$4,000 a Month for a Room in a Commune?

Remember how we used to think of communal living? That steaming bowl of brown rice and tempeh, passed among long-haired residents sitting cross-legged and singing “Kumbaya” between courses? Bucolic bliss … at least until the 1960s ended.

Well, leave it to New York City developers to package this experience in an ultraexpensive version, tailored to meet the desires of up-and-coming millennials. That’s the case with Pure House, “an intentional way of life for adventurers and creators alike.”

How do you create such residential heaven? First, a questionnaire. “Prospective residents answer probing questions like ‘What are your passions?’ and ‘Tell us your story (Excite us!).’ If accepted, tenants live in what the company’s promotional materials describe as a ‘highly curated community of like-minded individuals,’” The New York Times wrote this weekend.

Unintentionally piggybacking on the Army’s old slogan, “It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure,” Pure House is “reinventing the way we live by combining thoughtfully designed spaces with intentionally curated goods & services to facilitate a community of adventurers and creators,” says its website. The lofty goals: “Inspire our members to live purpose-driven lives”; “Cultivate collaboration and facilitate serendipity”; and “Promote values of care, authenticity and integrity.”

A taste of the services: meditation classes; weekly juices; a community clubhouse; and a “monthly megaphone,” or unnamed community event. There is also a “multidimensional work/play space where adventurers and creators convene to cook up their ideas.” In other words: a kitchen.

Entry into this exclusive yet folksy residence costs up to $4,000 a month for a room in one of nine furnished apartments.

Is the price really unprecedented? In cities where finding an apartment (or decent roommate) can be likened to a version of Extreme Fighting, Pure House offers a respite: It spares residents the credit check and the requirement that a resident earn as much as 40 times more than the monthly rent.

In other words: If you share the passions and worldview, this is an easy in to communal living. And, one must hope, it’s just as easy a way out.

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