sale something like an old Boy Scout camp or family compound with numerous small houses on a small chunk of land. I think that would be a good option if you had a group of folks together.
April 14, 2010 - 11:36am

#6

incognito

Joined:
June 13, 2007

Great Topic for Oldtimers Marye

...Of which I am one. My wife, who I have 6 years on, and I have been discussing this idea more and more. All the points brought up are great, especially the cultural disadvantage of country vs. city vs. pocketbook. We too are folks that like to be near the ocean and love animals. My wife attended Sonoma State and then lived in SF in the early seventies. She sold leather goods on Telegraph Ave for a spell. I am originally an east coaster (Miami) but have lived in the LA area (Venice and now Playa Del Rey for over 25 years. Our favorite city is SF and the Bay area and we have friends in Oakland. Our dream would be to retire to the bay area, but like you said Marye...the price and abilty to make a buck presents a great obstacle in that regard. Of course, LA isn't much better so we see ourselves having to split from here eventually too. We have been to Portland and Eugene and considered that area. I really like the Pacific Northwest for the vibe and geographics. We have also considered parts of Washington State, like the peninsula and Bellingham, but don't know much about the area re culture, political climate, etc. Eugene would be ultra cool because of MG and Babbs and the old Prankster presence. My wife thinks it's too far from water though. I would really like to be around a bunch of old hippies and being around too many consrvatives would not bode well for my aging bones and psyche. We couldn't handle it, so the search continues. I do love the idea of land inhabited by old deadheads. Maybe a lot of acrerage with affordable cabins for sale in different parts of the country to accomodate all geographic tastes and budgets.
April 14, 2010 - 10:44am

#7

gratefaldean

Joined:
June 22, 2007

I know that one

Moved from southern New England to NC at the height of the housing bubble. The house I bought in NC would have cost at least double/double-and-a-half at the time up north. Even with the crash, it's obvious that I couldn't afford to go back...this move is irrevocable! So maybe I plan to retire here, assuming I can keep my job/am not forced to move. Which, some days seems to be as much a pipe dream as our hippie retirement village. Village? Don't you think we could use an entire state? Ocean on one side, mountains on the other, mild winters unless you want snow (that's what the mtns are for..). Oh, wait -- that's where I live now!
April 14, 2010 - 9:48am

#8

tphokie1

Joined:
June 9, 2007

Yeah, I am painfully aware of that fact.

That's a big reason I haven't already moved!
April 14, 2010 - 9:45am

#9

marye

Joined:
May 26, 2007

tphokie

also, WRT retiring in the Bay Area, you probably know this already, but it's expensive as hell here. Once you've lived here for decades you don't notice as much, but if you come from somewhere else the sticker shock can be fierce.
April 14, 2010 - 9:41am

#10

marye

Joined:
May 26, 2007

yeah really

I do not underestimate the homecoming feeling of being in the Bay Area or my good sense in listening to it forty-some years ago. Eugene has some of that quality too, though I once was involved in a really interesting discussion on a Eugene mailing list concerning the number of Bay Areans who move there and flee within the year. But it's pretty, it's a college town, and it has hippies. It has a slow-growth ordinance and it's surrounded by country. So it hits quite a few sweet spots. Humboldt and Mendocino are also possibilities, notwithstanding some of the scary tales in Tales From Humboldt County, but I've actually spent more time in Eugene, though not recently.