We haven’t chosen a location for our gay naturist village yet. Riverside County, the Tucson area, Eugene and Durham are where we would begin a focused property search today. We’re also considering alternatives that could become the better choice when a suitable property comes into view.
We’re looking for somewhere we would love to make our home, with enough room for the village and a practical way to build it. That means weighing the pleasure of being outdoors against things we’ll need all year: healthcare, shops, visits from friends and a way to get around when we aren’t driving.
A retreat with useful buildings and permission for permanent homes might give us a much better beginning than cheaper land where everything still needs to be built. We’re comparing both. The descriptions below explain what draws us to each place and what could get in the way; none is a commitment to buy or move.
The first four are where we would begin a focused property search. The alternatives that follow offer other compelling versions of daily life, including a gentler summer, more growing land or a northern campus with substantial buildings already in place. This is a working judgment, not a ranking of ready-to-buy sites.
Riverside County
California
Riverside is still a serious possibility. It brings together existing naturist communities, gay social life and healthcare in a part of the country where spending time outdoors is a large part of the appeal. The county covers very different settings, though, and we would be choosing between them as much as comparing Riverside with somewhere else.
On the western side, we’re interested in places around the Riverside–Temescal area and the Hemet–San Jacinto valley that could give us private grounds while keeping ordinary errands and care within reach. The Palm Springs–Cathedral City area has an especially appealing connection to gay community and winter outdoor life. Western Riverside has substantially cooler summer days and nights than Palm Springs, so the part of the county we choose would shape our everyday life.
Published zoning provisions offer a starting point for homes, ordinary guest lodging, shared facilities and growing, and an adopted development plan shows a residential and visitor arrangement on one particular site. We still need to establish how the current rules would apply to our whole village, including paid gatherings and shared intimate spaces.
Moving farther out for more land can put us much farther from the services that made the area attractive in the first place. The property needs dependable water and wastewater capacity and a cost we can fund. Existing resorts give us useful examples, but their permissions belong to their sites.
Sources and what remains unestablished
The zoning source below dates to 2023; later amendments still need to be reconciled. The adopted plan is specific to its site. County routes do not apply automatically inside cities, and existing resorts are not available properties or transferable permission. The properties examined so far have not established an available site with permission and capacity for the whole village.
Tucson is appealing if we want much of village life to happen outdoors through the cooler part of the year. We’re looking particularly at the unincorporated edges where we might have private grounds without losing touch with the city. Areas around Tucson Estates and Valencia West, or parts of Casas Adobes, are worth testing against actual properties and service connections.
Pima County gives us concrete ways to investigate housing, guest accommodation and gathering spaces together. Tucson also has established HIV care and transit connections that can help us choose where to look. We would still need a workable journey from the property itself, including getting home after an appointment.
The summer heat is the largest everyday compromise. Shade, comfortable indoor commons, cooling and short protected walks would need to be part of the opening plan. A distant desert property might cost less to buy, but bringing it water, services and dependable transport could make it a much more expensive home.
The property itself could make a large difference to the cost of getting started. Pima’s sewer capacity charges can be substantial, and its rules recognize some capacity already paid for. That gives us a concrete reason to compare suitable retreats and campuses with undeveloped land, while checking what their existing connections can actually support.
Sources and what remains unestablished
The county routes concern unincorporated Pima. The named corridors are search areas, not identified available or approved parcels. Care and transit services do not establish an individual resident's access. Sewer capacity charges and any credit depend on the actual connection and payment history; no property-specific capacity or credit has been verified.
Eugene offers an appealing way to think about the village: a place with a strong shared life of its own, connected to the city around it. Local housing cooperatives show how private homes and substantial common facilities can work together. At Peace Village, former church buildings provide a shared kitchen, dining and meeting space alongside the homes.
We’re interested in city properties with useful existing buildings and enough grounds for the village to grow, especially where transit and everyday services are practical. Eugene also has commercial zoning that includes homes, lodging, gathering spaces and growing. Those provisions give us something concrete to investigate, although the actual property, layout and intended uses would still need to fit.
We also need to know that we can live naked comfortably on the grounds. Eugene’s rules on public visibility and street-facing development make privacy a practical design question, alongside how our guest use and shared intimate spaces would be treated. A promising layout has to support the life we want, with enough room for gardens, outdoor commons and private retreat.
Life here would have a different rhythm from the desert. Wet, cool months would draw us into warm common rooms for meals, music and time together, while summer would give us more opportunities to enjoy the grounds. That could be a lovely life for people who want it. We would need to make the whole year enjoyable for residents, including those who cannot afford to spend winter somewhere warmer.
Sources and what remains unestablished
This is a Eugene city investigation, not a general permission in Lane County. Peace Village and OUR Village have their own missions and are not offered to this project; their approvals do not establish our guest, event or cultural uses. Their zoning has not been verified as the commercial route discussed here. No affordable, fully approved property or individual care arrangement is established.
Durham has become one of our stronger possibilities because it connects the village idea with things people need throughout their lives. There is established HIV care, public transport that reaches the hospital area into the evening and on weekends, and an active LGBTQ community. A well-placed campus could offer private grounds and a shared life while helping residents keep their independence.
The city has a planning route for permanent homes, ordinary guest accommodation, gatherings and growing. Village Hearth secured construction financing for accessible cottages around gardens and common facilities, giving us a relevant residential example. Its mission and permissions are its own, but it helps us imagine a community with private homes and a substantial common house near city services.
The strongest property would need usable water and sewer connections, as some Durham basins face serious capacity constraints. We would also need to establish how the law would treat our shared intimate spaces and find a layout with enough privacy and room to grow. Durham deserves a focused property search, with the full cost of development and everyday support in view.
Sources and what remains unestablished
This concerns parcels governed by Durham city, not all of Durham County or the Triangle. The mixed-use route needs an approved plan and separate conditions for housing, hotels and events. Village Hearth is a residential design and financing precedent, not an offered property or permission for our guest and cultural uses. Some utility basins require substantial works; no village parcel has been approved or allocated capacity.
San Luis Obispo deserves a closer look if we want outdoor life without the low desert’s summer extremes. Its weather records show mild winter afternoons and much cooler summer days, with cool mornings and evenings still part of the bargain. That could make the grounds inviting for more of everyday life, depending on a property’s sun, wind and shelter.
The city also has a mixed-use route that can bring permanent homes, approved guest accommodation, meals and gatherings together. San Luis Ranch provides a larger local planning example combining housing, a hotel and retained agriculture. We’re interested in whether a smaller, more private campus could give us substantial commons and growing space while keeping us connected to town.
We haven’t found the property that makes that case complete. We need to price the land and buildings, establish the actual growing and evening uses, and resolve how shared intimate spaces would be treated. Local HIV support is documented, but the treating practice and practical journey still need to be established. An appealing climate is a reason to investigate, not yet a promise of an affordable home.
Sources and what remains unestablished
The mixed-use route concerns the incorporated city. South Higuera and Prado are search areas, not parcels with verified zoning. Hotels and assembly require conditional approval, and the whole combined project would be reviewed accordingly. San Luis Ranch is an approved planning example, not an available village site. The inspected city code is consolidated through June 2026; later amendments have not been fully audited.
North County San Diego is one of the places we want to look at more closely. Around Vista, eastern Oceanside and the lower Buena Creek area, we could search for private grounds while keeping a connection to shops, clinics and the regional transit network. Vista Community Clinic provides ongoing HIV care in both Vista and Oceanside.
The county also has a residential and resort planning precedent at Lawrence Welk Village. It shows a way that homes and visitor accommodation have been planned together, although it is in a different location from the strongest transit connections. We still need to find a property that brings useful buildings or buildable land together with the services and permissions we need.
The full program still needs a careful legal answer. If the county classifies our shared intimate spaces as adult entertainment, separate operating rules would conflict with the activities we intend to allow there. A flexible development plan would not resolve that by itself. This is a material question for county properties, alongside water, access and cost; it does not decide the different rules inside Vista or Oceanside.
Sources and what remains unestablished
Vista and Oceanside have their own rules; this legal finding concerns unincorporated San Diego County. The county has an explicit permit route for screened nudist facilities, but resort stays do not automatically authorize permanent homes. The Welk plan is a differentiated residential and visitor precedent, not an available property or approval of our culture. Some public-nudity provisions and later site-specific approvals remain unverified. More remote places, including Jacumba, also need their own care, transport and seasonal comparison.
Laguna del Sol, near Wilton, gives the Sacramento area an unusually relevant example to learn from. Its county planning provisions bring permanent residents, seasonal visitors, a restaurant, shared recreation spaces and an outdoor stage together in a naturist setting. That makes the area worth considering for a village where living here and welcoming guests are both part of everyday life.
Sacramento also has established gay community and ongoing HIV care. One Community Health combines medical care with pharmacy, mental health and other support services. The question is how we would stay connected to those resources from our own property. A rural setting around Wilton could give us space and privacy, but dependable transport would need to be part of the budget.
We would need our own approval for the village we want. Laguna del Sol’s permission belongs to its site, and its operation does not establish how our shared intimate spaces would be treated. That question matters because some business classifications carry separation requirements from housing. We also need a suitable property, a funded development plan and a clearer comparison of outdoor life through the year.
Sources and what remains unestablished
This is a site-specific Sacramento County Special Planning Area, not countywide permission or a property offered to this project. Permanent and seasonal accommodation are distinct. The intended intimate amenity needs its own classification; no full-program approval or individual care arrangement has been established.
Albuquerque suggests a different kind of village: homes and guest accommodation around generous private courtyards, gardens and common rooms, with the city closer at hand. An existing property with room to expand could let us keep more of our everyday independence, including access to healthcare and public transport.
The mixed-use districts we checked can bring housing, paid lodging, gatherings and some productive work together. There are real local examples of housing and hospitality side by side. These routes allow community gardens and enclosed artisan workshops, with limits on their size and use, but do not allow general agriculture. That makes the amount and kind of growing we want a meaningful part of the choice.
Privacy would need to be part of the architecture from the beginning, because street-facing fence rules limit how we could screen the grounds. A place with generous sheltered outdoor space and room to grow could be appealing; a cramped site could leave us without much of the life we came together to create.
Sources and what remains unestablished
This is a municipal MX-M/MX-H investigation. El Vado is a built precedent, not an available property or transferable approval. The city's current application document is dated May 6, 2026; the intervening amendment concerns appeal costs. No site, utility commitment or complete cultural-use approval is established.
The Las Cruces fringe has a concrete possibility for bringing homes, guest stays, gatherings and growing land together. The county’s C1 district allows those uses to share a property, with apartments or fourplexes as the housing form. That could lend itself to a compact village around gardens and common spaces, on land with a practical connection to the city.
Water is a major part of the decision. Having a well or a water line nearby would not tell us whether the village can obtain the supply and connections it needs, or what they would cost. We also need a clearer picture of ongoing medical care and practical trips from possible sites. Those gaps are why the area deserves investigation without yet being described as an easy or inexpensive choice.
Sources and what remains unestablished
These are county provisions, not the rules inside Las Cruces or Mesilla. C1 does not supply the same permission for detached houses or every kind of workshop. Resident-only commons, guest-inclusive gatherings and the proposed private intimate amenity need their correct use classifications. No parcel approval, current water-price quote or service commitment is established.
Asheville offers a different possibility: a village with a mountain setting and a strong connection to an existing community. The area has established HIV care and programs for older LGBTQ adults, which matter when we imagine making a home for people at different stages of life.
We’re interested in the county land on the service side of the region, including places around Enka and Candler. The county has a planned-development process that can bring homes and compatible nonresidential uses together. A retreat with room for permanent homes, or a carefully planned new community, could give us private grounds without putting every appointment and errand far away. We still need the full current rules and a property where the utilities, usable land and intended activities work together.
Winter would change the rhythm of life, so warm, generous common rooms would matter alongside the gardens and outdoor spaces. A more remote mountain property might be beautiful, but it would need its own convincing answer for transport and care. A listing described as “near Asheville” does not tell us what daily life there would be like.
Sources and what remains unestablished
This concerns unincorporated Buncombe near Asheville services. The current Level 1 application describes the mixed-use route; Level 2 is limited to nonresidential uses. The complete operative code and later amendments remain unverified, and the earlier resort-district description came from a 2018 copy. No property approval or individual care arrangement is established.
Scio Township, just outside Ann Arbor, offers a convincing example of what shared village life could feel like. Sunward already brings private homes, common rooms and substantial grounds together. More recently, Many Hands received its community rezoning in July 2026 for a project designed to bring homes, growing space and shared facilities together in phases.
The township has a planning route that can consider homes, paid accommodation and other uses together on eligible land in its water and sewer district. That makes the Jackson Road service corridor and nearby residential edges worth investigating. Michigan Medicine provides a real HIV-care connection, and WAVE offers weekday door-to-door rides. We would still need a property where those services are practical, along with backup transport when a shared ride is unavailable.
Michigan winter would be part of the life we choose here. Warm common rooms, convenient paths and dependable snow clearance would matter from the first opening. Scio also needs specific answers about the amount of nonresidential space and the classification of the intended intimate amenity. Those questions could change which properties work, but the combination of community precedent, planning flexibility and services makes this a serious comparison.
Sources and what remains unestablished
Scio Township is separate from Ann Arbor city. The 10% nonresidential-land provision needs interpretation for a deliberately mixed-use project; neither a universal ceiling nor an exemption has been established. An amenity classified as a regulated adult use would face residential restrictions. Many Hands and Sunward have different missions and their approvals do not transfer. No available property, utility capacity or parcel environmental clearance is established.
Ithaca offers a useful way to imagine the village in a place with distinct seasons. Its EcoVillage brings homes, shared kitchens and common rooms, farms and resident work into an established community. The town has written detailed rules for that mix, and separate rules for a hotel, spa and seasonal guest accommodation elsewhere.
Those examples make the Town of Ithaca worth investigating even though winter would mean a different outdoor life from Southern California or Arizona. We would spend more time in warm common rooms, and the homes, paths and gathering spaces would need to make winter enjoyable rather than leave people isolated. Summer and the changing seasons would be part of the appeal for people who want that rhythm.
We would still need our own site and approval for the whole village. The existing communities are examples, not properties offered to us, and their permissions do not transfer. We’re particularly interested in the Town’s West Hill and hospital-facing areas, where a suitable property could connect to everyday care and transit. That could make a stronger case than remote land that happens to cost less.
We should also look at what a property already gives us. The town has strong energy rules for new construction, while its supplement allows lawful existing buildings and systems to continue in use. That makes a suitable campus worth comparing with a new build, with the actual conversion work priced separately.
Sources and what remains unestablished
Town of Ithaca rules are distinct from the City and other Tompkins County towns. EcoVillage and La Tourelle are separate site-specific districts, not one combined entitlement. The energy supplement preserves continued use of lawful existing buildings and systems subject to its exceptions; other code and conversion requirements still apply. No available property, approval for this culture, utility commitment or individual care arrangement is established.
Saint Paul is a serious possibility if people would enjoy a village with a rich indoor winter life. The Twin Cities have specific services for people aging with HIV, adult hormone care and established activities for older LGBTQ people. Those connections could let us build our own community without having to create every kind of support ourselves.
Luther Seminary’s upper campus gives us a concrete property lead to investigate. It has residential rooms and substantial dining and gathering buildings, and the owner has announced plans to sell. Availability and timing remain unsettled: marketing sources differ, and the seminary still describes student housing through the 2026–27 school year. We would need our own permissions for permanent homes, paid guests and the full village.
The long winter is a real choice. Homes and commons would need warm, accessible connections, quiet places alongside music and gatherings, and a budget for heating, upkeep and reliable transport. Summer grounds could be a pleasure, but we would not want a plan that works only for residents who can afford to leave each winter.
Sources and what remains unestablished
The upper campus is advertised without a public asking price; another listing has stopped advertising it, and the seminary still describes 2026–27 student housing. Do not combine it with the separate lower campus. Current parcel permissions, conversion costs, private grounds, paid guests and the intimate amenity remain unresolved. Existing student rents and institutional occupancy are not village rents or approvals.
We want to enjoy being naked outdoors as an ordinary part of life. That makes the seasons a personal choice as well as a practical one. Western Riverside and Palm Springs, for instance, offer quite different summers: their airport records put a typical July high around 93°F and 109°F respectively, with much cooler nights on the western side. Palm Springs’ winter warmth is appealing, but the people living there all year would also be choosing its long hot season.
Coastal-influenced inland parts of North County San Diego and San Luis Obispo offer a different balance, with less intense summer heat and cool mornings and evenings. Farther north, Eugene has warm, usually dry summer afternoons followed by a wet, cool season. Ithaca and the Ann Arbor area ask us to embrace a much colder winter and make the indoor village a place we actively want to spend time. None of these choices means everyone has to enjoy the same temperature; comfortable private rooms and good shared spaces matter wherever we go.
Compare winter and summer temperatures
These are NOAA’s 1991–2020 monthly averages of daily highs and lows, rounded to whole degrees Fahrenheit. They describe particular weather stations, not every nearby property or the number of comfortable naked hours. Wind, sun, humidity, shade and individual preferences all matter. Each station name links to its source report.
A city, its rural fringe and a nearby mountain or coast can have very different conditions. These historical averages also hide heatwaves, storms and smoke. We would need to look at the actual property’s exposure, water, access and costs before deciding that its climate works for the village.
A private home with a life around it
We want plenty of privacy on our own grounds, and the freedom to get out into the world. A grocery trip, an evening with friends or a medical appointment should remain possible when someone stops driving. That makes the actual location of a property much more important than its county name. Connected parts of Palm Springs and Cathedral City, Tucson, and Eugene and Springfield in Oregon have useful combinations of care and community life; a remote property nearby may require us to create and pay for the missing connections.
This part of the research also brought Rochester and Saint Paul into closer consideration, both with programs specifically supporting people growing older with HIV. Durham’s service connections now sit alongside a substantive development route, which is why it has moved into the leading group. We still need to establish a suitable village property in each place. A rural retreat could offer a better overall home, but we would want its budget to include reliable, accessible rides and backup when a driver or vehicle is unavailable.
Care, coverage and the limits of a nearby bus
Finding a clinic is a beginning. Before a move, people would need to know that their actual insurance, prescriptions and continuing care can transfer. Assistance programs have different eligibility rules, and Medicare does not pay for all the personal help someone may need as they age. Even California’s older-adult Medi-Cal pathways have asset rules that need to be considered when arranging a resident’s contribution to the village.
We are also checking what public transport actually does. Eugene’s regional route to Cottage Grove, for example, has only two Sunday trips each way in its Fall 2026 schedule; its local connector runs on weekdays within the city. That may help some residents, but it does not collect someone from a rural gate or bring everyone home after an evening out. We would need to test the whole journey from the property, including the return.
You may have a place in mind that you know well or would love to move to. Look it up here to see what we have found and why it is, or isn’t, getting closer attention. Some places have a clear tradeoff; others simply need more investigation.
For Florida, our current recommendation is to choose elsewhere for this village. Its established naturist communities are a real strength, but the additional burdens on dependable care and LGBTQ support weigh against asking people to make their lasting home there. The detailed explanation includes the strongest Florida case and what could make us reconsider.
We also keep earlier research available. Its old rankings don’t decide this search, and a place without a fresh village comparison hasn’t been ruled out.
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Could it be abroad?
We’re considering that too. Around Casa Branca in Portugal, the municipal plan offers a way to bring homes, guest accommodation and shared facilities together. Near Agde and Vias in southern France, an advertised estate already combines residences and holiday accommodation. The José Ignacio–Garzón area of Uruguay has provisions for a development with homes, lodging and common land that can be built in stages. Each gives us something concrete to investigate.
The participation possibilities differ. Uruguay documents paid public-health enrollment before residence processing; France has a particularly clear regional HIV treatment and medication-dispensing pathway; Portugal has residence and work routes alongside a health-registration transition that needs careful support. Those are real advantages, with individual eligibility, costs and clinical arrangements still to resolve. The linked place explanations set out the differences.
A move abroad would also shape who can join and how we support one another. Permission to live in a country does not always include permission to work there, and access to ongoing healthcare needs its own plan. Medicare generally does not cover ordinary care abroad, and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) has rules limiting payments during an absence. Those are questions we would need to solve openly, with a budget for the transition, so that a promising property does not quietly make the village inaccessible to people who need that support.
What would bring us closer to choosing?
This comparison draws on a broad regional research pass and focused checks of promising places. It is deeper in some areas than others. We have not investigated every municipality, visited properties or obtained planning determinations, and no location is cleared for the full village. Where the evidence is missing, the lookup says so rather than treating the place as rejected.
We need to bring the places and the people into the same conversation. Which seasonal life would you enjoy? How close would you need to be to care, friends or an airport? Would you rather live on more land or have more independence from a car? Those answers will help us decide which properties are worth visiting.
For a promising property, the next step is to put the whole village on a realistic plan: where people can live, where visitors stay, what we can host, how the utilities work and what it will take to pay for it. We can begin in stages, but we need to know what each stage offers and how the later work will happen. We haven’t reached that point with a property yet.
Local knowledge can make a difference, especially a property with useful buildings, room to grow and a connection to everyday services. The survey has space to tell us where you’d like us to look and what you know about it.