Vegan (esp. raw families) that unschool - where are you?

[backtobasics]

Currently, we are in west central Florida and we are ready to move.  We do not have a community here, and that is one of the reasons that we are ready to move.  I'm researching and trying to decide where we might be happy and thought maybe some mamas here could chime in with some information on areas with a great unschooling community - big bonus if there's a raw food community too!

Our journey is about a year away.  We plan to buy an RV and travel for a bit to various places we might be interested in living, but we hope to find a place to settle within a year or so after we start out in the RV.  Hubby wants to settle in a state with medical marijuana so he can get away from the pills he takes daily, but we have both decided that above all we want to find a community of like minded families.  We have been looking into Colorado - if you live there I would love to hear your thought.  :)

Thanks in advance for any input!  

[NellieKatz]

We're in Central Massachusetts and are pretty happy with the homeschooling community here. There are HSing co-ops around, and places where homeschoolers can take classes, and Audubon sanctuaries where kids can do the same if they like, (we are sort of unschool-y but we DO like classes here & there) and a great vegetarian/vegan community too. (http://vegworcester.com/), there are online Yahoo groups that are real helpful online and it's a great way to connect with the many things going on in the Worcester area. When I first started homeschooling, they were a HUGE help in getting connected to other homeschoolers, getting advice, finding out about activities and resources, etc. And there's a nice art community too. Not huge but it's good.

What's also good about our location is that it's not far from some great destinations. In one direction there's Boston MA (45 mins), another direction it's Providence RI (45 mins), go north and you're at the NH seacoast (1.25 hrs or so); south you've got Cape Cod (1.5 hrs or so...it all depends on traffic). And right here in Central Mass there's all kinds of wonderful farmland, a healthy local-food community (CSAs), a couple of local food co-ops, farmers markets all over the place once the season gets going. I think it's fantastic. Any of the places I listed would be too expensive for us to live, so it's nice to be sort of in the center of it all, with lots of options.

[Relynn]

We are a vegan homeschool  family.  We have always homeschooled and my husband and I have been vegan since 1994! wow!

I feel I can never find any other vegan homeschoolers. We have lived in TX and NH and now Maine, and I have yet to meet one vegan homeschooler! I have yet to be one other family that is vegan.

Anyway, we moved to Maine because of the affordable housing. I have found it easy to homeschool and there are plenty of stores that have any food items we might need.

Also, Massachusetts is full of awesome vegan restaurants, in Worcester and Boston.

I think Maine just passed some laws to open Medical Marijuana dispensaries, you would have to do some google searching to see whats up with the laws here.

HTH

Rebecca

ps I write, and I have been working on several books catering to homeschoolers/vegans

Edited by Relynn - 6/28/11 at 11:40am

[backtobasics]

Thanks for the replies, ladies.  I am just so tired of having no community to turn to... and I have tried to find one and build one.  It's just not happening here.  I'm not unschool-y enough for the small group of radical unschoolers in the area.  I'm not Christian so that rules out every single homeschooling group in the area and my attempts to start a secular home schooling group resulted in all of the people who have previously rejected me from their groups joining together to tell me how wrong/off/weird I am... sigh.  There has to be somewhere better than this!

Mass is on our list of places to check out.  I've never lived somewhere north, though, and the snow and long winter scares me. lol  ;)

Rebecca - how awesome that you are writing about something you enjoy!  Love reading, especially words from a like-minded momma.  :)

[SundayCrepes]

We live in Tucson. There is an unschooling group here. I think the more active members are radical, but there are more moderate members. We mainly hang with a different group because it has a higher number of kids in our age range (younger.) Between those two groups and a third secular group, we have quite a number of opportunities each month to do things. 

We recently passed a medical marijuana law, but the governor has asked the feds to review it. 

Overall Arizona is conservative, but it has great homeschooling laws. Tucson is a more liberal part of the state. 

And once it gets over 105, it really doesn't matter how hot it gets. Hot is hot is hot. We stay inside where it's air conditioned.

[TheJoyfulMom]

Where in FL are you?  I'm in Sarasota and we have a small unschooling community and a large vegan community that overlaps.  

[MoonStarFalling]

OP, good luck to you. I had similar goals. We RV'd for a year and thought we would find the perfect place. We are secular homeschoolers and raw off and on. I think Colorado would be something to look into. We will be RVing there in a few months. Northern California, Portland Oregon might fit your needs. We have veg unschooling friends in Vermont that swear it's the best place! We came back to IL, no homeschool requirements make unschooling easy and we have a small secular group and decent veg/vegan and raw group.

[bubbagirl]

We are vegan and mostly raw (me) and will be homeschooling/unschooling when the kiddos are of age.... but we are in Oklahoma so although it is very homeschool friendly, its not a very vegan area. Colorado seems to be a good choice and if you have the means and don't want to live too rurally, Southern California is a good bet too. I grew up in Los Angeles and there are many many raw and vegan places to shop and eat and I am sure a growing number of homeschoolers.

Good luck and if you want to move to Oklahoma.... yes please :) Matthew Kenney has a resturant here in OKC actually and I have a dream to open a juice/elixer bar and little raw food deli just north of OKC.

[34me]

I'm not vegan or an unschooler but I do live in CO and know bunches of both.  If you are scared of snow and cold it might not be the place for you though.  My part of the state often gets snow in spurts - a foot then it mostly melts, then 18 inches , then it melts some - but we can go weeks below freezing.  We love it!

[oregonwolfpack]

it's been almost a year since this thread started but thought I'd pipe in. I'm vegan, in central oregon and unschool. considering moving to portland or corvallis though, as would like larger community...and to live close to other vegan unschoolers would be awesome.

[NellieKatz]

Hi backtobasics,

I know this is sort of an old post but I just saw it and I wanted to say we here in Central Mass. have a strong homeschooling community and a strong vegan/vegetarian community too! And don't worry about the long winters. I think those might be a thing of the past due to climate change. I kept waiting for winter to really "happen" here this year and before you knew it, it was spring. I didn't believe it at first.

Originally Posted by backtobasics 

Thanks for the replies, ladies.  I am just so tired of having no community to turn to... and I have tried to find one and build one.  It's just not happening here.  I'm not unschool-y enough for the small group of radical unschoolers in the area.  I'm not Christian so that rules out every single homeschooling group in the area and my attempts to start a secular home schooling group resulted in all of the people who have previously rejected me from their groups joining together to tell me how wrong/off/weird I am... sigh.  There has to be somewhere better than this!

Mass is on our list of places to check out.  I've never lived somewhere north, though, and the snow and long winter scares me. lol  ;)

Rebecca - how awesome that you are writing about something you enjoy!  Love reading, especially words from a like-minded momma.  :)

[greenacresmama]

I am in the mountains of VA, 75 miles from DC. I am not sure if we are planning to stay, but a pretty organic place called Sperryville might be great to farm your land. That is where we are honing in on. I was thinking Ithaca, NY, but it is grey and kind of pricey, plus the growing season. I am more interested in Mass now.. I know they have super cheap housing! 

Please PM me and tell me an update! I am a raw food beginner, but that is mostly because I am uneducated and trying to play it safe nutritionally. I study raw food when I am looking for new recipes. This year was a new juicer and next will be a replacement for a dehydrator :). I love making and enjoying raw food! Nothing else really gets me going now days.. 

[kindergirl77]

Vegan Unschooler in So CA, although my kids aren't vegan- 8yo dd chooses to eat chicken. Anyway, lots of unschoolers here in LA or the OC.
I am a also a Christian but don't fit in well with the Christian groups.