Ep. 173 – Searching for Community with Andy Hickman

Andy Hickman (shagbark_hick on X/Twitter) has gone viral in recent months as he has tried to form community in Northern New York.

He shares about the tension between loving a place yet watching it die. Do you stay? Is there anything left to hold onto?

“People talk about community. There’s already community. There’s already a structure that makes sense. It’s the small town, the city block, the village, the neighborhood. We’ve done this for thousands of years.”

Despite having a difficult year, he is still one of the most positive people I know.

His plans for the New Year – to travel South. He may even purchase a car (!).
Some of the places in the Southwest that he loves and wants to visit, to share with his wife Keturah, who has not seen that part of the country.
His new writing projects, including a potential book deal.
Andy’s favorite Christmas memory: Being the Yule King and riding the Yule log through the city square.

Hickman’s Hinterlands on Substack

shagbark_hick on X/Twitter

Andy’s love of the Southwest:

“It doesn’t even feel like America because it’s so American, if that makes sense. It’s this weird horseshoe zone where you feel like you’re in a foreign country, but you’re actually in the heart of your own country.”

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Actionable Steps

Stop reinventing community structures. Before trying to form an intentional community with elaborate rules and shared land, consider whether you could just move near like-minded people and be neighbors. Let natural community form through proximity and shared values rather than formal agreements.

Audit why you live where you live.

What’s the one thing that anchors you to your place? If that thing disappeared tomorrow, would you still have reason to stay?

Look for communities with their “mojo” intact. Vitality isn’t about economics or amenities. It’s about whether people gather, whether families are growing, whether there’s optimism. Some declining places still have thriving pockets. Some prosperous places are spiritually dead. Notice the difference.

Reclaim Sunday. Turn stuff off. Sit around and talk. Gather with family. This isn’t about productivity hacks or “intentional rest”—it’s about Thriving.

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